Yanksfan Soxfan

A Crisp Day

The rumor mill is cranking today, as WFAN reported a rumor as fact that involved Coco Crisp being traded to the Mets for Angel Pagan.

The SOSH thread discussing the rumor -- which has been denied by Theo Epstein -- is here. Can't say I'd be too thrilled with a deal like this either, unles it involved some more pieces. Pagan may be a decent fourth outfielder possibility, but you know who would be better? Coco Crisp!

Report: Santana to Mets

USA Today, via MLBTR:

The New York Mets have agreed to a trade for two-time Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana, giving up four prospects to acquire the left-handed ace of the Minnesota Twins, according to two high-ranking Twins officials with knowledge of the talks and a person close to Santana.

The deal is pending the Mets and Santana reaching agreement on a six- or seven-year contract extension and that Santana passes a physical; they have been granted a 48 to-72-hour window to do so. Santana has a no-trade clause that he will waive if agreement is reached on a contract extension.

The Mets paid a high price in prospects to land Santana, agreeing to send the Twins outfielder Carlos Gomez and pitchers Phil Humber, Deolis Guerra and Kevin Mulvey.

The best possible option for the Red Sox, short of landing him themselves.

Not An Addict

Breathe it in, and breathe it out,
And pass it on -- it's almost out.
We're so creative and so much more.
We're high above but on the floor.

It's not a habit, it's cool -- I feel alive.
If you don't have it, you're on the other side.

You may have thought the 1996 alt-rock classic by K's Choice was a sublte anti-drug anthem. Clearly, this conventional take is wrong. The song is actually discussing an addiction that is much more insidious: That of Johan Santana trade rumors.

Gordon Edes says the Twins have ramped up negotiations, and that Red Sox officials wouldn't be surprised to see a Santana deal done (though not necessarily with Boston) by the end of the week. Buster Olney takes it one step further: A deal could be done "as early as today," and the Twins have asked for teams' last and best offers.

There's also this bit:

Two sources involved in the discussions say the Red Sox have indicated they won't trade Lester, and another highly placed source says Lester remains on the table. A fourth says the Red Sox are willing to deal Lester only in a package with little window dressing -- in other words, Lester and Coco Crisp and little else.

It's over now, I'm cold, alone.
I'm just a person on my own.
Nothing means a thing to me,
Oh, nothing means a thing to me.

There Is No Spoon

La Velle reports the Mets appear to be in the lead to land him.  Given Boston's offers are better in terms of player contributions in 2008 and forward, one can easily conclude the Red Sox are not serious and remain in the discussions only to drive the Yankees' price upwards.  One can easily conclude the Twins know that, too, and that is why they have not taken the deal.

So how exactly does a team make such an offer? Do they come to the table, and while naming each non-serious player in the non-serious offer very slowly, wink hard and bracket each name with air quotes? Does doing so let the Twins know that this offer is to be taken "veeeerrrryyy seriously ;-)" and to leak it in hopes of getting more from the Yankees, but that otherwise there actually is no offer?

It seems that takes more of a leap than to "easily conclude" that the Twins still think they can get the Sox, Yanks and Mets to play off each other and up the bidding -- and are perhaps just now realizing that the Red Sox and Yankees would like nothing more than to keep their prospects and let Santana go to the NL.

Red Sox and Yankees Show Interest In Wilkerson

This just in from MLB Trade Rumors, the Sox and Yankees are both showing interest in Brad Wilkerson.  According to Rob Bradford, Wilkerson is looking for 3 years/$21 Million.  Bradford thinks the Sox would use Wilkerson in the same role that Eric Hinske filled last season for the World Champions.  Wilkerson can play all three outfield positions and first base.  His best seasons in the majors came in 2002-04.  Since then he has struggled mightily at the plate.  As for the Yankees interest, I would imagine they are looking at him to be the left handed portion of the lefty/righty first base platoon with Shelley Duncan.  I say let the Sox have him.  He's a veteran who can play defense and hit with some power, but at that price I would rather see what Jason Lane, Shelley Duncan and Wilson Betemit can give us.  If the Sox can talk Boras down from that asking price he would certainly be a good fit for them.           

That's Not Settled

Flux = Rad (My poor attempt at a Repoz-like intro).

The rumors keep on changing. Hank doesn't want to let this Santana thing go.

"It's still in the deciding process," Steinbrenner said Monday night outside Legends Field at the Yankees' spring training complex. "We're still discussing it. There's still a little talk back and forth."

Right-hander Phil Hughes and center fielder Melky Cabrera would likely be part of a multiplayer package needed to obtain Santana, a two-time Cy Young Award winner who can become a free agent after this season.

Steinbrenner said reports that the Yankees recently withdrew a formal offer to the Twins are not true.

"There wasn't an official offer anyway. You can't withdraw something that wasn't there," Steinbrenner said. "There was no official offer on the table at this time."

That's Settled

Word from ESPN is that the Yanks have pulled their offer for Johan Santana off the table. They're out of the sweepstakes for good unless Hank changes his mind again. In other words, things have changed, but then again, maybe they haven't.

If you've been following the rumors, there are signs that the Mets have taken the lead in the slow-speed walking race that this chase for Santana has become. That's fine with me. If the Yanks are, in fact, out of it, then let's go Mets! (F-A-N! followed by the jingle.) The Sox getting Santana would be pretty rough.

So let's pretend that the Yanks are truly not getting Santana. How should the Yanks go about setting up their rotation? Andy Pettitte and Chien-Ming Wang will take the first two spots. Then you have the three young guys and Old Man Mussina. Joe Girardi has already nixed the idea of a six-man rotation. But the Big Three are surely going to need limits on their workloads--especially Hughes and Joba. So what do you say? If you're the New Joe, what would you do?

Yanks Interested in Mike Cameron

Ken Rosenthal writes:

The Yankees are showing serious interest in Cameron, major-league sources say, figuring that they could trade center fielder Melky Cabrera even if they do not send him to the Twins for left-hander Johan Santana.

Way back when, I advocated getting Cameron in the case that Melky was traded away in the Johan deal. I liked him as an option because I figured he'd be a relatively cheap alternative considering the market for centerfielders (Hunter, Rowand, Andruw). At the right price, I like this move. While I like the idea of Melky and I like his name, I have never been a believer in my heart. The reasons are mainly aesthetic. I tend to not like stocky players. Their games seem less graceful and fluid. Also, I can't get past the idea that Melky, when he bats from the right side, looks a lot like Luis Sojo. My guess is that Cameron would be an upgrade over what Melky would give the Yanks for the next two seasons. And by the end of that time, Austin Jackson could be ready to take over full-time.

By the way, another consequence of this signing could be a trade of Hideki Matsui. The Yanks were willing to deal him earlier this off-season. Cashman and company might think that Melky is a better fourth outfielder option because of his defense and salary. And Matsui might be able to yield a decent middle-reliever and prospects in a trade. Add that Cashman might like to shed his salary, and Godzilla, not Melky, might be the one on the way out.

Jason Lane: An Experiment with Exclamation Points!!!

The NY Post is reporting that the Yanks are interested in Jason Lane! They would like to sign him to compete for playing time at first base with Wilson Betemit and Shelly Duncan! Lane has been an outfielder most of his career! So he would have to learn to play first on the fly! But the Yanks think he'll be a quick study! His career OBP is .314! He has not demonstrated any noticeable platoon split tendencies! He is 31!

Hank Steinbrenner Won't Shut Up

Newsday:

If the Yankees do complete a trade for Santana, Steinbrenner said they would not go beyond a five-year contract extension (one that expires after the 2013 season).

"I wouldn't do it if it were a six- or seven-year contract," Steinbrenner said. "I wouldn't go past five, on an extension."

There's a word for publicly discussing potential negotiations with a player still under contract to another club. It's on the tip of my tongue. I just can't think of it. Maybe Murray Chass can help me.