The New York Mets FINALLY Finalize Deal On Johan Santana

The New York Mets have reached agreement on a contract extension with Johan Santana completing the trade for the pitcher with the Minnesota Twins from earlier in the week. Terms of the deal have not been announced.

The two sides were given a 5 p.m. Eastern deadline to complete a deal after the Mets engineered the trade that involved sending four prospects to the Twins. But more time was needed to to work out the details and baseball officials granted an extension.

Said the Mets in a statement Friday evening: "Negotiations have been completed and the player will take a physical."

After all this clawing and scratching to get Johan Santana he better pass his physical.

Signing Johan Santana Is Proving More Difficult Than The New York Mets Thought

With millions of baseball fans on their seats awaiting to hear the biggest trade in the offseason, Johan Santana and the New York Mets are having a difficult time delivering the good news.

Major League Baseball has granted Johan Santana and the New York Mets an extra two hours to work on a contract extension Friday, pushing the deadline to 7 p.m. EST. The Mets and Santana's agents continued to negotiate furiously Friday, as the original 5 p.m. ET deadline to complete terms of a long-term contract came and went with no immediate resolution.

And as that 5 p.m. deadline passed, indications were that the key sticking point continued to be Santana's attempts to get the Mets to guarantee all six years of his contract extension, on top of the final year of his current contract. According to baseball sources who have been monitoring the negotiations, the Mets' best hope to resolve that disagreement would be to offer to guarantee the sixth season if Santana's side would agree to accept fewer dollars per year.

The Mets and the Minnesota Twins agreed to a tentative deal Tuesday pending the completion of an extension for Santana, a two-time Cy Young winner. In return, the Twins would receive center fielder Carlos Gomez and pitching prospects Phil Humber, Kevin Mulvey and Deolis Guerra. The buzz in the industry Friday was that Santana's agents, Peter and Ed Greenberg, initially asked for the $28 million per year listed in Roger Clemens' prorated contract with the Yankees last season -- which would have amounted to a six-year, $168 million extension. That amount would not have included either a signing bonus or the $13.25 million Santana is scheduled to earn this season. So his total package would have topped $190 million.

There were indications that the Greenbergs later lowered that request to $25 million a year -- which would have resulted in a six-year, $150 million extension and a total package (including this season) of more than $170 million. The Mets' initial offers, however, were all believed to be just five-year guarantees, plus a vesting option for 2014, in the range of $21 million a year. But there was rampant speculation in the industry Friday afternoon that the two sides were headed toward a compromise in which the Mets would guarantee the sixth season if Santana lowered his salary request to $22 million a year.

With a hefty signing bonus added to this year's salary, that figure would bring Santana's total package to about $152 million over seven years -- the largest contract ever awarded to any pitcher. The $22 million per year also would be a record for a pitcher on a multi-year contract -- and, in fact, would be the third-highest average annual salary in baseball history, behind only Alex Rodriguez's last two contracts ($27.5 million in the deal signed this winter, $25.2 million in the contract he signed with Texas in December 2000). But as of mid-afternoon Friday, the two sides hadn't agreed to those figures -- or any other figures.

Chuck Knoblauch Testifies Before Congressional Lawyers

Former major-leaguer Chuck Knoblauch carried his toddler son in his arms on his way out after speaking for about 1½ hours Friday with congressional lawyers investigating drugs in baseball.

Former major league player Chuck Knoblauch, with his toddler son, Jake, and his wife, Stacey, take the elevator after meeting with lawyers from the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Accompanied by his wife and a lawyer, Knoblauch did not reveal specifics of what he was asked or what he told staff members from the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Knoblauch was among more than 80 baseball players cited in former Senate majority leader George Mitchell's report on drug use in the sport. Asked after leaving the interview whether there were questions about himself or other baseball players, Knoblauch replied, "I only know about myself."

His lawyer, Diana Marshall, said: "Everything was fine. He answered all the questions."

Knoblauch's closed-door interview was part of the committee's preparation for a Feb. 13 hearing. That public session is expected to focus on Roger Clemens' denial of allegations in the Mitchell Report made by Brian McNamee, the pitcher's former personal trainer. McNamee said he injected Clemens with performance-enhancing substances.

Knoblauch, a Houston native and former teammate of Clemens' on the New York Yankees, and McNamee told Mitchell he injected Knoblauch with human growth hormone.

Knoblauch, a four-time All-Star who played for the Minnesota Twins, Yankees and Kansas City Royals, ended his major-league career in 2002. He agreed Monday to speak to the committee after initially failing to respond to an invitation to testify.

"It's an important thing that they're doing here in Congress," Knoblauch said while walking through a marble hallway in the Rayburn House Office Building. "I want baseball to be fair and healthy, just like everybody else."

At one point, he told his 3-year-old son, Jake, to say "Hi!" to the cameras tracking them as they headed for an exit.

"Maybe one day, when he grows up, he won't have to be worried about drugs in sports," Knoblauch said. "That's why I have him here today, to learn a very valuable lesson: If you do something in life, be prepared to talk about it openly and honestly. That's it."

Through a spokeswoman, committee chairman Henry Waxman declined to comment on Knoblauch's appearance. Keith Ausbrook, Republican general counsel for the committee, also declined to comment.

Knoblauch's initial silence when invited to speak to the committee prompted lawmakers to issue a subpoena, but federal marshals were unable to track him down right away. The 1991 AL rookie of the year eventually did make contact, the subpoena was withdrawn and his interview was rescheduled for Friday.

Silence can only mean two things folks. Either he's guilty and can't articulate the truth or a lie, or he's playing them cool. Bringing his child in has symbolic value, however Knoblauch greatly contradicted himself. He said he brought the child in "to learn a very valuable lesson: If you do something in life, be prepared to talk about it openly and honestly. That's it." However, he didn't speak openly about anything! He was silent.

Time Is Running Out For The Johan Santana Trade

This From ESPN The Magazine:

Executives involved in the Johan Santana trade talks expect the Minnesota Twins to make their decision soon, perhaps as early as Tuesday, on what they intend to do with the left-handed superstar, after the team asked on Monday for last and best offers from teams involved in the trade talks.

Santana

The Twins could weigh the offers and decide to keep Santana into spring training, in the hope that a more aggressive market for the left-hander develops.

For instance: If Andy Pettitte's involvement in the Roger Clemens-Mitchell report case seems to be distracting the left-hander, Hank Steinbrenner -- who has been the most prominent member of the Yankees organization in favor of making a Santana trade -- could spur the team to give the Twins the package they have requested, which includes pitchers Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy. Or if the Red Sox suffered multiple pitching injuries, they might push for a Santana deal.

Or the Twins, who just signed Justin Morneau and Michael Cuddyer to extensions totaling $104 million, might prefer to turn the page and make a deal now. The Mets have the most obvious need for Santana and reason to be the most aggressive, and have indicated a willingness to offer a package of four or five players.

The Red Sox have talked in the past about deals built around either pitcher Jon Lester or center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury. Two sources involved in the discussions say the Red Sox have indicated they won't trade Lester, and another highly placed source says Lester remains on the table. A fourth says the Red Sox are willing to deal Lester only in a package with little window dressing -- in other words, Lester and Coco Crisp and little else.

It's unclear, as well, whether the Red Sox would be willing to offer Santana a deal close to the six-year, $150 million package he will seek in order to approve the trade. Santana has a full no-trade clause and will want an extension in order to approve the deal. The Twins offered him a four-year, $80 million deal, beyond the $13.25 million he is slated to make in 2008.

The Yankees appear to be not presently engaged whatsoever in the Santana talks.

Where Will Johan Santana Be Pitching In The Spring?

According to the rumor mill on Yahoo sports, The New York Daily News has installed the New York Yankees as a 3-1 favorite in the race to acquire Johan Santana of the Minnesota twins. The Boston Red Sox are 4-1, the Los Angeles Angels are 5-1 and the New York Mets 8-1.

It's no secret that the Yankees would love to add the left hander ace to their rotation, but at what price? They have made it clear that Joba Chamberlain is untouchable, although Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy can be had for the right price - and Santana, who will be 29 on March 13, could be that player. However, that'll leave the Yankees with a weak bullpen once again if they plan on making Joba a starter.

The Red Sox are in strong position to deal for Santana, since they possess potential pitching prospects in Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester

The Mets, according to Billy Wagner, are being criticized for not making any transactions in the offseason thus far. With Glavine gone, Santana would fit in comfortably in that rotation.

The Angels already have Garland, Colon, and Lackey in their rotation. Adding Santana would only buff up that incredible rotation.

I would like to see Santana go to a team in the process of rebuilding instead of one of these big name teams who already have enough star players to carry them. I mean, c'mon. Does Boston really need another star pitcher? The Tigers of 2 years ago when they went to the World Series is an example of a team that suffered for years before finally assembling a great team. I think he would fit in well with the Blue Jays. The 1-2 punch of Halladay and Santana would be an interesting combination and would help the Blue Jays keep up with Red Sox and the Yankees.

It is also rumored that if the Twins can deal Santana, they may also be interested in trading their closing pitcher Joe Nathan.