So I know you are all dying to know what we here at SP think of the Santana trade. I can only speak for myself, but I\’m way past that. I\’m more upset that a baseball world exists where a player\’s union would be against a guy taking a 5 year 100 million dollar extension with his own team just because some other hasbeen who has 2 winning seasons in the past 4 years gets a 7 year 126 million dollar deal; and the first guy (who is better and younger than that second guy) is obligated to go out and get more money or he\’ll get a stern talking to by the union.
That\’s what I\’m outraged about.
If you want an indepth review on the value the twins received for Santana, go see Aaron Gleeman. I do think that the Twins could have and should have gotten a little more for Santana, but when cooler heads prevailed amongst the suitors and they realized that they all they were really getting is exclusive rights to negotiate with Santana for 2008-?. If it\’s true the Twins offerend Santana 5/100, then I\’m very comfortable with trading him, and I\’m comfortable with what they got in return. Others may be angry, and if you are, don\’t focus it on Billy Smith… look to the oldest and richest owner in baseball.
Here\’s an article from Jayson Stark that\’s more to the point. Another article written before this one by Shecky Souhan provides a rebuttal to some of the pro-Twins argument in Stark\’s column (and yes, it pains me to agree with Souhan). With the talent Cleveland has and the talent Detroit just bought, I don\’t see the Twins competing until 2010. They could have cobbled a team together (letting hunter go, keeping Santana, grabbing a couple of bats), but even then it would have taken a lot of good luck to win the AL Central.
Although it\’s not going to be all that fun for the next two years, the Twins made the right decision in letting a financial timebomb like Santana go. Santana at 20 million in 2008 and 2009 – ok deal. Santana at 20 million in 2013 – not a good deal. Sending him to the NL was the best move unless the Red Sox and Yankees were willing to overpay for Santana (which they weren\’t). Get him out of the AL and look, not to rebuild, but to use this year and next as time to fine tune the skills of your existing team (Mauer and Morneau need to mature, Cuddyer needs to figure out if he\’s for real, is Liriano the next Santana) and fold in the new guys (Delmon Young, Carlos Gomez, and a ton of pitchers).
What will always stick in my craw is what Souhan touches on. If the Twins had been willing to spend a bit more with picking up \”real\” talent in 2002-2005, could this team be coming off of a World Series appearance (or even a Championship) and paring down until 2010… making the next two years much more palatable?
The world will never know…
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