As baseball’s offseason progresses, it appears more and more\u00a0likely\u00a0that two of the game’s best players, Twins ace Johan Santana and Marlins third baseman Miguel Cabrera, will be traded\u00a0by their respective teams.\u00a0\u00a0Obviously, the competition\u00a0among other teams\u00a0to acquire them will be fierce, but\u00a0it looks like it will\u00a0boil\u00a0down to\u00a0two\u00a0intriguing matchups: the Yankees and Mets battling for Santana, and the Angels and Dodgers going toe to toe for Cabrera.<\/p>\n
Considering the level of talent it will take to get either player in a trade, no team will trade for these guys unless they can![\"santana\"](\"http:\/\/images.usatoday.com\/sports\/_photos\/2006\/09\/10\/santana.jpg\")
afford to sign him to a long-term deal.\u00a0 And considering the amount of money it will take to sign them, only a handful of teams are in a position to be involved in these trade talks.\u00a0 The vast majority of the league has already been eliminated from contention due to a lack of quality prospects, lack of money, or both.<\/p>\n
The Yanks appear to be the frontrunner for Santana, as it was widely reported today <\/a>that they are being quite proactive and are\u00a0already in ‘preliminary’ discussions with the Twins.\u00a0\u00a0At this point,\u00a0new Twins GM Bill Smith appears to be sizing up the market for his ace pitcher and figuring out what kind of\u00a0offers he can expect.\u00a0 A common rumor has the Yankees giving up Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy, and Melky Cabrera, which would be a fairly\u00a0impressive haul for Minnesota.\u00a0 The Twins will also surely be interested in Joba Chamberlain and Robinson Cano, but reports indicate the Yanks will not part with either player.<\/p>\n The other team with the\u00a0means and the need to make the strongest push for Santana is the Mets.\u00a0 They will want Santana desperately\u00a0but a package built around Lastings Milledge will not be enough to beat out the Yankee offer.\u00a0 The\u00a0Mets chances may come\u00a0down to whether or not they are willing to part with 18-year-0ld\u00a0outfield phenom Fernando Martinez.\u00a0 There has been indications that they are very reluctant to trade him, but if the difference between getting Santana or not comes down to a far-from-proven 18-year-old,\u00a0Omar Minaya will be very tempted.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, in LA the Angels and Dodgers have money to spend and, even with the Angel’s addition of Torii Hunter, offenses that could really use the boost Cabrera’s bat would supply.\u00a0 Juan C. Rodriguez\u00a0of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel suggests one possible Angels offer<\/a>: 2B Howie Kendrick, OF Reggie Willits, C Jeff Mathis, and SP prospect\u00a0Nick Adenhart.\u00a0 That\u00a0would give\u00a0the Marlins three good, young position\u00a0players that would be in their Opening Day ’08\u00a0lineup, with Dan Uggla moving to third to make room for Kendrick.<\/p>\n With these teams attempting to outbid their nearby neighbors, the stakes are raised higher than they normally would be.\u00a0 You can imagine an especially tough time for the Yankees or Mets if their cross-town rival brings in the All-World pitcher they so badly wanted.\u00a0 And the battle for Los Angeles has been going strong since Arte Moreno bought the Angels, opened his big wallet full of cash, and changed the team name to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.\u00a0 The Yankees and Angels appear to be ahead right now and smart money has the two American Leauge teams landing the big prizes.\u00a0 If so, the 2008 World Series will be a three-horse race between them and the Red Sox.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As baseball’s offseason progresses, it appears more and more\u00a0likely\u00a0that two of the game’s best players, Twins ace Johan Santana and Marlins third baseman Miguel Cabrera, will be traded\u00a0by their respective teams.\u00a0\u00a0Obviously, the competition\u00a0among other teams\u00a0to acquire them will be fierce, … Continue reading ![\"cabrera\"](\"http:\/\/www.beisbolprofesional.com\/columnas\/dogout\/miguel_cabrera.jpg\")
The Dodgers have been right there with the Angels in discussing their best young, major-league ready talent in a potential deal for Cabrera.\u00a0 The talks have involved<\/a> the Dodgers trading OF Matt Kemp, 1B James Loney, 3B Andy LaRoche, and either SP Chad Billingsley or SP prospect Clayton Kershaw.\u00a0 The Dodgers hiring of a big-name manager like Joe Torre would indicate they are eager to win now, and bringing in Cabrera to a team with a deep starting rotation would go a long way.<\/p>\n