Santana Heading to the Mets

P Johan Santana (89/88) is on his way to the Mets for OF Carlos Gomez (70/82), P Philip Humber (65/71), P Kevin Mulvey (63/80), and P Deolis Guerra (45/81). All that is left is for the Mets to get Santana to waive his no-trade clause by signing him to a lucrative deal. Santana was worth about $14.5 million in my pay projector last season, but right now he holds all the bargaining power, and on top of that can legitimately claim that he will bounce back from an "off year," which was still pretty darn good. On top of that, inflation over the next several seasons also has to be considered. When it is all said and done, a deal worth between $20-$25 million a year is justifiable in the current market.

For the Mets, this is an epic deal. They acquired a premier starting pitcher for nobody on their major league team, and also did not have to give up their top prospect, OF Fernando Martinez (51/85). They already had a team that was going to be in the playoff hunt, but now the team is among the favorites to go to the World Series.

For the Twins, the deal is somewhat disappointing, but not quite as bad as some are making it out to be. Unless the Red Sox ever included OF Jacoby Ellsbury (76/84), or the Yankees P Joba Chamberlain (73/92), this deal is comparable to their offers. Gomez can be their starting center fielder this season and do a solid job. His best asset by far is his speed, which plays well in to their general team concept of offense. I don't think Humber is as good as most do, but I also think Mulvey is much better than most give him credit for. He just doesn't give up home runs. Deolis Guerra is still a long way from the majors, but the Twins have a knack for finding gems long before they are polished. David Ortiz and Francisco Liriano come to mind. To expect Guerra to be as good as either of them is unrealistic, but the important thing to notice is that he is probably much more than an afterthought.

In the end, though this is a better deal for the Mets, it is a good deal for both clubs. The Twins got more than any compensatory draft pick from losing Santana in free agency would have likely netted them, and the Mets now have one of the best pitchers in baseball. If I were Minnesota I would have pushed for one more prospect, a guy like P Jonathan Niese (48/76), P Carlos Muniz (63/74), or OF Sean Henry (49/74), but ultimately I probably would have done this deal too.