Over at MLB Trade Rumors, the following trade has been rumored according to “a trusted New York sportswriter.”

Mets send Jose Reyes, Kevin Mulvey, and Hector Pellot to A’s
A’s send Bobby Crosby and Dan Johnson to Mets
A’s send Dan Haren to Twins
Twins send Johan Santana to Mets

Mets get Johan Santana, Bobby Crosby and Dan Johnson
A’s get Jose Reyes and Kevin Mulvey
Twins get Dan Haren and Hector Pellot

Wow, I mean, I dont even know where to start with this one. I can see both the A’s and Twins saying yes, but I have a hard time seeing the Mets pulling the trigger.

Appearing on ESPN’s Baseball Tonight, Buster Olney says that the Twins and Yankees are still at a crossroads on a Johan Santana deal. The proposed deal is still Phil Hughes, Melky Cabrera, and a third player. The Twins still want that third player to be Ian Kennedy, but the Yankees have rejected that on a few occasions.

The sooner Johan gets dealt, the sooner we can all focus on the rest of the market

La Velle E. Neal III at the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports that the Twins are upset with Hank Steinbrenner making public statements regarding their negotiations. Steinbrenner discussing Johan Santana could be viewed as tampering, as he is currently under contract with the Twins.

Neal also writes that the report that Santana will only waive his no-trade clause to go to the Yankees or Red Sox is untrue and Santana has not limited the teams he would go to yet.

Here’s a rundown of Hot Stove news this morning…

The New York Daily News reports that the Yankees are willing to meet the Twins demand for Philip Hughes in a deal to bring Johan Santana to the Bronx. GM Brian Cashman, owner Hank Steinbrenner, and long time scout Gene Michaels discussed via conference call the decision to include Hughes and have reportedly decided to meet the Twins demand.

According to the club source, there was spirited internal debate in the organization via conference calls about whether to make Hughes available.

In any case, the club finally agreed to put Hughes in a package that includes center fielder Melky Cabrera and at least one other lesser pitching prospect still to be negotiated, as of Friday night. And by doing so they believe they are the front-runners to land Santana, the two-time Cy Young winner.

The Red Sox are unwilling to part with Clay Buchholz or Jacoby Ellsbury which puts them behind the Yankees at this point in the race to bag the biggest prize of this off season.

Updating a previous report from earlier today, Scott Miller of CBS Sportsline is reporting that the deal that was to send Delmon Young, Brendan Harris and Jason Pridie to the Twins for Jason Bartlett, Juan Rincon and Matt Garza to the Rays is currently on hold due to an medical issue. Multiple sources tell Miller that the deal was close, though the Rays are said to be “holding things up because of concerns regarding reports on Rincon’s elbow.”

I recently interviewed Aaron Gleeman. Gleeman is the co-founder and operator of The Hardball Times. His blog AaronGleeman.com has received over three million hits since it began in August 2002, and he is also a contributing baseball writer for Rotoworld and NBC Sports. In 2006, Gleeman was featured in a short profile in Sports Illustrated.

Gleeman is a Twins fan, so I asked for his take on the Johan Santana trade rumors.

Anthony De Rosa : Do you believe the Mets have enough to offer the Twins in return for Santana? If they were add in John Maine along with Carlos Gomez or Lastings Milledge and one of Kevin Mulvey, Philip Humber, or Mike Pelfrey, would that do the trick?

Aaron Gleeman : Sure, the Mets have enough to get Santana. Most teams probably have enough, if they make everyone available. With that said, I think the Twins would be making a mistake to get a package centering around Humber or Pelfrey, because they’re far from sure things as impact guys.

I’d ask for two of Milledge, Martinez, and Gomez, and then try to get Pelfrey, Humber, or Mulvey in as the third piece. A lot depends on what other teams come to the table with, obviously, but the Mets definitely have enough desirable young players to get something done.

Anthony : What positions are the Twins looking to upgrade by trading Santana? I would suspect CF, 2B and another pitcher would be targeted.

Aaron : I can’t say for sure what they’re targeting, but what they should be targeting is impact bats at whatever position they can get them at. Center field, second base, and third base are the main spots to target, but they could use a corner outfielder or designated hitter.

Basically, they need hitters. I’m sure they’d also try to get a top-notch pitching prospect in return for Santana, but they don’t really need more young pitching.

Anthony : As a Twins fan, are you angry with management for not giving Santana a ‘Zito-like’ offer, which seems to be what he is seeking? This seems like a discount from what Santana would ultimately receive on the open market. Are the Twins that cash strapped that they are unable to offer him such a deal?

Aaron : If Santana truly asked for $126 million and the Twins didn’t jump at it, then it’s a pretty strong sign that they don’t plan to retain him. That’s a clear discount for Santana given that Zito got that money last offseason, so if the Twins don’t think that’s doable then nothing will be.

Anthony : What is your assessment of the Oakland A’s? Do you believe they are in rebuilding mode and will look to move Haren?

Aaron : I think the A’s are always willing to be in “rebuilding mode” if Beane thinks that’ll make them better long term. Toss in his recent statements about potentially blowing the current core of the team up and it wouldn’t shock me to see Haren get dealt. I’d try to deal Blanton and Harden first, though.

Anthony : Do they Twins have any prospects that they will look to promote in the event that they are indeed in rebuilding mode? Who are the top prospects in the Twins system?

Aaron : The Twins don’t really have any MLB-ready hitting prospects of note. Their best pitching prospects are Glen Perkins, Jeff Manship, Anthony Swarzak, Tyler Robertson, and Eduardo Morlan. But none of those guys are elite, A+ prospects.

Anthony : Lastly, what team do you think has the best chance at getting Santana and what package would be the most realistic for them to offer and the Twins would accept?

Aaron : I’d say the Yankees probably have the best chance, in terms of money and young players to potentially deal. But there are at least 4-5 teams that seem to be in the running, including the Mets obviously.

I got the sense from Aaron that the Twins are more inclined to trade for offense than pitching, which I think puts the Mets in a better position to make a decent offer. I would highly consider what Aaron suggested which is two of Milledge, Martinez, and Gomez, and then try to get Pelfrey, Humber, or Mulvey in as the third piece. If thats agreeable, I say get it done.

Mark Feinsand on his blog for the New York Daily News writes how the Yankees would be foolish to trade Philip Hughes in a package for Johan Santana.

If I were the Yankees, I wouldn’t make the deal. I know it sounds crazy not to want to add a 28-year-old stud ace lefthander, but the price is simply too high. Dealing Hughes, who has been projected as a top of the rotation guy, is silly. Keep him, and use the $25 million a year to add pitching some other way.

Think of it this way – there aren’t many teams that can afford to sign Santana to the six-year, $150 million contract he wants. If he doesn’t get that, he’s going to become a free agent next year and then the Yankees can go sign him while retaining Hughes.

This is what I’ve been saying all along. You are essentially trading away valuable prospects under the fear that someone will trade and sign Santana. If the Yankees or any other team are confident that nobody will be willing to pay the price in both prospects and payroll, then you roll the dice on him getting to free agency next year.

The question remains, is there someone out there willing to pay that high price. There very well may be or the Twins may make concessions on the number or level of prospects and players they get in return in fear they may simply get nothing at all if they let him walk in 2008.

This, as we have said before, will be a very tricky and interesting game that will play out over the next few weeks, and possibly months if it drags out into the trade deadline.

Johan Santana is the name rolling off the lips of most everyone these days, but another Twins pitcher has been mentioned as someone the Twins might be willing to offer for the right deal.

Matt Garza is a 24 year old right handed pitcher, who the Twins chose as the 25th overall pick in the 2005 draft. Garza was blessed as the Twins’ seventh-best prospect by Baseball America in 2006. Garza rose though the Twins minor league system quickly, posting a 14-4 at the each minor league level in 2006, with a 1.99 ERA and 154 strikeouts in 135 ⅔ innings and wound up winning the 2006 USA Today Minor League Player Of The Year award.

With Francisco Liriano getting injured, the Twins promoted Garza to replace him and he made his Major League debut on August 11th, 2006. Twelve days later he earned his first win, giving up one run over six innings.

Entering this past season, Garza was rated the top prospect in the Twins organization by Baseball America and 21st overall in baseball. Garza started 15 games and posted a 3.69 ERA with a 1.54 WHIP.

Video of Garza warming up in the bullpen can be found here. His minor league statistics can be found on Baseball Cube, and his major league career statistics can be viewed on Baseball Reference.

It’s not yet clear if the Twins would be willing to trade Garza if they deal Johan Santana, as they would already have received a bounty of prospects from that deal. If in fact the Twins are serious about dealing Garza, he is worth considering. Garza has met almost every challenge the Twins have put before him thus far and has performed at a high level at a young age.