Bo Sox Fight Back

Just as it seemed as if the Yankees were once again going to obtain the player they are yearning for, the Red Sox, maybe in panic mode, have agreed to put prized outfield prospect Jacoby Ellsbury in a deal for Johan Santana according to ESPN.com.

ESPN.com however also stated that if Ellsbury was in the deal, that would take pitcher Jon Lester off the table for trade talks.

Are all these teams crazy?

Santana is an ace, no doubt about it, but how can you give up your future for a player that will only add a few wins to your team.

Already, I established in a previous blog how horrible it would be for the Yankees to trade both Melky Cabrera and Phil Hughes, so now let's switch sides and see how good of a deal it would be for the Yankee foes - the Red Sox.

Currently, the Sox have a disappointing J.D. Drew in the spacious right field at Fenway Park and Manny Ramirez, who is in the final year his contract protecting the green monster, while they are unhappy with the player they have patrolling centerfield in Coco Crisp. So, why would you trade Ellsbury, who proved to be such a spark, showing he could handle the bat, but more importantly showed he could effectively play left and field the ball off the monster and he played an excellent centerfield?

It is a similar situation, as it looks as if he has taken away Crisp's job, much like Cabrera took over in center for the Yankees pushing former Red Sox center fielder, Johnny Damon into left field and playing as the designated hitter.

On the other hand, why is Lester on the trading block?

Their staff is all set up with Josh Beckett sitting at the helm at just 27 years old, Daisuke Matsuzaka, another 27 year old locked up in a high paying contract, with Curt Schilling playing at least one more season with them and have the trade bait, Jon Lester, 23, as well as Clay Buchholz, 23, and Craig Hansen, 24, all waiting in the wings.

The Sox already gambled last season trading huge prospect, 25 year old lefty starter, Kason Gabbard for Eric Gagne, and that did not turn out well at all to say the least.

Texas now has a young starter who can help anchor their starting five for years to come, while the Sox's rent a player in Gagne was a complete bust. Despite that disaster, they are willing to take that chance again.

But why are they so willing to hand over prized prospects anyway? Each of these pitchers has the possible potential to be a number one starter and they would have these players for the 15 seasons for much cheaper than Santana or they can trade for Santana, giving up on of those future number one starters and having Santana for five or so seasons at about $150 million?

It just doesn't make much sense.

It is time for the Yankees and Red Sox to put keep their big time prospects and build from within. If and when Santana becomes a free agent after next season, then you get to see the two richest teams in baseball try and woo the best pitcher on the market.

But until then, the Twins should try and win with Santana and a returning Francisco Liriano and try and work out a deal over the course of the season. If it doesn't happen, then it doesn't happen.

With Santana and a now a healthy Liriano, this may be their best chance at winning for a long time, with arguably the two best lefties in the game starting for the Twins.

Don't discount that big one-two punch. Look at what an arguably less talented Clevland Indians team accomplished this past season with C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona topping their rotation, coming one game shy of the World Series after taking a three games to one lead on these very Red Sox.

Maybe a playoff birth and even a World Championship could persuade Santana to stay or at least give the Twins a discount on him as it seems like the biggest reason he wants out of the Twin Cities is because of the direction they were headed, failing to make the playoffs again this past season.

However, maybe the Twins are in the right direction. Yes, they lost Torii Hunter to free agency but also had a lot of money freed up when he left making some free-agent signings a good possibility and also upgraded their corner outfield with the acquisition of Delmon Young and his mighty bat and extremely strong arm.

The next 72 hours can be a huge tell tale sign as far as the direction of the Twins when the Winter Meetings are being held and a lot of moves will be made.

The only sure thing is that baseball, free agency and trading is all just one big chess game - and just when you think you know what the other teams plans are things change.

Anything can happen on and off the baseball diamond.