Johan Santana: 5 Teams Who Could Trade with Mets for Healthy Santana in July

If the New York Mets are hoping to rebuild, their best hope is to trade Johan Santana and get their salary off of that roster.

The latest news from the Johan Santana camp is that there is “no timetable for his return”. For a Mets fan, there are few words outside of “up next for the Miami Marlins, Jose Reyes” that sound less appealing. Headlines from ESPN, as recently as last week, claim that Santana aims for an Opening Day return to the organization. While Santana may be making strides towards a rejuvenated MLB career, there’s a better option for the Mets: trade him.

That may sound absurd, given our organization has spent the past few years rehabilitating the unhealthy lefty, while also paying him $20-plus million a year as well as the multiple trade pieces (including Gomez and Humber) the team sent to Minnesota, but it is a necessary step in the right direction for the club.

In my most recent article, I lobbied for the New York Mets to trade Jonathan Niese. The biggest criticism I found was the general effect it would have on payroll; while the Mets are rebirthing their identity another campaign could be to shift away from moving Wright and instead towards testing the market for Santana.

While Niese may have significantly more value (younger, cheaper, more promise) for GMs shopping for pitchers, shipping the $22.5 million base salary of Santana should be the first concern for the Mets.

Even if a Santana trade, due to contractual issues, is unlikely, it would never hurt to simply get the conversation started. This article does not suggest possible trades (factoring in salary and a return player) but rather organizations that could use the lefty.

Some teams that may be interested in Johan Santana…

New York Yankees

One of the most important factors to trading for Johan Santana: the ability to compensate his $24 million salary in 2012 (plus the $25.5 million in 2013, and a $5.5 million buyout in 2014).

For the Yankees, that’s clearly something significantly easier to do than a small market club.

While it’s rare for the Mets to trade with the Yankees, this could be one of the examples of a trade that makes sense for both teams. The Yankees, who just traded for Michael Pineda, now tout C.C. Sabathia and a new, viable No. 2 option. A team, which once needed pitching, now has an added security blanket after trading away top-prospect Jesus Montero.

The Yankees also recently snagged former Dodgers pitcher Hiroki Kuroda. Now reenergized and slightly deeper, the staff is in a better place than they were this time last year.

That does leave room for a secondary gamble towards the lower half of the pitching rotation come July. The Yankees have been plagued in postseason play as of late due to their increased inability to compete with pitching, and if Santana were able to rebound that gamble would be a huge victory for a team that could afford him.

Oakland A's

If the A’s are willing to take a chance on Bartolo Colon, is it wrong for me to assume that they could also take a swing at a healthy Johan Santana?

The A’s sit in the cellar of the West, fighting behind a Texas club that has seen two World Series appearances in as many years and an Angels club that just inked C.J. Wilson and a guy that goes by the name Albert Pujols.

By no means do I suggest that Johan Santana is the “next step” to success to keep up with the contenders in the AL West.

I do, however, argue that adding Santana at full health could be a move that would be a bold baseball decision for the Oakland A’s.

Let’s say the Mets bought out Santana’s contract and received a few low-end prospects in return for their former ace.

If you’re Oakland, why say no to this? You can ring in one of the most legendary changeup throwers in the past decade. It’s a decision that can bring a veteran’s spark to a lowly clubhouse that has had very little going for it besides that time when they decided to make a movie about the year that they spent very little money and didn’t win the World Series.

Texas Rangers

Yu Darvish. Prince Fielder. Johan Santana.

All of this can be yours, Texas. All it requires is a little bit of patience.

After losing C.J. Wilson (and two consecutive World Series appearances), it’s only fair to consider the fact that the Rangers are just short of being one of the more relevant teams in the MLB.

Darvish can fill in for losing Wilson, and Fielder can help an offense that already boasts Hamilton and Cruz. But Texas, which can have the opportunity to buy low from the Mets for another viable lefty in Santana, can give the star a new place to look forward to.

Queens, obviously, did not treat Johan very well. His ill-timed injuries contributed to a relatively unsuccessful tenure for the New York Mets, and a change of scenery would be exciting for a pitcher who needs to keep rehabilitating before coming back to full-health.

Santana, who sports a full no-trade clause, would have absolutely no reason to veto a move to a contender like Texas.

Likewise, Texas would have very little reason to not jump on the option to add another legitimate arm in their pen. If the Rangers are able to swing these huge signings, it would be difficult to imagine many teams giving them a run for their money over the next few years.

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers just won the Cy Young Award!

The Dodgers, however, have one of the most top-heavy staffs in the league. This is dangerous for L.A., however, as after Kershaw and Billingsley there’s very little depth to their five-man rotation.

Once the ownership begins to settle in to a more permanent situation in Chavez Ravine, the team could use a couple of key moves to help regain a sense of confidence and composure in the city.

Los Angeles has many of the bats needed to succeed: Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, James Loney and Dee Gordon are all young and exciting players. Their pitching staff, however, could use a face-lift.

Bringing in Johan Santana could be a smart move for an organization in-flux.

Washington Nationals

The Nationals, much like the Tampa Bay Rays, have built a suddenly exciting nucleus of players who can succeed at an impressive level in the coming years.

With a base built from the draft, including likes of young superstars in Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper, there is a chance that the Nationals can become one of the more competitive teams in baseball.

The addition of Santana to their pitching staff would add a secondary arm well needed for success in baseball. Following their recent trade for Gio Gonzalez from the Oakland A’s, the Nationals have a viable set in Strasburg, Zimmermann, Gonzalez and Lannan.

That staff, while young, is very close to being ready.

By adding a two-time Cy Young Award winner, the experience and presence of a veteran can help develop the younger talent that surrounds the team. This is something that it is not entirely foreign to the Nationals, who recently brought in Jayson Werth to a big contract on offense and a veteran pitcher Livan Hernandez into their pitching staff before his time with the Nationals elapsed.

So long as the Mets are comfortable trading within the NL East, the idea of Santana helping to nurture the progress of Stephen Strasburg is bound to excite even the most novice of baseball fans.