is it possible for the twins to keep johan?

Question

johan is the best pitcher in baseball at the moment, any disagreement? the twins have probly or close to the loest cap in baseball would it be better for the twins to trade him for a big money young guy or a couple good players or just keep him and try to somehow save him with the organization

Answer 1

Keep him, You build a great staff around a true Ace and Pitching wins championships! They would be dumb if they dont give him a good contract

Answer 2

Okay a few things.

--To whomever said Stewart would be comeback player of the year. He's not with the Twins any longer, he's a free agent who has yet to sign anywhere.

--Johan cannot be traded. There was a clause in his contract that if he placed in the top three for Cy Young voting last season he couldn't be traded. As such he dominated the competition and won the Cy Young meaning that without Johan's approval he can't be traded.

--Pohlad does of tons of money, his net worth is $2.6 billion and he is tied for 107th place on Forbes richest men in America list. However, he almost always loses money on the Twins and only once (2005) did he actually make money off of the team thanks to revenue sharing.

--Mauer and Morneau are the cornerstones of the Twins offense and should both be locked up to long-term contracts ASAP. Cuddyer is a solid player, but unless his power really comes around in 2007, he's not the lights out power bat the Twins need in the four-hole.

--Nathan has (I believe) another year on his contract and he is also in need of an extension. After Mariano Rivera he is one of the few proven closers in the league today. The Twins have to lock him up as well.

--What this does is leave the Twins in a serious jam. Where to spend the little bit of money they're going to be alloted by Pohlad and still remain competitive?!

I think what needs to happen is that Pohlad needs to loosen the purse strings and realize that he has four guys who can be the core of his franchise (along with Garza/Bonser/Liriano) for years to come and especially when it comes time to move into the new stadium in 2010.

In all honesty, I forsee the Twins working out deals to keep everyone but Santana. I think the team feels that Liriano is the heir-apparent and knows that Johan will be far more expensive than Mauer/Morneau/Nathan will be. If this is the case, my hope is that Johan is willing to accept a trade so that the Twins can gain an important piece of the puzzle without giving up Santana with nothing in return.

Santana has said he wants to remain a Twin, but knows the costs may be too high. I guess we'll have to wait until 2008 to see what happens.

Answer 3

Considering Barry Zito, who is probably about the 20th best pitcher in the majors, got a 7 year 126 million deal this year I really doubt that the Twins could afford to keep Santana (who is the best pitcher in the majors) when he becomes a free agent. He's likely going to get something along the lines of a 8 year 160 million dollar deal.

The Twins would then have a third of their payroll going to one player for 8 seasons. I don't think they will do that. The only way I see them trading him however is if in his walk year the Twins are completely out of it at some point before the trade deadline. I'm sure a contending team would give up some nice prospects for a few months of Johan.

Answer 4

I would keep him. In the "08" Season, we will have Liriano back, and our young batters will have the decent powers to be able to hit lots of homemruns.

Sure Johan is worth maybe around 60+ Million, but I'd still prefer to keep him. Also you cannot forget we've won the division title 4 of the last 5 years! We made an amazing comeback last season!

We have minor league players that have some good stuff, we just haven't found them yet. And I also think that we need to find a replacement for Torii Hunter. Almost 29 Years old he will retire soon.

You can't also forget my friend, look what we have.

Nick Punto - Very underrated, and yet plays the best defense i've ever seen.

Castillo/Bartlett - Make an amazing duo playing infield.

Torii Hunter - Gold glove winner, he's everything you want in a centerfield. Speed, arm, HR, everything!

Stewart - he will be comback player of the year!

Cuddiar (I can't spell his name) - He has the HR power.

And how can i forget these two? MVP Morneau, and Batting tittle champ Mauer?

I love Santana, and just can't see the Twins being known as the "Twins" without him.

Answer 5

That's a very tough question for the Twins. I know for a fact that they do not have enough money for Johan, Mauer, Nathan, and Morneau. So what I would do is sign Johan and Nathan and trade Mauer and Morneau. Pitching wins championships, but then again, the Twins don't have much of an offense as of right now. It's a very tough call for the Twins and I'm interested in which way they will go.

There's no doubt that they will get at least one top-notch prospect for any of the four I mentioned.

Answer 6

I live in San Francisco, so let me say something about big name lefty pitchers. Zito has gotten worst every year since his Cy Young year, granted its hard to repeat a Cy Young performance. 18 million for 7 years at the age or 27. Yes Johan is older, by two years, but consider the fact he has 2 Cy Young's, 220 k's a year, doesn't walk guys, and eats 200 innings a year. The man is a BEAST!


The Twins as of last year had the 19th highest payroll, small market teams like the one i envy across the bay (Oakland) depend on young prospects. what Johan will be worth is to be unreal, 19 million for 4-5 years? The Twins cannot afford 30% of their payroll on ONE player, just not enough money. Johan is amazing in the Twin cities, but its more sensible to trade him for young proven talent.

Answer 7

Trade Johan and SAVE the organization?! Are you nuts?! Johan is our ace and if we traded him that would ONLY hurt the organization. I don't care who you trade him for...Johan can go out on the mound any night, any game and win. I don't see the Twins trading him...ever.

Plus, what "saving" does the Twins organization need? We've won 4 of the last 5 division titles and had an ALCS run a few years back. This past season we were down 13 games in early June and made an AMAZING comeback to win the division. We don't need any "saving". If you want to save an organization...talk to the Royals.

Answer 8

sad as it is to say for twins fans it looks like he's going to go. Pohlad has traditionally been tight and I think he is steering his GM in the direction of tying up all the youth to long term deals so there goes the budget. Considering what Zito, Lilly et al... got this year I'd think Sanatana would command somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 mil over five years PLUS incentives. Johan has stated he wants to stay with the twins and loves his teammates but has also said it is a business so read between the lines. I wouldn't be suprised to see the Yankees, Mets, Dodgers and Angels making a run for him. He's the best out there with no questions so it's going to require a truck load of money and have to be a contending team. I can't see him going to a team that's on the fringe of being competitive. I know twins fans hate hearing this but I gotta call it like I see it.

Answer 9

If I were a betting man, the Twins will find a way to sign and pay Johan Santana. It would be the most prudent move the Twins can make on two fronts:

1) Cy Young studs like Santana doesn't grow on trees. You can always scout and develop bats and gloves, but pitching is a more precious commodity.

2) He can be a centerpiece for the franchise when they finally do move into their new ballpark.

Answer 10

The Twins have to decide on whether Johan Santana will be worth the investment of 100 Million or more to keep him. Traditionally, the Twins have not kept their stars. It will be interesting to see if they value this incredibly gifted pitcher.