News: Santana to be Announced at 4:30 pm
The Mets will hold a conference call at 4:30 pm EDT to announce the official acquisition of LHP Johan Santana from the Twins.
…i will be on the call, and will do my best to provide a few key notes while it is in progress…
…Update…4:28 pm…
…let me just say, ‘thank you, Internets,’ because i am on the road right now…i couldn’t get home in time for this call…so, i am pulled over, at a rest stop, sitting in a parking space, huddled in the driver’s seat online with my laptop and the conference call on speaker phone on my cell phone…
…Update…4:46 pm…
Omar Minaya, Jeff Wilpon and Peter Greenberg are on the call, Johan Santana is not.
There will be a formal press conference with Santana at Shea Stadium on Wednesday, Feb. 6.
According to Greenberg, after the Twins, the Mets were Santana’s first choice. He told the Twins he would not stand in their way of getting the best package of players from wherever Smith needed to send him, but the Mets had always been his top choice, followed by either the Red Sox and the Yankees.
Minaya said there was a point during the negotiations when he worried that a contract would not get done, as they were ‘very far apart,’ with only an hour left to go. He asked for the extension, it was granted by the Twins and the commisioner’s office and they were able to agree on a contract. According to Wilpon, they were confident they could sign him, and there was no way they would have pulled the trigger on the trade if signing him was in doubt.
Greenberg said this was one of the most unique negotiations he had ever been apart of, especially with the added element of checking his watch every fine minutes.
According to Wilpon, the extension was needed to work out the final $5 million of the deal. In theory, explained Wilpon, Santana came down $5 million, while the Mets gave up an additional $5 million, for the two sides to meet in the middle on the final total.
Minaya called Santana, “A true, number-one starter.” He is happy to had added as much pitching and defense as he did this off-season, since it is what he believes is necessary to win a championship.
According to Minaya, it was Greenberg and Wilpon who did a great job working out the contract’s details in the final hours.
Minaya says he entered the winter saying he wanted to acquire a font-line starting pitcher, and though he was tempted at times to sign a free agent, for fear he’d be unable to replace Tom Glavine, something told him to be patient with Twins GM Bill Smith.
After the winter meetings, Minaya bet Wilpon a pair of shoes that Santana would become available again and that the Mets would have a chance to get him.
Last week, Smith called and said, “I want every one’s best offer,” and since he would never trade Fernando Martinez, Pelfrey or Jose Reyes, he offered up the four prospects and Smith accepted.
According to Minaya, it was very hard for him to give up on Humber, Gomez, Mulvey and Guerra, ‘but we need to win now,’ he added, and since the only way to acquire an ace was via trade, he had to do what was necessary.
Minaya says this is the team he will go to spring training with.
