Who Is The Leader In Santana Seepstakes? Teams Could Look In New Direction

After weeks of not hearing the name Johan Santana the last few days have been like a whirlwind of Santana rumors.

Minnesota will command a lot of highly thought of and inexpensive talent for their prized lefty.

The Twins will likely want a shortstop to fill the gap that Jason Bartlett left when they traded for Delmon Young in a six player deal. According to the NY Daily News, Bartlett is a better player than Brendan Harris who is the shortstop they received in exchange for, saying Harris is better known as a utility player.

The Daily News also reported that Young is not meant to be a center fielder, but to play either right or left, so that leads you to believe they want a center fielder as well, not to mention a return starting pitcher and a fourth player, one would expect another pitcher.

The top teams reportedly involved are the Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Angels, and Dodgers.

Well, lets just eliminate two teams right now. Neither of the Los Angeled teams will land Santana.

The Angels already made a splash trading for Jon Garland and would have to give up one of their big four starters (John Lackey, Kelvim Escobar, Jered Weaver or recently acquired Jon Garland). The New York Daily News reported Weaver would be the pitcher they would want in exchange, so their prospects will likely be headed towards the Florida Marlins where their top four in their starting rotation can stay as is, trading either 26 year old Joe Saunders or 24 year old Ervin Santana. in exchange for Miguel Cabrera who can finally provide protection in the line-up for Vladimir Guerrero.

The Dodgers seem to be headed to signing Aaron Rowand and have been hesitant to sign him, who will command about $15 million, let alone trade away several major prospects and then cough up about $25 million a year for the next seven years. That is what appeared to really leave them out of any serious talks with A-Rod. Why would the situation change now?

So, that leaves three big teams, not to say another team may not sneak up and make an offer the Twins can't refuse, however, the front runners would appear to be the Yankees, Mets, and Red Sox.

So, what are the possible packages each of these teams can offer and who needs Santana the most?

Well, the Yankees seems to get anyone they want, may not have Andy Pettitte returning and don't have an ace to top their starting rotation.

The Mets just lost Tom Glavine to the Atlanta Braves and the rest f the rotation is just one question mark after another, not to mention, they are coming off the biggest collapse in baseball history to miss the playoffs.

The Red Sox just won the World Series, so they seem to need the least amount of changes but much like the Yankees, seem to sign whoever they really want to sign.

So, Who is the real front runner? Well, lets play GM for a minute. What do these teams have to offer?

The Yankees can offer starting pitchers Ian Kennedy or Phil Hughes, infielders Wilson Betemit and/or Alberto Gonzalez, outfielders Brett Gardner, Austin Jackson, or Jose Tabata OR other minor league pitchers Mark Melancon/Alan Horne (Daily News reports pitchers to replace the possibly traded Joe Nathan). Also, stupidly on the Yankees part, Melky Cabrera may still possibly be the biggest bargaining chip as a replacement for Torii Hunter, although that leaves a major hole in center for the Yankees.

The Mets have pitchers Mike Pelfrey and Phil Humber, along with outfielders Lastings Milledge and Chris Gomez. The make or break part of the deal is whether or not the Twins insist on Jose Reyes and whether or not the Mets are willing to move their All-Star shortstop.

The Red Sox seem to be playing this the smartest reportedly unwillingly to trade their outfield prospect Jacoby Elsbury, but are willing to package center fielder Coco Crisp, pitcher Jon Lester, minor league shortstop Jed Lowrie and another player according to the Daily News.

So, obviously the Twins are guaranteed a lot in exchange, especially since this is all for a player that they would not be able to keep after the 2008 season.

What needs to be seen is whether these teams smarten up and realize that the Twins are really the ones on the defensive here.

However, will the lack of logic ruin one of these teams or will one or all of these teams possibly smarten up and realize that trading away four of five good young players now can help them in the immediate future but can ruin them in the long-term future?

Trading a couple of players is one thing, however the Twins are asking for an arm and a leg for Santana and losing too many pieces of your teams future will hurt you in the long run and considering how the players wanted in this trade are ready or soon to be ready major league players, this trade can bite them sooner than they think.

It is not to say that the Twins should not get a nice return for Santana but there are other cheaper, younger, more reasonable options in players such as Erik Bedard, Scott Kazmir, and Dan Haren.

Or maybe the best thing for all these teams is to keep the players they already have. Can the Santana sweepstakes just be a case of wanting something you cant have or thinking the grass is always greener on the other side? If it takes too much talent to acquire Santana, it doesn't make any sense, whether that player is Melky Cabrera or Robinson Cano for the Yankees, Jose Reyes or David Wright for the Mets, or Jacoby Elsbury or Clay Buchholz for the Red Sox.

Teams need to weigh their options and lower the demands that the Twins are commanding in return for Santana or go elsewhere for an ace pitcher.