In this post written at 11am today, I outlined the seven or so clubs with a shot at acquiring Twins ace Johan Santana. However the acquisition of Delmon Young, Brendan Harris, and Jason Pridie from the Rays changes everything.
First, the loss of Matt Garza lessens the chances of trading Santana at least a little bit. The Twins have pitching depth, but that’d be 40% of their 2007 rotation gone. It was probably always the case, but it’s definite now that if the Twins trade Santana this winter they need a very good MLB-ready starter in return.
Second, the Twins no longer need any outfielders. Sure, they could add another center fielder to be safe or even move Michael Cuddyer back to third base. But in my mind third base becomes the primary need for the Twins.
So now Bill Smith should be looking for an elite young hurler and a similar young third baseman. The Yankees and Red Sox can’t offer that. The Mets, Mariners, and Cubs don’t have it either. The Angels might – Nick Adenhart and Brandon Wood. The Dodgers could pull it off too, with Andy LaRoche and Chad Billingsley. How about a wild card like the Reds? They’ve got Homer Bailey and Edwin Encarnacion. And I imagine the Twins would find a way to work Jay Bruce in if they could get him.
