Johan Santana

From the very first day of this blog, I've made it pretty clear that I really want Johan Santana coming to the Mets. I had originally hoped to just wait it out and sign him next offseason without having to give up anything, but it seems that if he's traded this offseason, that team will be signing him to a long contract extension. So if we want him next year, we're likely going to need to get him for this year, too.

And I can't really complain about that either, as long as we don't have to give up too much. I would like nothing more than to see the Mets celebrate one last World Series on the field at Shea before they move into Citi Field. And based on the rest of the pitching market, if we don't get Johan, that's going to be a tough goal to accomplish.

Early rumors said that the Twins were demanding Reyes, and Omar, rightly so, refused. Negotiations have been bragging out for quite awhile now though. They seem to be at a stalemate with the Red Sox and Yankees, and the other 26 teams are basically non-contenders for him.

Of course, if we won't include Reyes, getting Johan will come at quite a high price in prospects. I'm willing to give up pretty much anyone besides Reyes and Wright, and Omar has made it pretty clear that he feels the same way about those two. If we can get a guy like Johan Santana and sign him to a long-term contract, then the future is already there, we don't have to wait for these prospects to possibly develop.

Then again, Johan is one player, compared to probably four we'd have to give up. But chances are very low that any of those players will come close to the value of Santana, and we'd probably be lucky to even have two of them become solid contributors for our team.

So I say, go for it. If only the Twins will accept.