MLB Fastball 2.02.08: Mets Win Santana Sweepstakes

Posted by Neil Borenstein on 02.02.2008

After months of being on the trade block, Johan Santana has found a new home in New York. The Mets beat out the rest of the competition, most notably the Yankees and Red Sox, to land the hottest left hander in the Majors. In this edition of MLB Fastball, Neil Borenstein breaks down the trade that finally ends the speculation of Santana’s future in the Majors!

Mets Land The Prize Of The OffseasonJohan Santana Is Mets' Newest Ace

Photo Credit: Yahoo! SportsJohan Santana finally found a new home after almost three months on the trade block.

They might have needed an extra 90 minutes on Friday, but the New York Mets are a physical away from landing the most prized player on the trade block this offseason.

After reaching a tentative agreement with the Minnesota Twins to acquire Johan Santana in exchange for four prospects, the only obstacles that remained for finalization of the deal was a contract extension and a physical. The former was to have been accomplished by 5 p.m. on Friday, but a disagreement on terms required a two-hour extension on negotiation time, which was granted by the Twins and Major League Baseball. The extra time was just what both parties needed to find a common ground.

Santana received a $137.5 million contract extension over six years. He also gets a $7 million signing bonus for 2008 that will raise his salary for next season to $20.25 million ($13.25 million he was already set to earn on the last year of his previous deal, plus the signing bonus.) There is a club option for 2014 worth $18.75 million with a $5.5 million buyout. With the option year, there's the potential for this contract to run seven years at $150.75 million. On average, Santana will see $22.92 million per season, which is the third highest in Major League history behind the two Álex Rodríguez has had over his past two deals ($25.2 million and most recently, $27.5 million.)

All that remains is a physical, which Twins general manager Bill Smith says will be taken by Santana on Saturday morning.

Negotiations between Santana and the Mets hit a snag because of money and length of the guaranteed portion of the deal. Santana's agents were originally seeking money in the range of what Roger Clemens made in his one-year deal with the New York Yankees last season, which was a pro-rated $28 million. Since that's pretty ridiculous money, especially on a full, long-term deal, the request was brought down to $25 million per season – or $150 million over six years. The Mets were still hesitant to agree to a contract of that length and price, so they would only guarantee five years of it unless Santana brought down his average salary request.

Despite needing 90 extra minutes, both parties were eventually able to come to terms on the full six extra years Santana wanted and the lower average salary the Mets wanted.

The price tag becomes the highest paid to a pitcher in MLB history. The previous record was the contract dealt to Barry Zito last offseason by the San Francisco Giants, which was seven years at $126 million. Santana possesses the fifth largest package deal in the Majors, behind only Álex Rodríguez ($275 million, 10 years), Derek Jeter ($189 million, 10 years), Manny Ramirez ($160 million, eight years) and Todd Helton ($141.5 million over nine years.)

In Santana, the Mets have a guaranteed ace in their starting rotation. With perhaps a diminished Pedro Martinez considering recent shoulder surgery that could hamper his production, a bona fide star at the top of the rotation was lacking for the Mets. Santana is the best lefty in the game and immediately relieves the Mets of wondering whether Martinez still has it. Martinez will probably start the season behind Santana in the No. 2 role. If he's strong at that spot, then the Mets could have a very dynamic one-two punch. If Martinez has lost a step, John Maine could be moved up from the No. 3 spot he's likely to start the season at and form a decent one-two with Santana. Orlando Hernandez and Oliver Perez should fill in at the back-end for now. There's talk that the Mets are pursuing Kyle Lohse and Livan Hernandez. So that could change things a bit at the No. 4 and 5 spots. But Lohse and Livan Hernandez aren't even necessary at this point.

Photo Credit: Flickr.comIf healthy, Pedro Martinez will form a dynamic 1-2 punch with Johan Santana in the Mets' starting rotation.

With a starting rotation of Santana, Martinez, Maine, Hernandez and Perez, the Mets are pretty potent in that department. For as good as Santana was in the American League, he stands a very strong shot at being even better in the National League. When Martinez is on his game, which I think he will be this season, he's still one of the best in the Majors. Maine won 15 games last season with a 3.91 ERA and 180 strikeouts, and there's no reason to believe he can't be better than that in 2008. Hernandez is getting older, but he still has good stuff and can be a 10-12-game winner. Perez has also won 15 games, and though not as good as Maine, can have some really solid outings. While there's certainly a question on how consistent this rotation can be, it can be pretty impressive when everybody in it is playing at his best.

In exchange for Santana, Minnesota received outfielder Carlos Gomez and right-handed pitchers Phil Humber, Kevin Mulvey and Deolis Guerra. (To read my analysis of each prospect, check out the January 11th edition of MLB Fastball.) Surprisingly, the Mets didn't have to give up their top rated prospect, outfielder Fernando Martinez – a real threat at the plate for power and contact.

In Gomez, the Twins found at least their immediate replacement for Torii Hunter, who bolted from Minnesota previously this offseason for a five-year, $90 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Gomez doesn't have a whole lot of Major League experience, seeing a grand total of 58 games worth of action with the Mets last season. But he has the tools necessary to be a great defenseman at center and good option at the plate to make up for Hunter's departure. The roles Guerra, Mulvey and Humber will play is yet unknown. Both Mulvey and Humber haven't quite lived up to their hype and may only be late rotation options throughout their careers. But even if one of the three pitchers stick as a mid-rotation starter, and Gomez becomes the permanent starter at center field, then things could have been worse for the Twins.

The Twins didn't land the best offer on the table that they could have. Playing hardball with both the Yankees and Boston Red Sox did not work out in their favor.

The best deal was the one belonging to the Yankees. Phil Hughes could have grown into a strong No. 2 behind Francisco Liriano, while Melky Cabrera is already capable of being an every day starter in center field. Minnesota wanted to push to have Ian Kennedy included, and that was the deal breaker. Hank Steinbrenner refused to budge on not adding Kennedy to the deal, and kudos to him for once in his short tenure at the helm sticking to his word.

The Red Sox offer of either Jon Lester or Jacoby Ellsbury was not as good as the Yankees', and probably not as good as the Mets'. So at least Minnesota stepped away with the second best deal we know about. But it could have been better if they hadn't been so stubborn.

As a result of this trade, the Mets are being pegged as one of the favorites in the National League. They are certainly the top team in the NL East, though I'm sure Jimmy Rollins will disagree. But with the best starting rotation in the division, and an offensive that is at the very least just as good as Philadelphia (the Mets' offense is honestly better, though), it's hard not to pick the Mets to take the NL East. It's a bit tougher to grant them the entire National League, though the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres seem like the only teams to me that could give them a run for their money.

Either way, the addition of Santana takes the Mets from a team capable of competing for the division crown and maybe making some noise in the playoffs to one that might just be a lock to represent the NL in the World Series. For the Twins, it's the end of an era, both with the loss of Hunter and Santana. But with Liriano leading the way on the mound and Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer still the stars at the plate and in the field, the next page in Minnesota's history doesn't appear as bleak as it could be. They're just not in store for making any immediate noise in the American League.

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Until next time!

~ Neil Borenstein