Yanks-Twins Santana talks in trouble

NASHVILLE -- With the Yankee's self-imposed deadline approaching, the Twins and Yankees were getting nowhere Monday night in their attempt to complete a deal for Johan Santana. So the Yankees were again making noises that they might pull out of the Santana talks for good.

"I want to get it done by tonight, one way or another," Yankees senior vice president Hank Steinbrenner said, according to The Associated Press. "I'm waiting for a meeting in Nashville, and then Brian will give me a call."

According to baseball officials who were aware of the talks, the Twins again asked the Yankees on Monday night for pitcher Ian Kennedy -- a pitcher the Yankees have insisted for several days that they wouldn't trade -- as the third player in their proposed deal. The Yankees apparently turned down that proposal immediately.

The Yankees have held firm since Friday that if pitcher Phil Hughes and outfielder Melky Cabrera were part of their offer, the third player heading for Minnesota would have to be a second-tier prospect. So the highly regarded Kennedy headed a list of "untouchables" that included Joba Chamberlain, pitcher Alan Horne and outfielders Austin Jackson and Jose Tabata.

But the Twins also haven't budged since Friday. They wanted Kennedy then, and they still do. So unless one side or the other gives, it now appears a trade that once appeared inevitable could blow up for good.

The two teams still hadn't even met in person as of late Monday night, even though both clubs' delegations had arrived in full at the winter meetings. It's believed they simply exchanged proposals by phone, in what could be another indication that this trade is now on life support.

Meanwhile, officials from other clubs said some Yankees baseball personnel at the meetings have continued to agonize over the inclusion of Hughes in their offer, out of fear Hughes could come back to haunt them for years. So clearly, the decision to include Hughes in the first place was far from unanimous.

Cashman admitted there's a fear that players he might trade could win Cy Young Awards for another team.

"I'm definitely fully vested in a lot of the young talent. You get attached to it," Cashman said, according to the AP.

And if the Yankees had any inclination whatsoever to waver on their stand a few days ago, the news Monday that Andy Pettitte had decided to return undoubtedly helped ease those concerns.

With Pettitte back, the Yankees can mount a respectable rotation, with or without Santana -- around Pettitte, Chien-Ming Wang, Hughes, Chamberlain, Kennedy and Mike Mussina. They also are expected to renew their efforts to trade for Oakland's Dan Haren.

The Twins, on the other hand, may be having second thoughts about the repercussions of trading Santana in the first place, especially after the departure of his fellow face of the franchise, Torii Hunter.

"This is a monumental franchise decision," said an official of one AL team. "And I'm just not sure anymore if they're really ready to do this."

New Twins general manager Bill Smith didn't seem concerned about the deadline.

"We've got good players. We have players that maybe other clubs would like to acquire," he said, according to the AP. "We've had a lot of years where we keep going over and picking up the phone receiver to be make sure the dial tone was still [there]. We couldn't get the phone to ring."

The Twins also continued to talk with the Red Sox. But despite Boston's decision to include center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury, there was no indication those two teams were getting any closer to a deal, either.

Jayson Stark is a senior writer for ESPN.com. His new book, "The Stark Truth: The Most Overrated and Underrated Players in Baseball History," has been published by Triumph Books and now is available in bookstores. Click here to order a copy. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: ESPN.com