Red Sox, Twins Discussing Deal for Santana

[TomBrady'sGoat]

I am amazed at how Minnesota botched this. They continually demanded more from the Sox and Yanks and then accepted a bag of magic beans from the Mets. They got only one position prospect and didn't even get the Mets's best one.

If the desire to keep Santana out of the AL had anything to do with this the entire front office deserves to be fired. Minnesota needs to compete with Cleveland and Detroit and would be horribly stupid to not simply maximize their return.

Hopefully the Mets get him signed and we can look forward to at least a couple more years of the Yankees without an ace.

 

[Foley]

Bill Smith should be fired. I know the Yankees apparently removed themselves from the discussions and the Red Sox reduced theirs, but unless the Sox removed both Lester and Ellsbury off the table then the Sox offer is significantly better than this one.

Even without Lester/Ellsbury the Sox offer is better. Lowrie is a better prospect than anyone else involved on the Mets side, and Masterson is at worst on par with any of the pitchers. Carlos Gomez is a mediocre hitter who has little to offer other than speed (.738 OPS in MiLB career), Philip Humber and Kevin Mulvey have OK numbers but both are projected to be no better than middle of the rotation starters, and Deolis Guerra at 19 already has major injury concerns to go along with mediocre numbers. A Lowrie, Masterson, Crisp and Bowden package would have easily trumped this.

Heck, the package they got for Matt Garza is superior to the package they got for Johan Santana.

 

[BradyManny]

Bill Smith should be fired. I know the Yankees apparently removed themselves from the discussions and the Red Sox reduced theirs, but unless the Sox removed both Lester and Ellsbury off the table then the Sox offer is significantly better than this one.

I know the Yanks pulled out, but their offer that involved Phil Hughes was probably the best offer the Twins got. Chamberlain might have all the hype right now, but Hughes has basically been regarded as the best pitching prospect in the country for a few years now.

Frankly, I'm relieved neither the Sox or the Yanks got him. I think the Sox's goal all along was just to raise the price and or ensure he didn't get traded to the Yankees.

The Sox are in a much better place as an organization than if they had made this trade, they have a plethora of youngsters coming up ready to make an impact or continue making an impact, they are much better off financially than if they made the trade, and they're just coming off a World Series championship. On top of that is the simple fact that the homegrown talent has drastically outperformed (expectations-wise) the big name talent that they have acquired recently. Look at the success of Youk, Paps, Pedroia, Lester, Delcarmen and compare it value-wise to Renteria, Lugo, Drew, Clement, etc. Obviously, there are exceptions on both sides, but as a general rule, I think going with the young'ns has been working out.

 

[TomBrady'sGoat]

Chamberlain might have all the hype right now, but Hughes has basically been regarded as the best pitching prospect in the country for a few years now.

Sorry to pick nits, but that is just absolutely false. Hughes had an amazing 2006, going from a low minors prospect (#39 on Baseball America's 2006 top 100) to perhaps the best pitching prospect in the game. Last year he struggled, lost his prospect eligibility, and was surpassed by Buchholz/Chamberlain. He held that distinction for one year and surely deserved it, but saying he has held it for many years is simply wrong.

 

[BradyManny]

Sorry to pick nits, but that is just absolutely false. Hughes had an amazing 2006, going from a low minors prospect (#39 on Baseball America's 2006 top 100) to perhaps the best pitching prospect in the game. Last year he struggled, lost his prospect eligibility, and was surpassed by Buchholz/Chamberlain. He held that distinction for one year and surely deserved it, but saying he has held it for many years is simply wrong.

Fair enough, I see now he did go from #39 to #4 on Baseball America. I stand corrected.

 

[Red_Sox_Fan]

I couldn't say I am impressed during play-off about Santana. Mets had a chance in 2006 and blew it...

 

[Real World]

Sorry to pick nits, but that is just absolutely false. Hughes had an amazing 2006, going from a low minors prospect (#39 on Baseball America's 2006 top 100) to perhaps the best pitching prospect in the game. Last year he struggled, lost his prospect eligibility, and was surpassed by Buchholz/Chamberlain. He held that distinction for one year and surely deserved it, but saying he has held it for many years is simply wrong.

LOL. Some people are just total Yahoos. If the Yankees offered Hughes for Buckholz tomorrow, straight up, the Sox would pull the trigger immediately.