A major league executive with knowledge of the Twins' trade talks told 1050 ESPN New York's Andrew Marchand that the Mets should not be counted out of the Johan Santana Sweepstakes. Mets general manager Omar Minaya has had talks with Twins GM Bill Smith.
While other clubs, including the Yankees, have more top quality chips to deal, the Mets may have more of a willingness to include more top prospects, which could entice the Twins. A Mets trade for Santana would likely begin with Carlos Gomez, who could be a replacement for Torii Hunter, who agreed to a free-agent contract with the Los Angeles Angels.
Other starters the Mets are investigating are the A's Dan Haren and Joe Blanton and the Marlins' Dontrelle Willis.
Earlier this week, Yankees senior vice president Hank Steinbrenner said that discussions between his team and Minnesota for Santana were ongoing but it was too early to tell whether they would lead to a deal. He did not detail how far talks had progressed.
"I don't want to get into that at this point, as far as what they want, what we're willing to give and all that," he said. "It's preliminary right now."
The Star Ledger of Newark, N.J., citing an unnamed source, reported Tuesday that the Yankees have made pitcher Joba Chamberlain and second baseman Robinson Cano off limits, in their negotiations for Santana.
Santana is eligible for free agency after the 2008 season, and the Twins have been trying to sign the two-time AL Cy Young Award winner to an extension. He reportedly turned down a four-year, $80 million extension offer from the Twins.
Barry Zito signed a seven-year, $126 million contract with the Giants last offseason and Santana is expected to command a contract in excess of that one.
The Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers and Angels also are thought to be interested in Santana, who is far better than any of the starting pitchers available on the free-agent market.
Santana's agent, Peter Greenberg, has not spoken publicly about his talks with the Twins.
"Our first choice is to sign him," Smith said carefully Tuesday, after pausing to answer a question regarding the one year Santana has remaining on his current deal.
An extension of his stay in Minnesota has appeared increasingly unrealistic since prices for pitchers escalated around this time last year.
Though the Twins plan to move to a new ballpark in 2010, they won't receive that revenue boost until then. With Santana's value soaring and their middle-of-the-pack payroll not about to spike significantly, a new contract for the two-time Cy Young Award winner could account for one-fourth of the money Minnesota spends on player salaries.
"We're going to be focused on making smart baseball decisions," team president Dave St. Peter said Tuesday. "That's the way we have always operated. It's the way the Pohlads expect us to operate, and we have no issues with that."
Santana, a left-hander who turns 29 in March, has a 93-44 record with a 3.22 ERA in eight major league seasons and is owed $13.25 million next year.
Santana has a no-trade provision in his contract, and a team acquiring him likely would want to discuss an extension. That means if the teams agreed to a trade, there probably would be a 72-hour window to work out a new contract.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Source: ESPN.com
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