Mets Rumors

Well, it certainly has been a while. With little news over the holidays and a lot of holiday things going on, we didn't have a chance to make any posts. And I personally haven't written in probably two months, as Twin #2 took over the reigns because I got very busy with schoolwork. However, with that over, you can expect sporadic postings amounting to a few each week until the season draws nearer.

Today I wanted to re-visit the Johan Santana issue since it has been a while and even a rehashing of where it stands would be useful. I've read the general feeling around the league is that he will be traded and that Bill Smith knows he "needs" to trade him. And I think most of us believe now that he should be traded, so that is a good sign. The problem is that the offers just aren't all that scintillating at this point. The Red Sox and Yankees haven't changed their original offers; in fact, the only possible change it seems is the Yankees considering removing Phillip Hughes from the deal.

The one new piece or news (or more accurately, the new rumor) circulating is that the Mets would offer any four of their prospects in a deal for Santana. Throughout the whole process, the Mets have certainly seemed the most interested in Santana and the ones willing to give up the most for him. But again, there was a problem with this situation, it being that the Mets didn't have much to offer. Still, if this rumor is true, which is never easy to decifer, it could be tempting, especially because Santana would wind up in the NL.

Just to look at a possibility, it could be something like Fernando Martinez, Carlos Gomez, Deolis Guerra, and Kevin Mulvey. Martinez is an 18-year old prospect who finished last year in Double-A. Although his stats are by no means great, scouts are touting him as a huge prospect, while still raw. Gomez is further along, as he played in the majors last year, but does not have as high of a ceiling. He is still young too, at age 21, and is as fast as they come. He played only 36 games in Triple-A before being promoted to the big leagues. Gomez might be able to fill centerfield for the Twins this year, and I would definitely be willing to count on him filling it in 2009.

Guerra is almost a pitching version of Martinez. He is only 18, pitching in high-A, and has only average stats. He isn't touted as highly as Martinez but many believe he will be very good. Mulvey, although not a great prospect, is one of the Mets' best pitching prospects. He pitched just one game in Triple-A last year, though, so he would definitely not be ready to step in this year. This is the major hang-up on this deal: after trading Santana (in this deal) and Garza, I would like to see the Twins pick up a major league-ready arm. The Mets don't really have that to offer, whereas the Red Sox have Lester and the Yankees have Hughes.

So let's continue to play the waiting game.