In a separate deal, the Diamondbacks sent RHP Jose Valverde to the Astros in exchange for IF Chris Burke, RHP Chad Qualls and Juan Gutierrez.

Valvede led the National League in saves last season with 47, while also posting a 2.66 ERA.

…added to by Matthew Cerrone…

…so, as a reader pointed out in the comments section of this post, the D’Backs essentially traded their eighth, seventh, third and number one prospect for haren, as well as two other pitchers, which would sort of be like the Mets giving up Fernando Martinez, Carlos Gomez, Philip Humber and Jon Neise, at minimum…the problem is that the D’Backs system, as a whole, is ranked significantly better than the Mets, so i am not sure Omar Minaya could have even competed with arizona’s offer – nor, apparently, could 28 other teams around the league…

…if you recall, all indications out of oakland had been that for the Mets to get haren, given their current crop of minor-league talent, minaya needed to part with John Maine, which was never going to happen any way…

…for what it’s worth, i don’t think Erik Bedard is much of an option for the Mets at this point, either…in other words, it has always been, and will continue to be, Johan Santana or bust, which is equally frightening and exciting at the same time…

…the final bit of buzz, which is supported by logic, suggests that the Twins are leaning towards keeping Johan Santana for opening day, since the major-league ready hitter and pitcher they must acquire for him are not being offered…and so, because a package like Jon Lester, or Carlos Gomez, or Phil Hughes, will likely be available in July, as well as now, it makes far more sense to get one more round of ticket sales out of santana, while also getting another shot at winning, all while knowing they can easily revisit the same ol’ trade offers in six months…frankly, the same can all be said for bedard and haren…

By the way, according to the Sports Hernia, citing Ken Rosenthal’s 53rd update of the hour and 413 other websites…

“The ‘Yankees, Red Sox, Mets, Mariners, Dodgers, Indians, Rockies, Cardinals, Tigers, Giants, Blue Jays, Orioles, Angels, White Sox, Athletics, Cubs, Brewers, Rangers, Phillies, Braves, Astros, Pirates, Nationals, Diamondbacks, Marlins, and Padres are all engaged in the Santana talks and could potentially have the necessary chips to land the left-handed ace.”

…well played, sports hernia…well played, indeed…

…i mean, it actually feels like the Hot Stove took steps backward during these Winter Meetings, instead of steps forward toward completing a deal for these guys…such is the Hot Stove, though, for better or worse…

For what it’s worth, a few weeks ago at Gotham Baseball Magazine, while citing a ‘West Coast source,’ Mark Healy also mentioned that the A’s would need Maine, Lastings Milledge and Aaron Heilman, if the Mets had any chance at acquire Haren.

…as i wrote a while back, the buzz from Oakland has long suggested that if the A’s decide to move a pitcher, they will first consider moving haren, but oakland may look to acquire a pitcher more like maine, instead of Mike Pelfrey or heilman, because Billy Beane wants a semi-established, zero-to-three starting pitcher…if they get no movement on haren, oakland may next consider moving Joe Blanton, who is still arbitration eligible, and essentially the type of pitcher they hope to get, not trade away, in a deal for haren……

Additionally, according to Davidoff, the Mets hurt their chance to acquire Haren by trading Milledge, because Beane still likes him.

…honestly, what’s the difference, though, unless milledge was going to drive to oakland with maine sitting next to him, which is never going to happen, whether or not beane liked milledge, or doesn’t like milledge, is irrelevant…the thing is, something tells me that if the Mets change their mind, and become willing to trade maine, beane will listen, with or without milledge in the deal…

…at any rate, the buzz from Nashville continues to suggest that beane will simply keep his pitchers…however, if the Angels acquire, say, Johan Santana, or bedard, it would certainly impact his plan for the immediate future…

By the way, in a report for the San Francisco Chronicle, Sussan Slusser writes that the Dodgers have backed off of Blanton, because, according to a ‘source,’ were are as ‘far away as the moon,’ based on the A’s demands.

However, the Arizona Republic writes that Jackson is not included in the offer.

…as i wrote this morning, i’m starting to worry about the Tigers and D’Backs, who, from what i understand, are throwing their weight around the trade market, while looking for a starting pitcher…

…as i said, the D’Backs are rumored to have interest in the same set of pitchers as the Mets, but can dangle OF Conor Jackson, OF Carlos Gonzalez, and newly acquired Chris Carter, among others, during their efforts…

…so, i’m glad to see it is Dan Haren who they are most seriously targeting, since i believe haren is the least likely of the bunch to end up in queens…

…well, this is interesting, because the Dodgers are also interested in Marlins 3B Miguel Cabrera, who will likely cost a similar package as needed to get bedard…damn, this is all connected…

In a post to ESPN.com, Amy Nelson writes that Bedard will cost a ‘superior package of prospects,’ while adding that the O’s are telling clubs they already have four teams with ‘very promising packages.’

…thanks to birkhead for the tip…

…as i noted earlier, the word from Nashville is that Mets GM Omar Minaya and a few of his assistants either met with, or are set to meet with, representatives from the Orioles in baltimore’s hotel suite following this morning’s State of the GMs get-together…

…the buzz from baltimore, not Nashville, but from baltimore, continues to suggest that the O’s still don’t really want to trade Erik Bedard, and so he may cost a team more than the Twins get for Johan Santana…they are debating whether to trade him for talent that can help next season or keep him, allow more time for an extension and if it can’t work out they can always trade him next off-season, after which he will still be under control by his new team through the following season…however, it’s quite clear that they’re working hard to determine his value, and will not hesitate to pull the trigger if the right deal comes along…

…frankly, i keep sensing that, while they’re totally focused on bedard right now, as they should be, the Mets also have interest in A’s RHP Joe Blanton, more than they do in his teammate, Dan Haren…also, there is some indication that the Mets could have interest in LHP Noah Lowry, should he be available…

In 26 starts this past season for the Giants, the 27–year-old, left-handed Lowry was 14–8 with a 3.92 ERA, during which opponents hit .265 against him.

However, he had been 9–6 with a 3.33 ERA at the All-Star break. He missed all of September with a sore elbow, on which an MRI revealed a mild strain and no structural damage.

Lowry will earn $2.25 million in 2008, and $4.5 million in 2009, after which he can be a free agent.

…while in Nashville, our on-site eyes and ears, Joel Lipsky, talked with Susan Slusser, who covers the A’s for the San Francisco Chronicle, who said that, from what she understands, A’s GM Billy Beane is very prepared to move Dan Haren and Joe Blanton, but that the Mets fit better for blanton…however, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney told joel that the Mets do not fit well for blanton, or haren, because beane is not impressed by Mike Pelfrey and Phil Humber, and he must bring back two, young starting pitchers in a trade…

Beane, as recently quoted by USA Today, when asked about Haren and Blanton…

“If somebody offers you everything west of the Mississippi, you have to listen. If Thomas Jefferson didn’t listen to offers, half of the U.S. would be French. Some people thought it was a bad deal at the time, but I think he proved to be right.”

Meanwhile, in his post to SI, Heyman also reports that the Mets are among teams who are pursuing free-agent RHP Freddy Garcia, who will not be able to pitch until June, ‘at the earliest.’

…to be honest, i recall hearing yesterday that the Mets may be the front runners for garcia, but are holding back until they know how best to proceed in the trade market…

Lastly, according to MLB.com, citing ‘a source,’ the Nationals may be willing to give Livan Hernandez a two-year deal.

…if you recall, multiple reports over the last week had suggested the Mets were debating whether to sign hernandez…in fact, ESPN.com made another reference to this today…i dig hernandez, but not at more than two years…no way, no how…

For the sake of argument, so to try and gauge our collective expectations, if the Mets end up acquiring Blanton or Lowry, while also signing, say, Freddie Garcia or Bartolo Colon to a one-year deal, will you be satisfied with Omar Minaya’s efforts to upgrade his team’s starting rotation?

…actually, from what i understand, if the Sox do not acquire santana, they’re not looking to trade for haren, or even for Erik Bedard for that matter…i believe they view santana as a unique circumstance…or, at least i hope they do…

…thanks to the super-fast Jason B for the link…

…there is a lot of mixed buzz coming from Nashville about dontrelle…my sense is that, while the Marlins are not shopping him, they’ll consider the team’s offer if it values him like his previous 10–15 season didn’t happen, otherwise they just as soon keep him, start opening day with him, and hope he re-establishes his value over the next few months, while earning roughly $7 million via arbitration…

…i continue to believe the Mets are most focused on bedard, A’s RHP Joe Blanton and willis, since they’re not holding enough talent to acquire A’s RHP Dan Haren…by the way, i keep reading how, if the Mets do not have enough talent to acquire haren or Johan Santana, how can they have enough talent to acquire bedard…i understand the logic, but they’re different teams with different needs and different value systems…second, more and more teams are making authetic ‘baseball trades,’ as they seem to be known as, in that instead of just accumulating top prospects, teams are actually trying to fill needs…so, if the O’s happen to think certain players on the Mets can fill specific holes in baltimore, while the A’s do not, then the Mets will fit with the O’s and not the A’s…

At the same time, according to the Daily News, citing ‘a Yankees source,’ the Yankees are ‘passing’ on Santana, while turning their attention toward trying to acquire Haren.

“I pay attention to it.  I read the newspaper, and I’m all over the Internet all the time for fantasy football and to see the trade rumors.  I wouldn’t be surprised if it happened, once the whole Santana thing becomes more clear…

The first thing is, I don’t want to be traded.  My wife and I have a baby coming in a couple of weeks, and we have a home in the East Bay.  But, obviously, we’ll deal with it if it happens.  And everyone that’s been mentioned is a good team, which is nice.”

The Chronicle also states that the Dodgers are the front-runner for A’s RHP Joe Blanton, with the Mets also a possibility.

Gammons also says that trading Lastings Milledge probably ended the Omar Minaya’s chances of acquiring Indians LHP Cliff Lee, who the Indians will listen to proposals for, ‘but won’t trade him unless they get overwhelmed.’

or, instead, split up their prospects, add a major leaguer or two, and try to acquire two mid-level pitchers, like

…frankly, i’m not sure the Mets have the horses to get two of anything, but i do like the idea of splitting aces and trying to add two mid-range starting pitchers, along side John Maine and Oliver Perez…that could be a nice, young group, under contract, for the next few years…

…personally, i still believe the Mets will have to eventually settle for overpaying to get just one guy like arroyo or blanton, let alone acquire both…