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As The Santana Turns – Sox, Twins Talking Again??

December 5th, 2007 by Ian · 4 Comments ·

As The Santana Turns @ SOX & Dawgs

Well if you believe what Tim Brown from Yahoo! Sports is writing, then yes the talks are back on.

The Boston Red Sox reaffirmed their status as the favorites to acquire Johan Santana as the team’s top executives Wednesday evening warmed to the idea of trading for the Minnesota Twins ace mere hours questioning the merits of the deal, a source close to the situation said.

Red Sox executives, and particularly general manager Theo Epstein, had blanched at giving up four players and paying Santana more than of $20 million a year, the type of contract he will demand to waive his no-trade clause. With the New York Yankees claiming they had dropped out of the Santana sweepstakes, the Red Sox also considered whether it was prudent to give up pitcher Jon Lester or center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury, the proposed centerpieces of the deal.

Internal discussion has affirmed that it is, though there is no timetable on the talks, and they could well last past baseball’s winter meetings, which end following the Rule 5 draft Thursday morning.

The parameters of the trade have not changed, according to the source, with Lester heading a package that also would include center fielder Coco Crisp and minor-league pitcher Justin Masterson and infielder Jed Lowrie.

The Red Sox, meanwhile, have weighed the implications of Santana’s salary demands and seem ready to move forward.

As I said on our radio show tonight, the baseball winter meetings have been one big rumor mill. With this being the only source to confirm this news, I am inclined not to believe it just yet. But yet, here I am letting y’all know what’s going on.

I also said this in a comment before that I just wish this deal or any deal for Santana would get done. I would think the Red Sox want a resolution to this soon as well because there are some pieces of the puzzle that need to be put in place. If Ellsbury isn’t traded, then you need to move Coco Crisp plus find a backup catcher, backup first baseman and backup outfielder although Brandon Moss could fill the combo 1B/OF role. Plus the Red Sox still have interest in Bobby Kielty returning if Coco isn’t back.

Category: Boston Red Sox · MLB · Minnesota Twins · Trade Rumors


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This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 5th, 2007 at 8:41 pm. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.


4 Comments so far ↓


  • Ian // Dec 6, 2007 at 12:07 am

    http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?name=winter_meetings

    11:11 p.m., from Jerry Crasnick
    • As the night grows longer, there’s zero news to report on the Johan Santana-to-Boston front. General managers Theo Epstein and Bill Smith did, indeed, have conversations Wednesday. But Twins officials keep saying they’re under no pressure to rush into a deal they don’t feel comfortable with. Meanwhile, the Red Sox keep waiting for a response to their two trade proposals.

  • Ian // Dec 6, 2007 at 12:23 am

    And the latest from Gordon Edes

    It’s possible Bill Smith could pick up the phone and call Theo Epstein and say let’s make a deal, but as we neared midnight here Wednesday, there was scant evidence that a trade for Johan Santana was in the offing. This thing is by no means dead–Epstein said he expected to maintain some dialogue with the Twins–but it was pretty apparent that Minnesota GM Smith was no more inclined to accept the Sox proposals than the Yankee offers that went by the board earlier this week. For the Sox, the week represents a qualified “W”–Santana is not being measured for pinstripes. They would hardly be crushed if they open the season with Jon Lester and Jacoby Ellsbury wearing the home uniform. At the same time, Santana represents a rare (albeit expensive) opportunity the Sox undoubtedly will continue to explore, even after these meetings break up tomorrow. The Sox can afford the $20m-plus salary Santana can expect to command in a new contract extension; for example, Manny Ramirez’s $20m a year deal comes off the books after next season, assuming the Sox don’t exercise the two option years remaining on the deal. With the Tigers challenging the Yanks for the most formidable everyday lineup in the game by adding slugger Miguel Cabrera in a deal with the Marlins, the Sox may well decide that they need to counter by signing Santana, which would give them a potentially hellacious rotation for years to come. But it ain’t happenin’ in Nashville. As that old cowboy, Dandy Don Meredith, used to croon on Monday Night Football, “Turn out the lights….”

  • Bald-Headed Geek // Dec 6, 2007 at 8:44 am

    Like I said, I (unfortunately) still expect to see him in Pinstripes at some point before the start of next season…………….

    BHG

  • Ian // Dec 6, 2007 at 1:56 pm

    How long do the Red Sox wait though since a lot of their stuff hinges on Coco?