Red Sox, Santana Deal Now Likely
Boston Again Leads New York Yankees in Santana Sweepstakes
It appears the Boston Red Sox once again have the lead in the Johan Santana Sweepstakes after a self-imposed deadline by the New York Yankees expired at midnight Monday.
New York’s senior vice president Hank Steinbrenner announced over the weekend that the Minnesota Twins had until the end of the day Monday to accept the Yankees’ offer of pitcher Phil Hughes and outfielder Melky Cabrera for the two-time Cy Young Award winner. If not, Steinbrenner said, the Yankees would withdraw their offer.
A number of media outlets reported the ultimatum, including ESPN, SI.com, the New York Daily News and the Boston Globe.
"This is not a game,” declared the new Boss. “This is serious business. I'm not going to be played, us against the Red Sox. That's not going to happen." Now it looks as though the new boss outsmarted himself. Steinbrenner’s pronouncement came in the wake of Boston’s offer to include rookie outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury in a deal for Santana.
But now, according to the Globe, it seems as though the Twins are leaning toward taking a previous offer made by the Sox, in which left-hander Jon Lester, centerfielder Coco Crisp, minor league shortstop Jed Lowrie and a minor league pitching prospect – probably Justin Masterson – would go to Minnesota in return for the sought after lefty hurler Santana.
Initially the Red Sox said they would not include Ellsbury in a deal for Santana, who sports a 93-44 record during his tenure in the Major Leagues. Santana, 28, is under contract with Minnesota through the 2008 season, but declined a four-year, $80 million offer from the Twins to extend his stay in Minneapolis. The team that obtains the rights to the hulking lefty will have a 72-hour window to hammer out a new deal with Santana once the trade is consummated.
A variety of sources reported early today that the Twins contacted the Red Sox Monday night asking for Lester’s medical records. Lester was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma late in the 2006 baseball season, but was declared cancer-free a year ago. He pitched in the minor leagues during most of 2007, but returned to the Sox late in the year, winning the fourth and final game of the 2007 World Series over the Colorado Rockies. The Globe also reported that Minnesota had forwarded Santana’s medical files to the Boston brain trust in Nashville. A sizeable Red Sox contingent is in Tennessee for the annual Winter Meetings.
Meanwhile, Red Sox right handed hurler Curt Schilling – who recently re-signed with Boston for a considerable discount – was pleased with the prospects of getting Santana on his Website, 38pitches.com.
“Based on the offers I know are out there I can’t see anyone outbidding us talent wise,” Schilling wrote. “The second part of this deal is the one that really narrows this down to a few suitors at most.”
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