It was a crazy Sunday on “As The Santana Turns”, so let’s recap all the day’s actions.
Earlier on Sunday afternoon, Steve posted some information from Buster Olney that the Red Sox had decided to include Jacoby Ellsbury in the Johan Santana sweepstakes.
With the Minnesota Twins insisting on center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury in any trade for pitcher Johan Santana, the Red Sox have altered their offer and have told the Twins they are willing to include the outfielder.
But sources say the Red Sox have also told the Twins they will not trade left-handed pitcher Jon Lester and Ellsbury together in the package they are offering.
Keep in mind folks, that if Ellsbury is included in the deal, then the Sox will pull Coco Crisp from the deal because they will need a center fielder next year. Plus, you won’t see Clay Buchholz in the deal either if Lester or Ellsbury is included.Then Dan Roche of WBZ-TV in Boston confirmed the report that the Sox had indeed included Ellsbury.
The Red Sox have now made outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury the “centerpiece” of their trade offer to the Minnesota Twins in exchange for star pitcher Johan Santana.
The Sox had been reluctant to include the talented centerfielder in a deal, but have now done so after the Yankees reportedly upped the “ante” on their offer by including prize pitcher Phil Hughes.
Next up is a report from Ken Rosenthal at FOXSports.com stating that Santana won’t waive his no-trade clause during the season.
According to major-league sources, Santana has informed the Twins that he would not waive his no-trade clause during the season, ending any chance that he could be moved before the July 31 non-waiver deadline.
It is in Santana’s interest to be traded now because he will require a monster contract to approve a deal. It is expected that the contract would be at least six years and $120 million, and rather than enter the season with the risk of injury, he would prefer the deal to be struck as soon as possible.
More As The Santana Turns after the jump.
Finally, Hank Steinbrenner from the Yankees said that he’s pulling the offer they made on Monday if they don’t hear back from the Twins.
The Yankees either will reach an agreement with the Twins sometime Monday on a trade for Johan Santana or pull their offer from the table, senior vice president Hank Steinbrenner said Sunday night.
Steinbrenner said by phone Sunday evening that he wants to hear back from the Twins regarding the Yankees’ offer of righthander Phil Hughes, centerfielder Melky Cabrera and a third, lesser minor-league player by sometime Monday. The offer on the table is a final offer, he said. And although he wouldn’t commit to a time Monday that the offer will expire, he said he wants an answer “by [Monday].”
Steinbrenner, who was not planning to attend the meetings, said of his time frame: “The Twins are aware of it, that I’m not going to wait much longer. And the truth of the matter is, they don’t want to be stuck with only one team to deal with. If they’re stuck with just Boston, they’re going to get a lot less. I’m not going to be played. This is not a game. This is serious business. I’m not going to be played, us against the Red Sox. That’s not going to happen.”
I have to agree with Hank because it does seem that this is pitting the Red Sox against the Yankees. Some of it could be the media creating it but if you look at what they are reporting, the two teams are the only major players in the sweepstakes. We all know both teams want him at the least costliest expense to their organization. We also would think that the team who doesn’t get him hopes the other team pays through the roof with their prospects so it hurts the organization down the road when they might need a player to fill-in or in another trade down at the All-Star break.
Losing prospects for either organization will be costly down the road because most teams are planning their rosters ahead of time. But when you can get a player of Santana’s ability, the reward could be better than the risk. You never know when you’re going to get the next Carl Pavano. Just ask the Yankees.
