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.