We interrupt this Johan Santana orgy to bring you word that the Yanks are one of a few teams interested in Octavio Dotel. When last we saw Dotel, he threw 10 innings for the 2005 Yankees and was terrible. Last year, he threw 30 injury-filled innnings and was slightly less terrible. I say, “Pass.”
Our long national nightmare will soon be over
Jon Heyman reports right now it’s more likely than not that Santana will be traded and that we’ll find out late Monday if a trade is going down. We will of course have all the latest news on Johan Santana including when he goes to the bathroom and what he had for breakfast. But not really.
Twins not happy with Yanks ultimatum
This comes from La Velle E. Neal III of the Minnesota Star Tribune. We’ve seen a number of Santana items pass through him, though not all of them have been wholly accurate.
Today, he reports that the Twins are not happy with Hank’s comments regarding Johan Santana. Technically, he says, the team could pursue tampering charges because of what Hank said. Specifically: “Because as much as I want Santana, and you can make that clear — for his sake, to know that I do want him — but the fact is that I’m not going to play the game.”
The game, of course, is the pitting of the Yanks against the Sox. Neal also adds that Santana has not limited the Twins trading options to the Sox and the Yanks, but that could be the Twins PR team at work.
All of this is short for: Nothing’s happened.
Johan who? We’ve got Pettitte!
This just in from the Houston Chronicle: Awwwww yeah! Andy Pettitte will be back in pinstripes in 2008.
Through people close to Pettitte, the Chronicle has learned that the veteran lefthander has told family members and teammates that he has decided to return to the Yankees in 2008.
…
That wait is over, and the Yankees have been informed of the decision by Pettitte’s agent, Randy Hendricks.
Now I’m really hoping the Johan deal falls through.
Santana: It’s Yanks or Red Sox for me
Johan Santana will accept a trade to only the Yanks or the Red Sox. Meanwhile, Eric Bedard should be traded now that he has told the Orioles that he won’t be staying in Baltimore after 2009. That’s not a bad fallback should Santana fall through. Carry on.
Carroll: Yanks’ offer falls short, for now
Will Carroll, starting up the BP Winter Meetings rumor mill, chimes in on Santana:
The Yankees are going to have to offer more than what they have on the table. The team thought putting Phil Hughes on the table was enough, but the Twins aren’t selling Johan Santana for anything less than three major-league ready prospects.
Take that for what you will, but if it’s completely accurate, I hope the Yanks just walk away from what is quickly becoming a trade farce.
This time tomorrow, where will Santana be?
With apologies to The Kinks for the headline…
Via My Baseball Bias comes word of a deadline. CNNSI’s Jon Heyman reports that the Yanks want an answer from the Twins before the clock runs out on Monday. Meanwhile, Johan Santana will not waive his no-trade clause during the season.
So hopefully, this trade will fall apart, and Phil Hughes will remain a Yankee. At least, now we should know how this resolves itself in 24 hours. Will the Twins’ rookie GM pull the trigger on this or not?
Meanwhile, if this deal goes through, the Yanks won’t sign off on it until they’ve locked up Santana to an extension. That’s no sure thing. I’m also hearing low-level rumblings of Santana’s deal terms, and they may very well include opt-out requests. The Yanks, recently burned in that regard, will probably not agree to that.