There are a whole slew of information and trade rumors about the belle of the trading ball, Johan Santana. Some move the ball forward in our quest for information. Some don't.
In New York, Kat O'Brien of Newsday writes the Yanks are working on a deal for Santana, and "it's been made clear that the Twins place more value upon Joba Chamberlain and Hughes than on Ian Kennedy, and that a centerfielder most likely must be part of any deal because they lost Torii Hunter to free agency." That states the obvious, but George King and Joel Sherman offer even more. They write, "The Yankees have learned in the past 24-48 hours that the initial asking price by the Twins is exorbitant, well beyond just the Phil Hughes/Melky Cabrera level that had been generally anticipated."
Across the country, the Angels have what the Twins need in 3B Brandon Wood and centerfielder Reggie Willits. Given this, it makes makes sense for the Twins to explore a deal with the Angels, and Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times writes the Angels are interested in kicking the tires on Santana despite the presence of six starters. Somewhat surprising, but off particular interest is the team is reluctant to deal Brandon Wood, and it believes the two-time Cy Young award winner would cost less than Miguel Cabrera.
To bounce back to the East Coast, Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald writes "the Red Sox are actively engaged in trade talks with the Minnesota Twins about Johan Santana and plan to aggressively pursue the two-time Cy Young Award winner, a baseball source said yesterday."
The current conundrum here is the Red Sox want the Twins to take two years of CF Coco Crisp at $11MM rather than six years of Jacoby Ellsbury. This reminds me of the famous exchange between Tony D'Annunzio and Danny Noonan:
Tony D'Annunzio: Give me a coke.
Danny Noonan: One coke.
[gives Tony a bottle of Coke and 50 cents]
Tony D'Annunzio: Hey wait a minute. That's only 50 cents.
Danny Noonan: Yeah well Lou raised the price of coke he's been losing at the track.
Tony D'Annunzio: Well I ain't paying no 50 cents for no coke.
Danny Noonan: Oh then you ain't getting no coke. Know what I'm talking about?
Finally to the Upper Midwest, LaVell E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune" stokes the trade fires by reporting "The Twins removed pitchers Errol Simonitsch and Ricky Barrett from their 40-man roster Tuesday. Are they clearing space in advance of a trade?"
That paper's competition makes the most...um...interesting proposal. Bob Sansavere of the Pioneer Press offers proof that it isn't just hard-core talk show callers who can propose the most ridiculous trades in their favorite team's favor. He proposes calling the Red Sox and saying this:
Presumably, Epstein will balk at giving up all that, so I'd tell him I need to get off the phone so I can call the Yankees. He'd come around because...
Epstein's still in second grade? What the Twins give is Santana, Joe Nathan and the free agent Carlos Silva.