After thousands of rumors, posts, blogs and articles, the Mets have trumped the Yankees and Red Sox won the Johan Santana sweepstakes! Baseball’s best pitcher is now a New York Met…
It was long time in developing, with most analysts and sportscasters giving the Mets little chance of getting Santana from the Twins. We have had to endure countless articles that said the Mets farm system was inadequate and their prospects were sub par. However, in the end the Mets had exactly what the Twins were looking for and the topper is that they keep their best prospect Fernando Martinez, the teenage wonder.
In the end the deal costs the Mets Kevin Mulvey, Phil Humber, Carlos Gomez and Deolis Guerra. Each of them have potential but they each came with with their own baggage as well. Gomez was a speed burner who has yet to prove he can hit. Humber has talent but is not projected to be more than a bottom of the rotation starter. Mulvey is probably the most polished in the group, but has yet to do anything at the major league level, and Guerra has not pitched above A ball.
This deal was a major coup and a huge feather in Omar Minaya’s hat. For months, Omar has endured harsh criticism from many Mets fans for not doing something sooner. Even Billy Wagner voiced his displeasure twice to the media. I hope that those same people in the media like Steve Phillips of ESPN and Wallace Mathews of Newsday, now eat their words and give Omar the respect and recognition he deserves.
The only thing left for Omar to do is sign Johan Santana to a long term deal, and both sides are set to meet on Wednesday. Of course Santana will hold out for a 7-year deal, but considering he turns 29 in March, I wouldn’t be too worried about signing him to a deal like that.
The important thing is that with this deal, the Mets are now considered the odds on favorite to win the NL East and may even be the best team in the National League.
It’s a great day to be a Mets fan!
