Well, the national nightmare is over, as it looks like the Twins will trade Johan Santana to the Mets.

But what did they get?

As seen in my last post, Santana Circle Jerk, the Twins in essence are gambling on the upside of Carlos Gomez and Delois Guerra instead of the certainty of a Jon Lester, a Phil Hughes or a Jed Lowrie.

Guerra and Gomez could blossom into superstars.  But both have massive flaws.  Guerra has been pushed hard by the Mets, but is still young and has some projection.  He also has trouble getting out of the high 80's on his fastball, which means the Twins are hoping he'll add velocity as he matures.

As for Gomez, he too has been rushed and needs at least another year and a half of minor league play if he's to live up to his high potential. 

And really, its on Guerra and Gomez that the Twins are pinning their hopes and dreams on, as Phil Humber and Kevin Mulvey are both decent arms, but not aces and don't differ much from the Scott Baker type pitchers the Twins already have in their system.

Really, as I've stated earlier, the Twins could have had a better offer from the Red Sox (Lowrie, Lester, Crisp and likely Justin Masterson) or the Yankees (Hughes, Melky Cabrera and change.) 

But I think that there is another reason why the Twins agreed to this swap.

When something of ours disappears, we as people try to replace it as closely as we can.

And in Guerra and Gomez, the Twins are trying to replace Torii Hunter and Johan Santana as best they could, by trying to find similar players that could become their second comings.

It's a human reaction, albet a flawed one.

It's possible that in three years, both Guerra and Gomez could be superstars, making the Twins look wise in their deal.

It's also just as possible that both are massive busts.

I credit Omar Minaya on this deal, as he was able to get the best pitcher in baseball without giving up his best prospect, centerfielder Fernando Martinez, who also is a rushed, but promising young player.  He gave up nothing that he'll really miss and no one that isn't replaceable, as the Mets could easily go out to the Dominican and sign any remaining young prospects that haven't signed with teams to help replenish the farm.

I would feel pity for the Twins, but really, this is a mess of their own making.  They're choosing the riskier, but more lucrative path of gambling on the upside of some risky prospects.  It's the equivalent of playing Russian Roulette with three of the cylinders loaded for a fortune.  The payoff is huge.  So is the failure...

Grades:

Mets Grade - A
Twins Grade - B