| Brandon Contes. 4th February, 2008 - 7:23 pm
 The New York Mets have officially become the winners of the Johan Santana sweepstakes. It cost them four prospects and nearly $150 million, but it was a deal that had to be done.
Coming off a historic collapse this past September followed by raising their ticket prices by 20%, the Mets needed to give their fans something to cheer about. That something turned out to be the prize of the 2007 off-season Johan Santana.
The money in this deal is irrelevant to even discuss. Once Omar Minaya struck a deal with Twins' GM Bill Smith, the Mets had no choice but to make Santana the richest pitcher in baseball history. Santana is hands down the best pitcher in baseball, and any offer less than the seven year $126 million contract given to Barry Zito would have been an insult. In the end the Mets did what they needed to do and paid Santana for what he is: the best pitcher in baseball.
Mets: A
The Mets gave up three of their top pitching prospects in Philip Humber, Deolis Guerra, and Kevin Mulvey along with one of their top outfield prospects in Carlos Gomez.
Philip Humber, who was once a top pitching prospect for the Mets, really fell out of favor after having Tommy John surgery in 2005. He struggled in the minors last year and no longer appeared to have the makings of a solid major league starter but may fair better now that he is further removed from surgery.
Kevin Mulvey was the Mets' number one draft pick last year and has a great slider. Although he has only spent one year in the minors, he is a pitcher who could be competing for a starting job sometime this season.
Deolis Guerra is the baby of the group, but he might have the most potential. Rated as the number two prospect in the Mets' farm system by Baseball America, Guerra is only 18, but like Santana he has a great changeup that he uses as his strikeout pitch.
Carlos Gomez is by far the most major league ready of all four players as he spent significant time in the majors last year. He has speed, even more than Reyes, but his talent is raw. He can potentially be a great outfielder and a regular web-gem nominee because of his speed. However, Gomez has not shown much with the bat. I see Gomez as being a solid leadoff hitter with little power but with great speed and above average defense.
Rarely do we look back on a trade in which a superstar was dealt and say that the trade was a fair one, but the Twins had to deal Santana because they simply could not afford him.
They received some decent prospects from the Mets; however, this was the third best offer for Santana that was presented to the Twins.
A Yankee package headlined by Ian Kennedy or Philip Hughes along with Melky Cabrera seems to be a much better because they would receive two young talented players who have already begun to prove themselves in the major leagues.
A Red Sox package which would have been led by either John Lester or Jacoby Ellsbury also seems like a better deal. Lester pitched great in the World Series, and Ellsbury has the makings of a superstar.
Maybe the Twins were afraid of Hughes’ injuries, or maybe they saw something they liked in Guerra. Maybe they wanted more pitching than the Red Sox could offer. The only certain thing is that the Mets received the best pitcher in baseball while managing to keep their top prospect in Fernando Martinez, and the Twins received four prospects that to me appear destined for mediocrity.
Twins: C |
