Santana To Mets...Almost

As of yesterday, the New York Mets have 48 to 72 hours to negotiate a long term deal with soon- to- be- maybe- former Minnesota Twins ace Johan Santana. Word is that Santana and his agent are looking for a deal for five years in the neighborhood of $155 to $160 million. Obviously, this would be the largest contract for a starting pitcher in major league history.

Personally, I’m happy that he is 1) going to the National League and not the American League East and 2) the Sox don’t have to shell out a truckload of cash for a starter they really don’t need.

The Twins effectively took the third best deal on the table for all those serious in the talks for Santana. I’m sure most fans in Minnesota and the surrounding area would have been pleased with players that are either proven (Sox) and those that are on the cusp of superstardom (Yankees) rather than a crop of somewhat unproven commodities. That’s not to say that the Mets’ offering is weak, it’s just not potentially as sure of a thing they could have received with either the Sox or Yankees.

There are some pros and cons to not getting Santana in a Red Sox uniform. The obvious pros have been mentioned above. The money and the players stand out initially to me. The other, just in my opinion, is overloading the starting rotation. You want as few holes in your starting rotation as possible obviously, but you don't want an All-Star team, do you? Beckett, Lester and Dice-K are all young and have bright futures in Boston. Of course Schilling and Wakefield aren’t getting any younger, but they aren’t glaring problems in the current rotation. Adding Santana could have potentially thrown the entire flow of the staff of kilter. I may be alone here, but what would have bringing in Santana done to affect Beckett’s psyche? Or Schilling’s? Word was that Beckett enjoys his role as the "number one" on the mound. Plus, all that damn money. I know if there is another team that can afford it besides the Yanks are the Sox, but still, it’s a ton of fucking money we don’t need to spend.

What about the cons? Well, you’re missing out on probably the best pitcher in baseball. Duh. The Sox are coming off a World Series win, which means every time you play the Royals, Rays or Rangers they’re going to be coming after you like it’s the playoffs. I’m not going to say the Sox flew under the radar in ’07, mostly because of their meteoric April and May, but during spring training there weren’t too many people expecting a whole lot. At least not up until Papelbon’s 8^th inning save down in Arlington that I feel was the emotional catalyst the Sox needed in response to stumbling out of the gate. Anyway, the point I was attempting to make was that if you want to repeat sometimes you need to add a new wrinkle to your team to throw everyone off to give yourself another shot at a ring. What better curveball to throw at the rest of the AL and entire league than having Santana and then Beckett as your 1-2 punch?

Of course, at this point it’s probably a moot point. Santana appears to be headed to Queens or back to Minnesota if a deal doesn’t go through. Then he’d be a free agent and likely headed to Yankee pinstripes for the 2009 season and beyond. I’m hoping the Mets deal goes through and Santana enjoys a fruitful second half to his career in the National League. I’m happy we get to keep Ellsbury and Lester. Even Jed Lowrie, who could develop into an infield counterpart to Dustin Pedroia.

The Twins faithful should keep one thing in mind, and it may help them sleep better at night after losing probably the most dominate pitcher of this era. At least he didn’t go to Boston where he would no doubt have helped the city to yet another championship or superstar filled team. Sleep tight, Minnesota.