Take heart Twins fans.
Bill Smith is not a moron, and he did not get fleeced by Omar Minyana. He simply accepted the best offer that was available to him.
Now I’m not trying to argue that the Carlos Gomez package was as good as the Phil Hughes or Jacoby Ellsbury deals. I think that when it came time to make a trade, the Twins found the Yankees and Red Sox weren’t nearly as interested as the media would have had you believe.
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While this “conspiracy” theory lacks hard evidence, this is what got me thinking. It was reported that at the last minute, the Twins went back to the Yankees and asked for a package built around Ian Kennedy.
Now Kennedy’s not a bad prospect by any means, he might even grow up to be Mike Mussina. But you’ll be hard pressed to find anyone who thinks he’s a comparable talent to Hughes. It’s a known fact that Hank Steinbrenner wanted Santana in the worst way (maybe you can argue that this too was a smokescreen, but the Steinbrenner’s are known for wearing their emotions on their sleeves).
It was also reported that he was more than willing to part with Hughes, but was talked off the ledge by Brian Cashman. So when the Twins came back and offered up Santana for a package based around Kennedy, you’d think Steinbrenner would be chomping at the bit to make a deal. But the Yankees decided they wouldn’t even consider dealing Kennedy.
These are the Yankees so it can’t be the money, especially with Giambi and Mussina coming off the cap after this year.
Maybe I’m reading into this a bit too far, but I’m left to conclude that at the end of the day the only team with serious interest in Santana was the team that snagged him, the New York Mets.
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6 months ago
I love it.
"While this conspiracy theory lacks hard evidence...."
That's exactly why you shouldn't have written this stupid article. It's a conspiracy theory and it lacks evidence.
6 months ago
How come the Anonymous comments are always assholes?
Anyway, I think the Sox and Yanks both had interest, it just waned as time went by.
6 months ago
Hanna High School produces nothing but pussies.
6 months ago
How come when I wrote about this no one believed me?
I agree with many parts of this article. I don't - however - believe there was nay conspiracy or collusion.
Like I said before, the Yankees and Red Sox put valid offers out to Minnesota to keep one another in check. Many 'experts' believed that neither team would have pulled the trigger unless they absolutely sure the other was ready to if they didn't. Got it?
The reason why neither team made the deal is because they did not want to usurp their carefully tiered payroll structures -
and neither team was really enamored with parting with those young players
That being said, the Mets became the frontrunners and the Twins were forced to take what the Mets were offering...which isn't really an unfair package in the end, by the way.
6 months ago
I agree with this article and had to spend a while one afternoon defending this very idea in an article I created a week or so ago.
My reasoning, similar to yours, is how a team can make an offer and then two months later, have no interest at all. Which leads me to believe that the trade offer rumors were more of trade discussions then actual HARD rumors.
But another way, Hughes is as sure things as any pitcher in baseball to become a star. In fact, I would wager more money on him as a pitcher who has a great chance at failing or getting injured then I would any player in baseball, not just pitchers.
With that in mind, unless Smith believes that Guerra and Gomez have equal ceilings to Hughes and Ellsbury-which is not out of the realm of possibility-then I think it is safe to say neither Hughes, nor Ellsbury were ever ACTUALLY offered. Discussed, certainly, but offered, doubtful.
If one is to consider such, keeping in mind this is the same Twins organization who made moves for unheralded yet highly projectable pitchers Santana and Liriano, then how the Mets ran away as clear cut victors, as everyone is suggesting, is beyond me.
In addition, I can agree with John that one offer would go hand in hand with another. That is, IF the Yankees heard that Ellsbury was on the table for Santana, they would presumably counter with their top prospect. However, unless Smith feels Gomez/Guerra are the equivalent, I believe its safe to assume these were not truly OFFERS, rather discussion/speculation.
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