Twins Fans May Not Have To Wave Good-Bye To Santana Just Yet

As the winter meetings began, the most anticipated trade that everyone's eyes were on and seemed to be inevitable was the dealing of Johan Santana. Now that it is the last day of the winter meetings and it seems inevitable that Santana will stay put right where he was four days ago.

The Twins would be giving up an ace pitcher but are looking for a boatload of talent in exchange. The Yankees actually offered projected future ace, Phil Hughes along with Melky Cabrera and another prospect for Santana.

However, the Twins insisted that the Yankees gave up highly regarded Ian Kennedy as well. The Yankees said that wasn't an option. They put their foot down, saying it was Cabrera, Hughes and a second tier prospect for Santana - that was the deal and it was a yes or no deal, there would be no more negotiating.

After given a midnight deadline this past Monday to accept the trade, no deal was made. Now, three days later, the Yankees have said they were out of it and remain out of conversations with the Twins.

The Angels have inquired about Santana as well but nothing has really seemed to come out of that and the Angels' rotation is already set with John Lackey, Kelvim Escobar, newly acquired Jon Garland, Jered Weaver, and either Joe Saunders or Ervin Santana.

So, it seems like deals have come down to the Red Sox or Santana staying put.

With the Red Sox refusing to including Clay Buchholz in the trade and saying that the Twins could have either Jon Lester or Jacoby Ellsbury, but not both, it seems like it is becoming more and more likely that the Twins will hold onto their ace and take their chances winning with him this season and maybe trying to reach a deal during the season or will have to compete with all the other teams a year from now when he would become a free agent.

With Fransisco Liriano returning this season, the Twins have maybe the best 1-2 punch combination in Santana and Liriano, giving them a great chance to compete in the playoffs this upcoming season.

The only way a deal with the Sox seems to happen is maybe if instead of Lester, Boston includes at least Lester, if not Buchholz and Ellsbury along with another prospect - and that does not seem to be a good move for the Sox as those two players are their future, maybe as soon as next season.

So, if the Twins aren't getting what they want in return, why trade Santana? Keep him, try and compete with him and if the Twins seem out of the playoff picture, trade him at the deadline in the middle of the summer.

No, they won't get as much in return but they will still get some good talent in exchange and will have shown the fans that they are trying to be a competitive team as the Twins are soon to move into a new stadium.