Here's a scenario for the masses over at If I Ran...
You're a modest Major League franchise like, say... the Minnesota Twins, who are going to have a hell of a time affording to keep all their talent around forever. Let's say you happen to have the absolute top pitcher in baseball. Someone like, say... Johan Santana. You keep him around at all costs. Hands down. You do whatever he wants. There's no waiting around. You nab him for at least 4 seasons for upwards of $80 million. Cause you're the Twins. And that's about all you can afford.
Despite the fact Johan won't be a free agent until after the 2008 season, the Twins really need to start thinking about signing him to a long-term extension.
Johan thinks so, too. "If Minnesota wants to keep me, the earlier the better for a contract negotiation," he told ESPNdesportes. "The closer I get to free agency the more difficult it will be." Don't start drooling just yet. Johan goes on to say that he's happy with the way things have gone in Minnesota and he'd "like to stay for a long time".
But, if the Twins don't act before he is able to opt for free agency, it will be his agent's decision to move onto another contract.
Lord only knows the amount of money other teams would be willing to offer him when some are willing to spend $51.1 million just to negotiate with a Japanese man who throws fireballs! I bet the Yankees have a contract already drawn up and are just waiting for their chance to strike.
The Venezuelan lefty, inked to a $39.7 million, four-year deal in 2005, won his second AL Cy Young award in three years last season. He also earned the pitching triple crown with 19 wins, a 2.77 ERA and 245 strikeouts in a league-best 232 innings over 34 starts. Over parts of seven seasons in Minnesota, Santana is a career 78-31 with a 3.20 ERA in 218 games - 142 starts - averaging 9.44 strikeouts per nine.
[ESPN] | [ESPNdesportes]
4 comments:
i really hope he does stay.
Johan Santana IS Minnesota pitching. Who do they have besides a bunch of question marks behind him? I'm sure the Twins would like to keep him, but like you said there's no way they can juggle the salaries of their star players for much longer. Johan will be playing in New York or Boston in 2009.
forgive me if i'm repeating myself.
the boy and i always have the same argument: i say johan won't leave minnesota because his ethics and morality are in alignment with the midwest/minnesota -- he's a stand-up guy, and we're a stand-up people. plus we helped him ship a coon rapids fire truck to his hometown in venezuela.
boy says he's going to go where the money is.
since he won cy young dos, i've been getting this panicky, anxiety-type vice-grip feeling in my chest that johan will follow the money, especially when senil...err...senor pohlad shells out his johan-negotiating money to those ganks who own the rapid park "future home of the twins" plot of land.
rich pogin, i will curse you until the day if you end up being responsible for the loss of cytana.
(i mean really. have you seen a picture of the guy? http://img.citypages.com/imagebank/articles/28_1366/28_1366a15117_m2.jpg)
Not to be crass, but hopefully Mr. Pohlad will kick the bucket before Cytana's contract is up... or at least loosen the grip on his pocketbook.
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