And just like that it appears the Red Sox brass is at it again. A full sunrise and sunset after GM Theo Epstein predicts a quiet off season, and all of the sudden the Sox are the leading candidates to acquire the services of the best pitcher in baseball.

I previously wrote in a post ( http://community.foxsports.com/blogs/bigsoxfan/2007/11/23/Is_Another_Twin_City_Star_Coming_To_Shine_In_Boston) about trading Bucholz, Lester, and Ellsbury for Nathan and Santana, and received mixed reviews. The most common comment was "your giving up the farm." That's to much." "There's to much of an upside for those guys "

Agreed, it's quite a package, but it's the price you pay if you want to make a deal like that. Hey, I love those prospects, but they are just that, prospects. I'll take a proven commodity over a hope any day! If I wanted to watch prospects, I wouldn't have purchased MLB's extra innings package to watch the Sox. I could've watched the Pirates games for free.

But given the big trade that the Twins pulled off with the Ray's yesterday, the landscape of the deal has been entirely transformed. Now it appears the Sox could pull this off by including 2 major league players (Coco Crisp and Jon Lester) as well as 2 prospects (Jed Lowrie and either Justin Masterson or Michael Bowden). It gets a little more complicated, as most things do, when you break down the financial aspects of the deal as well.

For Minnesota, they receive a quality starting pitcher who many organizations have tried to pry away for so many years (Lester), who they can slot right into the starters role to help fill the void of Santana. They get a tremendous defensive centerfielder at a bargain price in today's free agent market (Crisp), who's more then capable to cover the carpet departed fan favorite Torii Hunter has left behind.

Now that they've traded short stop Jason Bartlett for Brendan Harris, they would be able to insert Lowry at the short stop position, and move Harris to second base. The position most scouts think he is more suited for. Bowden or Masterson could conceivably be in the bullpen, or spend another season in the minors and be major league ready by next year. Best of all for the Twins, they dump salary so they can focus on resigning Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and Michael Cuddyer and they would still be able to move into that new stadium in 2010, with a contending team.

The Sox side is a little more difficult. Yes they would be getting an ace of diamonds to go along with their ace of spades Josh Beckett. But, they're going to have to pay the man. Santana is reportedly looking for a 5 or 6-year deal worth in the vicinity of $150 million. A couple of problems exist, the biggest one would be only having a 72-hour window to negotiate an extension. If they failed to do it, Santana would be staying with the Twins for another two weeks before the Yankees came in and made the deal happen. 2004. A-rod. Ring a bell anyone?

Sure the Red Sox have the money but 20-25 million is a lot to invest in a player who can only help you once every 5 days. Injury is always a concern, but consider this. In the past 4 seasons Santana has pitched at least 5 innings in every start except one. The one he didn't was only shortened due to a rain delay 4 2/3 innings in.

He will be turning 29 at the beginning of the season thus entering his prime years. A time when good pitchers become great, and great pitchers become legends.

As I said before, the money is there. Consider he's only due $13.5 million this season, if Crisp goes, essentially your only paying him around $9 million. That my friend's, is a bargain. You won't even find a deal like that at your local flea market. 220 innings, 230 strikeouts, an ERA around 3.00 and 20 wins.

Next year the money could be there as well. Schilling's $13 million comes off the books, as well as Crisps $5 million. Cut your ties with veteran knukleballer Tim Wakefield ($4 million) and I believe you've found your first $20 million right there. And this is assuming that they pick up the $20 million option on Manny Ramirez. We are yet to hear what the deal is regarding that situation.

If the proposed trade goes down, he is even more affordable to the Red Sox because of the young talent they have, at a very low price. The likes of Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia, Manny Delcarmen, Kevin Youkilis, Clay Bucholz, and Jonathan Papelbon will all be under their control for the next 3-5 years. Hell, Josh Beckett's only do $30 million the next 3 years and they've got Dice-K for 5 more years at $48 million.

It looks good right now. The deal is there. The money is there. The will is there. The only problem is so are the Yankees. If they don't act quickly, New York will most likely try to sweeten their offer. Theo, don't think twice. If they accept this proposed trade as is, you need to make it happen.

Like that 20 something year old kid who finally decides it's time to leave his parents basement, the Rays might be moving out of the one they've been occupying in the AL East since their inception to the league. Don't look now, but the Rays are looking like a franchise that's ready to get serious. Today was a great day for baseball as two small market teams made a huge trade for both sides.

Minnesota and Tampa Bay made a 6 player deal that sends starting pitcher Matt Garza, short stop Jason Bartlett, and AA right-handed pitcher Eduardo Morlan to the Gulf Coast in exchange for Rookie of The Year candidate Delmon Young, shortstop Brendan Harris and outfielder Jason Pridie. This is a great deal for both sides.

This came as a surprising move to me given the plethora of young outfield talent Tampa Bay has assembled. I thought that they would try to move Rocco Baldelli. Perhaps Minnesota was interested in Baldelli's services, but feared that the oft-injured center fielder would not hold up for an entire season playing on the artificial turf of the Metrodome.

In Young, Minnesota picks up a right-handed bat (albeit he does come with more baggage then just a suitcase) capable of replacing departed centerfielder Torii Hunter's spot in the Order. Only entering his second season, Young hopes to build on a rookie year in which he put up some very impressive numbers. Young started all 162 games for the Rays; batting .288 with 13 home runs, 93 RBIs and 10 steals. He is also blessed with an absolute cannon for an arm, which helped lead him to 16 outfield assists.

Minnesota can also use Jason Pridie in centerfield if they cannot make a deal for Boston's Coco Crisp, or fill the void through free agency. Pridi is a youngster with a positive upside.

Now onto the Tampa Bay side of the deal. Yes they did give up a very promising player, but they are getting what they need the most in return, another solid starting pitchier. The Rays can slot Garza (who projects to be the kind of pitcher capable of 15-18 wins with an ERA under 4.00) into the third spot in their rotation behind the blossoming James Shields and last years strike out leader and future Cy Young contender Scott Kashmir. Following in the four and five spots in the rotation would appear to be Andy Sonnanstine and Edwin Jackson.

Jason Bartlett is a good defensive short stop who is both unknown and underrated. Hopefully he will be the kind of defensive upgrade that will help the Rays finsh somewhere other then last place in fielding percentage.

Remember last year at the trading deadline the Rays management said they were looking to solidify their bullpen. They traded Ty Wigginton to the Astros for reliever Dan Wheeler, who will be returning for another season. Couple him with one of last years best surprises, closer Al Reyes, and the back end of the pen looks like they might be able to hold some leads. It is rumored that the Rays have interest in bringing free agent Troy Percival on board. One can only assume that Percival would want a closing job and Reyes would become a setup man. It remains to be seen if the newly acquired Morlan will be major league ready at some point during the 2008 season. If he is, look for him to jump into a middle relief spot. 

Don't forget the Rays can hit.  Out of the 30 teams in MLB they were 15th in runs scored last year, 16th in hits, 15th in batting average, 10th in slugging percentage and ranked 12th in OPS. As a team they also recorded 131 steals, good for third in the AL. Sure they rank in the middle of the pack in the Major Leagues but there are at least 15 other teams that would like to be ranked where they are. Keep in mind this is still a young team that can only get better.

When you break down their projected lineup it actually looks pretty scary 1-5. With one of the most overlooked players in all the game leading off, Carl Crawford is a solid defender and an absolute terror on the base paths. Last year Crawford posted a career best .315 average, and swiped 50 bases for the 4th time in his 6 seasons. The versatile B.J. Upton should follow him. Last season Upton was the proud owner of a .300 average and slugged .508.

Behind them there is the resurgent Carlos Pena. Who if he hits anywhere near the way he did last year (46 homers, 121 RBI, and .411 OBP) will certainly strike fear into the opposing pitching staff. Johnny Gomes has the kind of power capable of hitting 30+ homeruns. Akinori Iwamura will be entering his second season and will hopefully build on his rookie season in which he had to overcome the changes from the Japan leagues, and adjust to the ML schedule, traveling, and culture. He still hit .285 with 7 dingers and 35 RBI primarily from the lead off spot.

The rest of the lineup should be rounded out by Rocco Baldelli (if healthy), Dioner Navarro, Jason Bartlett, and youngster Evan Longoria.

No, they are not ready to overtake the Yankees or Red Sox this year, but as of right now I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if they finished third in the AL East. But my hat goes off to the Rays management. On the same day they announced their plans to open a gorgeous waterfront stadium with a retractable roof capable of holding 34,00 people, they might have given people a good reason to fill it.

First I would like to start by giving credit where credit is due. Congratulations to Alex Rodriguez, Scott Boras, and The New York Yankees for working out the details of the biggest contract in sports history. Every one is a winner here. Alex gets to play in a market where he can be promoted as the greatest living player and be surrounded for years to come by great talent, which gives him the chance to win it all.

Scott Boras gets to add another notch on his belt for being the greatest agent out there after everyone tried to knock him down by saying he could never get anywhere close to what he was asking ($350 million/ 10 years). Although he was never even allowed in the room during the negotiations, he can still take the credit for it as he finishes the details, for his client. He will also get what matters most to him, another big commission on another historical contract.

The New York Yankees are winners as they are able to keep the most dangerous bat in baseball in the middle of their order for years to come. They make themselves look good by defeating the evil agents demands, and they will take solace in thinking they are big winners in the deal. They might be, but they might be hurting themselves down the road.

The way the contract sets up looks like this. Ten years at $275 million as a base salary. Then there are bonuses of $6 million for the following home runs: Willie Mays (660), Babe Ruth (714), Hank Aaron (755) and Barry Bonds (762), as well as an additional $6 million for breaking Bonds' major league record. He could theoretically gain a $12 million bonus in one season if he hits numbers 762 and 763, pushing the total value of his contract to $305 million.

That's fine by me. How ever the Yankees want to compensate him is their business. They don't have to do it, but they have decided to. I'm sure they could sign him to the $275 million base salary and that would most likely be a strong enough offer if indeed he does truly want to be a Yankee. And again, congratulations to Alex for getting all the money he can. It might seem unfair, but don't tell me if you could get that kind of money that you would turn it down. "I would play for free just cause I love the game." Please, don't kid yourself. There isn't one of us out there that would turn down the money if it were offered to us.

But to me this contract sets a dangerous precedence for the future of free agency. The Players Union will love it if this deal goes through, but owners should be worried. Especially the "small market" franchises. From here on out any free agent can try to get one of these clauses negotiated into their contract. If a team like The Minnesota Twins or The Florida Marlins already has a hard time holding on to its own players how is this going to help them? How will they be able to entice a big time free agent to join their club?

If they offered you an $18 million/season contract with no clauses to cash in on, and another club offered the same base salary with bonuses close to A-rods, what team would you sign with? And where does it end? 2,000 and 3,000 hits? 500 homers? Stolen bases for lead off hitters? Let's not forget pitchers here, they deserve to cash in on their 3000th strike out, or their 500th save right? Why not 200 wins? Provided we ever see another one, can you imagine what you could ask for a bonus for your 300th win?

So how does this affect the Yankees? Well it's simple really. They have a history of signing big name free agents. Most of the time when they sign these players, they are usually 7-10 years into their careers. Almost all of them will be some where near a milestone, or could potentially reach a major one during the 4-5 years over their next contracts. The Yankees will not be able to get off the hook since they have seemingly created this clause. It's hard to tell one player your not as special as another one, that you don't deserve to be treated the same.

Perhaps I'm making to big a deal out of this. Maybe I'm the only one who's given it any thought. But I have a hard time believing that if I picked up on it that there isn't someone out there, like an agent, who is salivating over this news. It could very well end up being nothing and getting swept under the rug. But it could very well change the landscape of free agency, as we know it.

David Ortiz, Randy Moss, Kevin Garnett, and Johan Santana? 4 players who have all spent time in the Twin City might all find themselves in the same city once again. 3 are here now, could there be a supernatural pitcher joining them? Picture a rotation where Josh Beckett and Johan Santana are followed by (at least for one season) Dice-K Matsuzaka, and Curt Schilling. Is the best Rotation in baseball about to get better?

Maybe, but it's a tricky situation. Last season I asked this question to friends of mine. "Would you trade Jacoby Ellsbury, Clay Bucholz, and Jon Lester for Johan Santana and Joe Nathan? And, do you think they would take it?" The reaction was mixed as it should be, but the majority was on the yay over nay side. It would work out well for both sides. Minnesota would get a tremendous young center fielder to replace Torii Hunter, and 2 top notch young pitchers to pair with Francisco Liriano (who will hopefully be healthy). Boston would receive one of the games most dominating pitchers over the past 4 years, to pair with a pitcher who looks ready to dominate for the next 4 years at the top of the rotation. As well as another great arm to put in the back end of the bullpen to assist Jonathan Paplebon (something that's hard to find on the current free agent market) and take some of the burden off of Hideki Okajima. Imagine that!

It sounds great but it's a little complicated and I don't really know where to begin. So how about here. Santana is a free agent after the following season and has already told the Twins he would like a contract similar to Barry Zito's (7 years, $126 million). The Red Sox could certainly afford it seeing how this is the last year for Curt Schilling whose potential $13 million contract will be coming off the books next season. Couple that with Joe Nathan probably walking as he would most likely rather find a job as a closer then a set-up man ($6 million in his option year, sure to increase significantly) and possibly cutting ties with veteran Tim Wakefield ($4 million). There's $23 million right there.

But hold on, there's more. What is the status with Manny Ramirez? This is the final year of his contract if the Sox choose not to pick up his $20 million options through the 2011 season. Will they be able to not pick up those options but sign him to another contract of significantly less total dollar volume? I hope so, but nothing has been said about their plans on that. The money is clearly there, so what's the problem?

There's a couple of things here, and the first is a matter of pride. Theo Epstein is very proud of the young talent his organization has collected and therefore might not be willing to deal it. This plays into an economics factor as well. The 3 players mentioned have very bright upsides, are very affordable, and will be for years to come. Not only can they help the Sox win and win now, but they keep payroll down and profit up. How many times have we heard it? It's a business. The goal of any business is to make money. It's nice to win and have a product people enjoy, but there's a lot of owners out there who would rather pocket the cash then put out a winning team.

Speaking of pride, there's a guy who has some in the top of the rotation right now. Although there is no doubt in my mind that Santana and Beckett would push each other to one-up the other's performance, but it might cause some damage to give Santana a big contract when it comes time to negotiate Becketts next one. Last year the Red Sox signed Beckett to a 4 year extension worth $40 million. Sure Johan has a couple of Cy Young awards, but Becketts got the jewelery and an amazing post season record/ERA. Jealousy and greed are powerful emotions, and often get the better of people, especially athletes because there's so much money as well as pride on the line. Just look what jealousy did to Barry Bonds. It would be a shame to see it be strong enough to wreck the clubs future which as of now looks extremely promising.

But let's talk about what every Sox fan wants to talk about, defeating the Yankees. By making this deal happen you keep him away from New York and ensure that if he does go there, it's after his "prime" years. If the Twins do not trade or sign him to an extension, then the Yankees will do what they do best and outbid everyone for the player they want. That's not disrespect Yankee fans, it's the truth and it's fine. I've said countless times that I respect the Yankees ownership because they always try their best to put a winning team on the field no matter what the cost is. They would also most certainly love to open a new year in a new stadium, with a new ace.

If the Red Sox do pull this deal off they would have to make sure it was a sign and trade deal. They can not give up those kinds of players for a one year rental. Maybe if they were trying to win one World Series in the last 86 years, but not if they are truly dedicated to contending every season to come.

Now that Torii Hunter is California dreaming, the 2 time Cy Young award winner will surely be the next to go. It was reported by the Star Tribune today that the Twins made Santana a 5 year deal worth $93 million. The deal would make him the highest paid pitcher in baseball/year slightly eclipsing San Francisco's Barry Zito. Santana then countered with the number $126 million, the same number Zito signed for last year. It was unclear by the article I saw if that meant he wanted a 7 year deal or 5 years at $126 million.

If this is the case, then the Twins are in trouble. We're talking about a difference of between 7 and 8 million dollars per year. Even if Twins owner Carl Pohlad was to open up the wallet, it would destroy the franchise that claims to be a "small market" club. I know the owner has some money. He was ranked as the 245th richest person in the world as recently as 2006. What are we talking about here? 245th out of how many? What are we up to 6 billion? As good as Santana is, and there is no doubt he is great, I'm not sure any club could justify paying a player $25 million/season to only play once every 5 days.

If Santana were to stay in Minnesota it would be a "victory for the little guy" but bad for baseball. If the Twins truly are as small a market as they claim to be (18th of 30 ML teams in payroll in 2007) then how could they put a team around a player who would take up 25% of their teams' payroll, who doesn't play every day? A situation I call the A-rod quagmire. A pitcher the caliber of Santana deserves to play for a contender. MLB needs players like him on a contending team to keep its name in the headlines and to help get the October ratings it's always dying for. It would be a shame to see a pitcher who has already showed sheer dominance wasting his prime years playing for a last place team. This is the same problem baseball had when A-rod was in Texas.

But if Minnesota wants to start to pay their players, yesterday would have been a good time. If they would  have paid Torii Hunter and Santana in the same season, then lock up Joe Nathan, Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau in the next season, it would look as though they could contend for the title in the coming years. That would be good for the game. The past couple of Septembers have been fantastic to watch as playoff spots are being filled out on game 162 and in some cases game 163 of the regular season. Adding another team to the mix would only increase the drama and excitement of the pennant race.

Will they trade him (Santana)? Well sure, they'll have to get something for him and not just a compensatory draft pick from what ever team he signs with in the following off season. Sure their are takers out there but it's a risky move. Look at the situation. You already know what kind of money he'll be looking for on a new deal so you might only have him for one year. If anybody wants to make a trade it will most likely have to be of the sign and trade variety. Who ever makes the move will likely try to get closer Joe Nathan in the deal as well which will be the biggest sign that yes, the Twins are rebuilding again. A deal like this would take a package of at least 3 or 4 top notch prospects who are a) major league ready and b) not arbitration eligible for the next 3- 5 years. 4 organizations have the players to do it. The Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox, and Angels.

Perhaps he will start the season with the Twins and combined with the returning Francisco Liriano provide a strong 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation capable of carrying a team to the playoffs. But if they fall out of the race they would be forced to trade him before July 31 deadline to ensure they got their pick of a prospect (or two) who are already developed rather then waiting 3 years to see if their draft pick (if he walked) would pan out. Some times it works. When the Red Sox let Pedro Martinez walk they were able to draft Clay Bucholz. But, if they wait until that deadline, what ever package they receive will be greatly diminished from the ones they would be offered now. You usually don't give up 3 top notch players for a 3 month rental. It simply sets your franchise back to far. Also, you can hope nobody takes him and join the bidding war that will ensue over the 2008 off season. Spend the money on him, and place your prospects around him to negate the cost.

Let's face it though. He's not going to sign with the Twins because they will never offer what he wants. The only reason they are offering an extension or offered Torii Hunter arbitration is to say to their fans "hey, we tried. We made what we thought was a fair offer and they rejected it. If you want to be disappointed, be disappointed with them." And as they say that and have your attention, Pohlads accountants will be carrying sacs of cash out the back door and putting it in to a Swiss bank account.