Johan Santana set to leave?

When I first heard this, I knew it was much ado about nothing. Nevertheless, the media has to make mountains out of mole hills.


The Minnesota Twins didn't add any players but did subtract their starting second baseman at the trade deadline. And after watching his front office's inactivity, ace Johan Santana reportedly didn't hide his disappointment.

"It's not just about hope," Santana told The Star Tribune. "In a realistic world, you have to really make it happen and go for it.

"You always talk about future, future. ... But if you only worry about the future, then I guess a lot of us won't be part of it," Santana told the newspaper.

Santana can be a free agent after the 2008 season. The only move Minnesota made before the non-waiver trade deadline was to send second baseman Luis Castillo to the New York Mets for two minor league prospects.

"Why waste time when you're talking about something that's always going to be like that? It's never going to be beyond this point," Santana told the newspaper. "It doesn't make any sense for me to be here, you know?"


I don’t view the Castillo trade as a sign the Twins are raising the proverbial white flag for this year. Instead, the organization viewed it as an opportunity to obtain some players in a trade as opposed to losing Castillo to free agency after the 2007 campaign. It has pretty much been set in stone that Castillo would not be retained beyond ‘07 in an effort to free up money to sign Torii Hunter to an extension. With Hunter also a free agent after this season, he clearly is a higher priority given the Twins best centerfield prospect, Denard Span, is not ready for the big leagues. But the organization thinks very highly of second baseman Alexi Casilla, who was called up from AAA Rochester to replace Castillo on the roster.

If the Twins do indeed sign Hunter to a long term extension, you can bet Santana will significantly soften his tone.

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