Main page
« December 3, 2007
December 5, 2007 »

Update: Angels jump into Santana trade talks

BY SEAN McADAM
Journal Sports Writer

NASHVILLE -- Just because the New York Yankees are out of the picture on Johan Santana doesn't mean the Red Sox necessarily have a clear path for the Twins' ace.

This afternoon the Twins were meeting with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, who have jumped into the Santana negotiations at the eleventh hour. Previously, the Angels had been focusing on Florida Marlins third baseman Miguel Cabrera, but have been stuck trying to complete a deal.

There is said to be a division among Angels executives over which player to pursue -- Cabrera or Santana.

The Twins have told the Angels that Jared Weaver would have to be part of a deal for Santana to give Minnesota another young starter as part of the mix. Other names expected to be talked about include shortstop prospect Brandon Wood.

The Twins and Red Sox have not spoken since early this morning.

Posted by Art Martone  at 2:28 PM | Permalink

Sox, Twins on hold -- for the moment -- but deal for Santana getting closer

BY SEAN McADAM
Journal Sports Writer

NASHVILLE -- After an action-filled night, the Red Sox' trade talks with the Minnesota Twins have been temporarily suspended as all 30 of the general managers meet to talk about industry topics and discuss the possible introduction of limited instant replay.

Late last night and earlier this monring, the teams exchanged medical records on the principals of a multi-player deal that could send ace Johan Santana to the Red Sox.

The Twins apparently are being offered the choice between a package headed by Jon Lester and Coco Crisp or one fronted by Jacoby Ellsbury. The Sox would also include other prospects, believed to be infielder Jed Lowrie and at least one more pitcher -- probably Justin Masterson or Michael Bowden.

Either way, Clay Buchholz will not be part of the deal.

The recent turn came after the Yankees, holding their ground, dropped out of the talks late last night, reportedly at the insistence of GM Brian Cashman. While some Yankee officials urged the Yanks to be more aggressive in the club's pursuit of Santana, Cashman was steadfast in his refusal to include additional top prospects beyond the package of Phillip Hughes and Melky Cabrera.

Yankee officials were resigned Tuesday that Santana would probably be going to the Red Sox and they did not anticipate getting back into the negotiations.

After a quiet day yesterday, with little communication between the Sox and Twins, the Red Sox front office got a late-night phone call from Twins' GM Bill Smith, asking for medical records on Lester. Lester was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lyphoma in August of 2006, but returned to pitch last season.

From there, the pace of the talks quickened, with the Twins deliberating on which group of players to choose from the Sox, a process that's been put on hold -- for the time being -- by other business here.

Posted by Sean McAdam  at 1:17 PM | Permalink

Steinbrenner: Santana deal 'probably off'

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Hank Steinbrenner's deadline for a Johan Santana trade with Minnesota passed without an agreement.

Minnesota came off its demand that the Yankees include pitcher Ian Kennedy along with pitcher Phil Hughes and center fielder Melky Cabrera, but the Twins still were asking for more than the Yankees were willing to offer.

"It's still something that we can't do," Steinbrenner said Tuesday morning. "As far as I'm concerned, it's probably off."

Steinbrenner, a senior vice president and son of owner George Steinbrenner, planned to speak with general manager Brian Cashman later Tuesday to assess the team's stance.

New Twins general manager Bill Smith didn't seem concerned about the deadline. Of course, baseball teams let deadlines pass all the time only to resume talks later.

"We've got good players. We have players that maybe other clubs would like to acquire," he said. "We've had a lot of years where we keep going over and picking up the phone receiver to make sure the dial tone was still (there). We couldn't get the phone to ring."

Boston is thought to have offered Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz or Jacoby Ellsbury - but only one of them - as part of a deal.

Santana's agent, Peter Greenberg, said his client was angered by a report that he has told the Twins to only trade him to the Yankees or Red Sox. Santana has made no such request, Greenberg said, and also hasn't ruled out returning to the Twins next season.

"He was very adamant about that. He wanted to make sure we clarified that. That upset him," Greenberg said. "He's been very clear all along that he wants Bill to make the best deal possible."

Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein didn't express any time pressure. He said there was no expiration date on any of his trade talks.

"I think we've only done that when we thought it was in our best interest," Epstein said. "We don't have current discussions ongoing for which I think that would be in our best interest. We're pretty content with where we are and we don't think anything major is getting held up."

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 9:23 AM | Permalink

Sox back in the hunt for Santana

After a day of inactivity on the trade front, the night got pretty interesting for the Red Sox.

Both ESPN.com's Jayson Stark and Foxsports.com's Ken Rosenthal report the Twins approached the Sox late last night about reviving the Johan Santana trade talks, apparently after the Yankees made good on their threat to walk away from the negotiations if a decision wasn't made regarding their offer for Santana by Monday. According to Stark, the Sox' brass was watching the Patriots-Ravens game when Minnesota GM Bill Smith called, asking to see Jon Lester's medical records.

The Red Sox reportedly had an offer of Lester, Coco Crisp, Jed Lowrie and a minor-league pitcher -- believed to be Justin Masterson -- on the table late last week, an offer the Yankees were thought to have trumped when they agreed to include Phil Hughes in their proposed package for Santana. The Red Sox responded by offering outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, whom the Twins covet, in their next proposal, but pulling back Crisp and Lester. The Twins, wanting major league-ready pitching in any trade for Santana, were lukewarm.

That appeared to put the Yankees back in the drivers' seat, but Yankee owner Hank Steinbrenner declared the Twins had until midnight Monday to accept their offer or they were pulling it off the table. According to various reports, Minnesota pressed New York to put pitcher Ian Kennedy into a package that included Hughes and outfielder Melky Cabrera. The Yanks refused.

With that, the Twins turned back to the Sox. According to the Newark Star-Ledger's Ed Price, the Red Sox have changed their offer to Lester, Crisp, Ellsbury and Lowrie, even though they had said all along they would not part with more than one of the troika of Lester, Ellsbury and Clay Buchholz. That particular deal seems unlikely, as it would leave the Red Sox with no center fielder, although several -- Andruw Jones, Aaron Rowand -- are available via free agency. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports the Twins asked for Ellsbury, Lester and Lowrie.

SI.com's Jon Heyman has more on the night's doings. Yahoo! Sports.com's Tim Brown quotes a Red Sox official as saying the team is ''cautiously optimistic'' that a deal for Santana can be finalized.

Stay tuned. We'll have the news as soon as it happens.

Posted by Art Martone  at 8:03 AM | Permalink