The Twins could have competed this season, or at least had the chance to. If Liriano was somehow able to return to his pre-injury form, if Delmon Young could have found his power stroke, and if either Kevin Slowey or Scott Baker could have established themselves, then the Twins could have been as good as anyone in the American League. Of course, that was all contingent on Johan Santana pitching at a Cy Young level a top the rotation. Even so, I guess those are a lot of question marks, and the Twins obviously didn’t want to take the chance of losing Santana for nothing. Even if everything did go right for Minnesota, with the AL Central being so loaded, they still could have missed the playoffs.
Still, as people a lot of people have been pointing out today, this seems like the fourth best deal the Twins could have got. Here’s how The Big Lead describes the package sent to Minnesota:
Effectively, the Mets got a) a speedy CF with no bat who isn’t MLB ready, b) a green teenager with a live arm who is at least two years away from the majors, c) a college phenom whose career took a serious nosedive when he had Tommy John surgery, and d) an MLB-ready pitcher who isn’t good enough to crack the Twins rotation and likely will languish in the minors at the start of the season
Doesn’t sound too impressive, especially when considering they could have possibly had a deal with the Yankees featuring Phil Hughes, Melky Cabrera, and Ian Kennedy. I know you can never tell with prospects, and the Twins front office should certainly get the benefit of the doubt that the players they received will be good, but the Mets package sure seems like a significant downgrade from that Yankees offer.
With the Mets package seemingly being so mediocre, it raises the question of why didn’t other teams jump in the mix, most notably the Cubs and Angels. Maybe the biggest thing any team would be giving up in this trade is that 7-year, $ 25 million per season contract Santana is expected to hold out for, but he’s good enough and young enough to make it reasonable. A Cubs package of Rich Hill, Felix Pie, Sean Gallagher, Geovani Soto and other assorted goodies could have been enough to do it, as could an Angels offer centered around Brandon Wood and Nick Adenhart. I really think the Cubbies should have thought about getting involved in this. I know it’s tough with ownership in flux and with big money committed long-term to Soriano and others, but when you haven’t won a World Series in 100 years, isn’t it worth it? I would think so.
Here’s a quick list of the winners from this deal, one that certainly doesn’t include the Twins (though, as I said before, Minnesota has earned the benefit of the doubt over the years that the package they picked should be productive):
Winners
4. Tigers, Indians, White Sox
Santana has manhandled the AL Central for so long, it’s just a huge relief to have him out of the division. It looks certain that two of these three teams will win 90-games now.
3. Yankees, Red Sox
Both are winners because I feel neither team really wanted Santana as much as they wanted the other team not to get him. Keeping Hughes and Kennedy means the Yankees rotation will be stable for the next ten years, and Red Sox being able to hold on to Buchholz, Lester, and Ellsbury makes their future look as bright as any team in baseball.
2. Mets
Adding the game’s best pitcher is enough to make them forget about their collapse last season and makes them the preseason front-runner in the National League.
1. Santana
Imagine how dominant he’ll be in the National League. He goes from facing three super-powerful AL Central lineups to facing only one real challenge (Phillies) in his division now.
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Comments
Gomez and Fuld aren't comparable prospects because Fuld is so old. Fuld basically doesn't have any upside- what is now is likely a fourth outfielder and that is likely what he'll end up as. At 21, Gomez certainly has time to figure out how to hit. And Gomez is significantly faster then Fuld.
As for the Cubs not having a catcher if they did this deal, well yeah, you are right. But, to be fair, the Cubs didn't really have a catcher last season and Soto is anything but a proven commodity with only 18 games of major league experience under his belt.
The Cubs have an outfield surplus as well so losing Pie, again no one knows if he'll be any good yet, would be an easy sacrifice, in my mind but I'm a White Sox fan, to gain the best pitcher in baseball.
Yes, Fuld is a stretch. I forget at times that he is an 'old man' in baseball terms. Funny how going to college makes you that way in baseball.
I'd hardly say Pie is a surplus player because there aren't many, if any, players in the Cubs system that can play at his level. They could part with Patterson, Cedeno, Fuld, etc. but not Pie. The only surplus the Cubs have is in pitching and maybe mediocre middle infielders.
The Mets lucked out on this deal because it took so long to be done. They are the only team that gave up players that really didn't need to be replaced by free agents as none of them are ML ready. That's why the Red Sox/Yankees pulled their best offers because they couldn't sign players who could replace the one's they were giving up.
The only way this deal helps out Minny right now is with salaries and service time.
Please add the Chicago Sky, the pride and joy of Chicago, to the banner at the top. Also, the best WNBA team ever.
A Cubs package of Rich Hill, Felix Pie, Sean Gallagher, Geovani Soto and other assorted goodies could have been enough to do it, as could an Angels offer centered around Brandon Wood and Nick Adenhart. I really think the Cubbies should have thought about getting involved in this. I know it’s tough with ownership in flux and with big money committed long-term to Soriano and others, but when you haven’t won a World Series in 100 years, isn’t it worth it? I would think so
Then..on top of Santana's nearly $25 million annually the Cubs would have to go out and find a full-time catcher and outfielder at a time when there aren't any left on the free agent market? No thanks, I think we'll stick with our squad for now.
If the Cubs would have had a comparable offer to the Mets it would have been Donald Veal (high impact prospect), Sam Fuld (fast guy with no bat to play CF), Sean Gallagher (RHP with some ML experience) and Kevin Hart (possible good pitcher) for Santana. That deal I would do.