It’s time for a weekly recap on “As The Santana Turns” here at SOX & Dawgs.
Nothing really new to report on the talks according to Nick Cafardo from the Boston Globe:
Peter Greenberg, Santana’s agent, reported “nothing going on that I know of” when asked if there was anything he was involved with.Greenberg will likely need to get involved as soon as any deal is agreed upon to determine whether Boston, the Yankees, Mets or another team can sign his client to a long-term deal. Greenberg has indicated it would take a starting bid of 7 years, $140 million to get a deal done for the two-time Cy Young award winner. It’s a price the Red Sox are apparently willing to pay. What they might not be willing to pay is the price of prospects. Their offers are still out there – the Jon Lester, Coco Crisp, Jed Lowrie, and Justin Masterson scenario would be preferable to the Jacoby Ellsbury, Masterson, Lowrie and another player scenario. Both sides also appear to be open to expanding the deal to include other players.
I would expect some sort of deal to take place in the near future as all the parties involved would like to get their rosters situated before heading to their respective spring training camps. The Sox start camp in Ft. Myers on February 14th when the pitchers and catchers will report.
And Hank Steinbrenner opened his mouth again, saying this time that the Yankees have the best offer on the table for Santana.
“I think the Twins realize our offer is the best one,” Steinbrenner said Wednesday in a telephone interview. “I feel confident they’re not going to trade him before checking with us one last time and I think they think we’ve already made the best offer.”
Steinbrenner said the offer “does not include two of the three young pitchers” – Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy, from a group that also includes untouchable Joba Chamberlain – “but it’s still the best one. And let’s face it, we’re the best able to handle the kind of contract (extension) Santana will be after.”
I am not sure the Yankees offer is the best offer out there but I can say that they do have the resources available to meet the contract demands.
