Johan Santana to the Mets

[akshatp]

Searched and couldn't find a thread on this yet.

Yet another high profile player leaves a Minnesota team in its long list of not being able to keep its key players... Names that come to mind: R Moss, K Garnett, D Ortiz, H Walker... Looks like Moss and Garnett have a good chance of winning a ring this year, Ortiz and Walker already did after leaving... Will the Mets be next?

And boy did the Twinkies get raped on this one. What is the GM thinking? He had FAR better offers on the table from both the Yankees and Red Sox (maybe even the Angels) last month. Minaya might as well have been wearing a ski mask and holding a gun because the twins got ROBBED.

Phil Humber? Wrong young phenom pitcher named "Phil H" Minnesota.. You were looking for Phil Hughes.

Does this put the Mets as NL East favorites? Three 15 game winners from 2007 now on their staff. Santana leads the major leagues in wins, K's, and ERA since 2004 IIRC.

Discuss

 

[Phokus]

It means the twins will be worse off and the mets will still amount to nothing

 

[BabaBooey]

Originally posted by: Phokus
It means the twins will be worse off and the mets will still amount to nothing

Sounds about right...

 

[Juno]

no johan santana threads but someone mentioned in the mets thread.

 

[akshatp]

Originally posted by: Juno
no johan santana threads but someone mentioned in the mets thread.

Yea I saw that... But thats a general Mets discussion. Dont repost police me Juno!! LOL

BTW great movie by the same name. Just saw it yesterday.

 

[jman19]

It means the Twins got raped trying to hold out for a monster package... too bad for them.

 

[ThePresence]

The Twins got robbed. They gave him away way under his value, and for much less than they could have gotten from the Yankees or Boston.
I'm happy for the Mets, they got a great pitcher and a face for their organization.
I'm also happy that he didn't end up with Boston or the Yankees.
I'd like to see what the young guys can do in NY.

 

[BHeemsoth]

The Twins got what they deserved.

In December they could have gotten Hughes/Cabrera/Horne from the Yankees. Now they're paying the price for their greed, and were forced to settle on an inferior package.

Personally, I'm pumped. Phil Hughes has potential to be a real gem. I'm glad that the Yankees are sticking with their young guns instead of doing what they've done in the past.

 

[rh71]

I freely admit I'm a fairweather Mets fan - there are just too many damn games in a baseball season to care about the team when they're not doing well. So yes, my wife and I will be going to more games this season. I thought the new park opens this season too but apparently it's '09.

 

[dbk]

damn it....he should've gone to the yankees....who's next? Liriano?

 

[Captante]

This ALMOST makes up for the horrible collapse at the end of last season which I witnessed in person.

Also having seen Humber pitch a couple times last season I can say with virtual certainty that the Mets got the better end of this deal & the Twins got the shaft. I couldn't be more pleased about he fact that we got Santana without having to give up Pedro Martinez & this bodes well for the upcoming season.

Finally many here may not remember, but this is the second time the Mets have gotten a big pitcher from the Twins ... Frank Viola was the other one & although he never led to a WS victory he did pitch a lot of great starts.

 

[akshatp]

Originally posted by: dbk
damn it....he should've gone to the yankees....who's next? Liriano?

Not for a couple of more years

 

[raystorm]

Its easy to see that the Yanks and Sawx had better players to give and if they really wanted to get into it I think the Dodgers and Angels could have put better offers than the Mets as well.

The Mets really...REALLY need Johan Santana especially when you consider the future (no Pedro, El Duque and Ollie Perez turning free agent in 2009). The Mets really have nothing worth a damn pitching wise in the farm now but this deal had to happen for them.


Carlos Gomez is a dynamic young athlete but he is really raw right now. If he fulfills his potential I think the Twins will have a fun outfield with Gomez and Delmon Young. Gomez is also ultra fast (faster than Jose Reyes it seems) so he'll patrol centerfield just fine for them. Phil Humber is alright but the Mets valued Pelfrey in higher regard. I don't know much about Guerra and Mulvey except that the Mets were high on them.

In in the end its a good move for the Mets, Twins GM is a dummy for not taking the better offers, Yanks and Sawx fans are happy that their young kids will stay put as they are exciting young players and the fans of both teams are happy that their competition didn't get Johan.


...of course a contract extension between Johan and Mets must be finalized so Friday could be a great day for Mets fans or a terrible one.

 

[BeauJangles]

Originally posted by: Phokus
It means the twins will be worse off and the mets will still amount to nothing

No way. Santana will eat up NL teams. Even with the dip in his stats last season, this guy is the best pitcher in baseball (followed closely by several others). He's moving from the AL to the NL and to a team that basically had the division locked up before they collapsed. Anything short of a trip to the NLCS by the Mets next year would be a disaster.

As for the trade, I agree the Twins overplayed their hand. They couldn't control the negotiations, as neither the Red Sox nor Yankees would enter a bidding war for Santana. I guess they accomplished something by moving him to the NL, but they really didn't receive much to build on in the near future. It's too bad because the Twins just locked up the middle of their batting order too.

 

[rh71]

Originally posted by: raystorm
Its easy to see that the Yanks and Sawx had better players to give and if they really wanted to get into it I think the Dodgers and Angels could have put better offers than the Mets as well.

Is it not a feasible reason that the Twins would rather send Santana out of the league rather than face him too often? Happens in other sports.

 

[bGIveNs33]

Originally posted by: rh71

Originally posted by: raystorm
Its easy to see that the Yanks and Sawx had better players to give and if they really wanted to get into it I think the Dodgers and Angels could have put better offers than the Mets as well.

Is it not a feasible reason that the Twins would rather send Santana out of the league rather than face him too often? Happens in other sports.

maybe part of it, but the yanks pulled hughes from the trade and the sox weren't offering as much either. I think the sox and yanks were in it just to keep the other from gettting him.

 

[Jschmuck2]

It means that the Braves are fucked, that's what it means.

 

[Regs]

Baseball season is too long. Pitchers get injured and teams lose their focus.

Mets did a wonderful job last year.

 

[TheTony]

While it is true the Twins could have gotten more value, it's increasingly likely that NY and Boston were involved as they were, in part, to hedge the potential of one of the two getting Santana. The final piece that the Twins wanted from both teams was never put on the table, and that prevented either deal from happening. Even the Mets deal could have been better had Martinez been included, but Gomez was apparently viable enough as an alternative to get it done.

Also realize Smith wanted something done before the season, instead of having this hang over the team the whole season or worse, losing Johan for two draft picks if he were to depart sans trade. Their offer to Santana was open the whole time, but seeing that he wanted more, it really was a zero sum game.

Going with the Mets deal could work out better in the long run, but it is definite that the immediate help the Twins will get is a lot less certain.

 

[Queasy]

It means that Santana is at the point in his career where injuries and what not will be sending him down the tubes.

 

[oddyager]

It means the Mets got a nice deal for Johan and Twins paid the price for being too greedy. Hey, it's part of the game and I can't fault their management too much for trying to get as much as you can out of someone like Johan. This doesn't mean the Mets are the clear cut favorites in NL anyway. Their lineup is still a downgrade from last year.

 

[jman19]

Originally posted by: rh71

Originally posted by: raystorm
Its easy to see that the Yanks and Sawx had better players to give and if they really wanted to get into it I think the Dodgers and Angels could have put better offers than the Mets as well.

Is it not a feasible reason that the Twins would rather send Santana out of the league rather than face him too often? Happens in other sports.

That's highly possible, but by moving Santana for a mediocre package they are still hurting themselves. They should have taken the best pacakge available, IMO, but I'm just glad he's out the AL and not on Boston :thumbsup:

 

[drum]

It means you can automatically add 5 more wins to all teams in the AL Central except MN :laughing;

 

[pyonir]

Originally posted by: akshatp
Yet another high profile player leaves a Minnesota team in its long list of not being able to keep its key players... Names that come to mind: R Moss, K Garnett, D Ortiz, H Walker... Looks like Moss and Garnett have a good chance of winning a ring this year, Ortiz and Walker already did after leaving... Will the Mets be next?

When did Walker win a ring after leaving MN? It was a mistake for MN to trade for him in the first place...and he was not successful here. He rushed for 1000 yards in his first season with Philly after MN, but had no more than 750 in a season the rest of his career.

Moss was a cancer to the vikings...always getting in trouble...and MN fans were happy to see him go when he left. Remember he spent a couple years with the Raiders? Yeah, he did well there too. It isn't so much Moss, it's the team he plays on.

Ortiz was always hurt when playing with the Twins. The Twins need players that are going to produce both at the DH and in the field, they don't have enough money to pay guys to just DH and play in the field 20 times a year. When he was with the Twins he was NOT the player he became with the Red Sox. That was not failing to keep a key player.

Garnett...it sucked that he had to leave, but the Twolves needed to change something. The team in MN now is really young and is in the process of rebuilding. You can't do that when you have to pay one player more than every other player on your team combined. It was time to let him go.

Santana had a nice run in MN and he's going to be sorely missed, but the Twins are a small market team. They can't afford to pay one player 30-50% of it's entire payroll. That makes absolutely no sense, and they've done pretty well not doing that in the last decade.

 

[jman19]

Originally posted by: pyonir

Originally posted by: akshatp
Yet another high profile player leaves a Minnesota team in its long list of not being able to keep its key players... Names that come to mind: R Moss, K Garnett, D Ortiz, H Walker... Looks like Moss and Garnett have a good chance of winning a ring this year, Ortiz and Walker already did after leaving... Will the Mets be next?

*snipped comments on other MN teams*

Santana had a nice run in MN and he's going to be sorely missed, but the Twins are a small market team. They can't afford to pay one player 30-50% of it's entire payroll. That makes absolutely no sense, and they've done pretty well not doing that in the last decade.

The Twins are a small market team with extremely wealthy ownership. It is unfortunate for the fans that the ownership wants to run the team like a business, because that means their chances for competing is not very good.