Ranma4699
02-02-2008, 10:42 PM
Johan Santana passes physical, Mets and Twins finalize blockbuster trade
http://www.newsday.com/media/photo/2008-01/34994661.jpg
Johan Santana was right there in the room as his agent and the New York Mets haggled over a colossal contract.
After three straight days of negotiating, the sides were $5 million apart -- and time had run out.
Maybe this blockbuster trade between the Mets and Minnesota Twins was going to crumble, just as New York did during the pennant race last September.
"We talked about a worst-case scenario," Mets general manager Omar Minaya recalled, thinking of the team's eager fan base "What are we going to say?"
So agent Peter Greenberg and the Mets asked Minnesota for an extension, a request that was granted by the Twins and approved by the commissioner's office. The deadline for talks was pushed back two hours to 7 p.m. EST Friday, and that was enough time to reach a deal.
"Without that, we wouldn't have gotten it done," Greenberg said.
Santana passed his physical Saturday, finalizing the ballyhooed swap that sent him to New York for four prospects: outfielder Carlos Gomez and right-handers Philip Humber, Kevin Mulvey and Deolis Guerra.
"We've been lacking what we consider a true No. 1 starter," Minaya said on a conference call. "It doesn't get much better than Johan Santana."
After an offseason of shopping the two-time AL Cy Young Award winner, Minnesota considered hanging onto him. Without a new deal, Santana, who will turn 29 next month, could have become a free agent following this year's World Series. The Twins offered him an $80 million, four-year extension, but he turned it down.
"If we had not gotten an offer that we felt was acceptable, we would've kept Johan for the 2008 season," new Twins general manager Bill Smith said on a separate conference call. "I think it dragged on long enough. You want to get to a point where you can go into spring training knowing what you have. I think everybody just reached a point where we felt this was the best we were going to get."
The Mets and Twins announced the trade one day after Santana agreed to a $137.5 million, six-year contract with New York -- record riches for a pitcher. With an option for a seventh season, the deal could be worth $157 million.
The left-hander gets $19 million this year, $20 million in 2009, $21 million in 2010, $22.5 million in 2011, $24 million in 2012 and $25.5 million in 2013, according to terms obtained by The Associated Press.
The Mets have a $25 million option for 2014 with a $5.5 million buyout, and the option could become guaranteed based on Santana's innings and finish in postseason award voting. Of each year's salary, including the option season, $5 million will be deferred.
As negotiations dragged on, the Mets thought it might help for Santana to meet owner Fred Wilpon and his son, Jeff, the club's chief operating officer. At first, the pitcher didn't want to travel to New York without an agreement in place, Greenberg said. But the Mets arranged a private plane for him, and Santana arrived at the SportsNet New York offices in Rockefeller Center, where talks took place.
"It took 74 hours of hard work, pretty much 24-7," Greenberg said. "We got creative. We tried to work together to make this happen. This was something that both sides wanted."
After each side moved substantially, the Mets were at $135 million and Greenberg at $140 million as Friday's original deadline approached.
"Usually, there's no clock in baseball," Jeff Wilpon said.
After the sides were given an extra two hours, the Mets announced about 30 minutes before the new deadline that negotiations had concluded.
"We would not have traded for him if we didn't go into that very confident that we were going to sign him. We knew what the expectations were," Jeff Wilpon said. "We clearly see signing him as a major event in our franchise's history."
The Mets planned a news conference to introduce Santana at Shea Stadium on Wednesday.
"He's extremely happy. We're all very happy," Greenberg said. "We're still kind of pinching ourselves to make sure this is really true. This is a match made in heaven."
The Yankees and Red Sox also pursued Santana this offseason, initially offering packages that included promising major league players. But those teams dropped out of the chase -- just as Minaya anticipated.
"It was just a gut feeling that this was going to come back to us, this was going to be right in front of us at some point," he said.
So when Minaya returned from the winter meetings in December, he told Jeff Wilpon to get ready because there was a chance the Mets could land Santana.
"You owe me a pair of shoes," the GM reminded Wilpon on Saturday.
Santana gives a talented New York team the durable ace it was missing while chasing a pennant the past two years. The Mets came within one win of the 2006 World Series despite an injury-depleted pitching staff, then missed the playoffs last season after blowing a seven-game lead in the NL East with 17 to play.
Now, New York is a National League favorite again in its final season at Shea before moving to Citi Field.
Asked if he expects the Mets to make the 2008 playoffs, Jeff Wilpon deferred to Minaya, who wouldn't offer any predictions. But both know why they brought Santana to the Big Apple.
"He's got his eyes on not only winning but collecting a bunch of Cy Youngs on his way and bringing home some championships for our fans," Jeff Wilpon said.
Notes
The Mets also agreed Saturday to a $2 million, one-year contract with RHP Jorge Sosa that avoided an arbitration hearing. New York's payroll is at $136.4 million for 24 players, using midpoints for the two remaining in arbitration: pitcher Oliver Perez and outfielder Ryan Church.
http://www.newsday.com/media/photo/2008-01/34994661.jpg
Johan Santana was right there in the room as his agent and the New York Mets haggled over a colossal contract.
After three straight days of negotiating, the sides were $5 million apart -- and time had run out.
Maybe this blockbuster trade between the Mets and Minnesota Twins was going to crumble, just as New York did during the pennant race last September.
"We talked about a worst-case scenario," Mets general manager Omar Minaya recalled, thinking of the team's eager fan base "What are we going to say?"
So agent Peter Greenberg and the Mets asked Minnesota for an extension, a request that was granted by the Twins and approved by the commissioner's office. The deadline for talks was pushed back two hours to 7 p.m. EST Friday, and that was enough time to reach a deal.
"Without that, we wouldn't have gotten it done," Greenberg said.
Santana passed his physical Saturday, finalizing the ballyhooed swap that sent him to New York for four prospects: outfielder Carlos Gomez and right-handers Philip Humber, Kevin Mulvey and Deolis Guerra.
"We've been lacking what we consider a true No. 1 starter," Minaya said on a conference call. "It doesn't get much better than Johan Santana."
After an offseason of shopping the two-time AL Cy Young Award winner, Minnesota considered hanging onto him. Without a new deal, Santana, who will turn 29 next month, could have become a free agent following this year's World Series. The Twins offered him an $80 million, four-year extension, but he turned it down.
"If we had not gotten an offer that we felt was acceptable, we would've kept Johan for the 2008 season," new Twins general manager Bill Smith said on a separate conference call. "I think it dragged on long enough. You want to get to a point where you can go into spring training knowing what you have. I think everybody just reached a point where we felt this was the best we were going to get."
The Mets and Twins announced the trade one day after Santana agreed to a $137.5 million, six-year contract with New York -- record riches for a pitcher. With an option for a seventh season, the deal could be worth $157 million.
The left-hander gets $19 million this year, $20 million in 2009, $21 million in 2010, $22.5 million in 2011, $24 million in 2012 and $25.5 million in 2013, according to terms obtained by The Associated Press.
The Mets have a $25 million option for 2014 with a $5.5 million buyout, and the option could become guaranteed based on Santana's innings and finish in postseason award voting. Of each year's salary, including the option season, $5 million will be deferred.
As negotiations dragged on, the Mets thought it might help for Santana to meet owner Fred Wilpon and his son, Jeff, the club's chief operating officer. At first, the pitcher didn't want to travel to New York without an agreement in place, Greenberg said. But the Mets arranged a private plane for him, and Santana arrived at the SportsNet New York offices in Rockefeller Center, where talks took place.
"It took 74 hours of hard work, pretty much 24-7," Greenberg said. "We got creative. We tried to work together to make this happen. This was something that both sides wanted."
After each side moved substantially, the Mets were at $135 million and Greenberg at $140 million as Friday's original deadline approached.
"Usually, there's no clock in baseball," Jeff Wilpon said.
After the sides were given an extra two hours, the Mets announced about 30 minutes before the new deadline that negotiations had concluded.
"We would not have traded for him if we didn't go into that very confident that we were going to sign him. We knew what the expectations were," Jeff Wilpon said. "We clearly see signing him as a major event in our franchise's history."
The Mets planned a news conference to introduce Santana at Shea Stadium on Wednesday.
"He's extremely happy. We're all very happy," Greenberg said. "We're still kind of pinching ourselves to make sure this is really true. This is a match made in heaven."
The Yankees and Red Sox also pursued Santana this offseason, initially offering packages that included promising major league players. But those teams dropped out of the chase -- just as Minaya anticipated.
"It was just a gut feeling that this was going to come back to us, this was going to be right in front of us at some point," he said.
So when Minaya returned from the winter meetings in December, he told Jeff Wilpon to get ready because there was a chance the Mets could land Santana.
"You owe me a pair of shoes," the GM reminded Wilpon on Saturday.
Santana gives a talented New York team the durable ace it was missing while chasing a pennant the past two years. The Mets came within one win of the 2006 World Series despite an injury-depleted pitching staff, then missed the playoffs last season after blowing a seven-game lead in the NL East with 17 to play.
Now, New York is a National League favorite again in its final season at Shea before moving to Citi Field.
Asked if he expects the Mets to make the 2008 playoffs, Jeff Wilpon deferred to Minaya, who wouldn't offer any predictions. But both know why they brought Santana to the Big Apple.
"He's got his eyes on not only winning but collecting a bunch of Cy Youngs on his way and bringing home some championships for our fans," Jeff Wilpon said.
Notes
The Mets also agreed Saturday to a $2 million, one-year contract with RHP Jorge Sosa that avoided an arbitration hearing. New York's payroll is at $136.4 million for 24 players, using midpoints for the two remaining in arbitration: pitcher Oliver Perez and outfielder Ryan Church.