As The Santana Turns @ SOX & Dawgs

Now you will truly understand why I have given this saga a soap opera theme.

In our last episode of As The Santana Turns 22½ hours ago, the second half of our post contained information from Buster Olney that the Red Sox have pulled Jon Lester off the table in a trade for Johan Santana. La Velle E. Neal III of the Star-Tribune has information from the Twins that says otherwise.

Twins officials over the weekend maintained that all three teams remain interested in Santana. They also disputed reports that lefthander Jon Lester has been taken out of any Red Sox package. Boston still is believed to have different packages under consideration, one led by Lester and the other led by outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury.

So for all of us that got excited about the fact that Lester was off the table, we get to once again ponder it.

As for what the Twins are looking for from the Yankees and Mets, read what LAV has to say below.

The Twins would like for the Mets to add outfield prospect Fernando Martinez to a package that includes outfielder Carlos Gomez and pitchers Delios Guerra, Kevin Mulvey and Philip Humber. The Mets, who need Santana the most, have been reluctant to add Martinez to the deal, and other possible add-ons — such as pitcher Aaron Heilman and outfielder Ryan Church — have been mentioned.

The Twins would like a package from the Yankees that includes righthander Phil Hughes and outfielder Melky Cabrera — an option that some Twins players quietly prefer. Cabrera, with 16 assists last season, would join Michael Cuddyer (19) and Delmon Young (16) to give the Twins one of the best defensive outfields in baseball.

A lot of national scribes have been saying that if the Mets include Martinez, the Twins will most likely take the deal. Like I said in a comment recently, I see the Mets as the team needing Santana the most, with the Yankees second and the Red Sox third.

So as the week goes along, I fully expect more rumors to come about from this soap opera. And as always I will post them when I see them.

On another note, isn’t it amazing how all the writers get different information about things. Olney is a pretty reputable source for information so you had to believe him when he said Lester was not a part of any deal. LAV III is probably a little closer to the Twins than Olney is but then again I could be wrong. Just ask Anthony from the Oriole Post about internet rumors involving trades.