Rumors were numerous last year about Johan Santana being traded by the Twins to Boston. The Red Sox come to Minneapolis for a four game series starting tonight with players speculated to be part of a deal for Santana, the two-time Cy Young award winner who eventually was traded to the New York Mets.
Outfielders Jacoby Ellsbury and Coco Crisp, shortstop Jed Lowrie, and pitchers Jon Lester and Justin Masterson were Red Sox names that supposedly could have figured into a trade package. Not all five would have been included but some combination. Based on their performances so far, there’s no reason for Twins fans to be crying in their beers that these guys aren’t playing here.
Ellsbury, 24, can play center field and left field. He has a .290 average with three home runs and 13 RBI. Crisp, 28, has been losing playing time to Ellsbury and in more limited plate appearances has hit .315 with no home runs and six RBI.
Lowrie, 24, isn’t the regular shortstop, instead playing behind Julio Lugo. He has only 35 at-bats with a .263 average, no home runs and six RBI. Lester, also 24, is 2-2 with a 3.94 ERA. Masterson has pitched in one game, six innings with a 0-0 record and 1.50 ERA.
No doubt if the Twins could have received a package with Ellsbury, Lowrie and Lester, it would have been a nice fit but it’s not believed the Red Sox were willing to make the deal. Instead the Twins received center fielder Carlos Gomez from the Mets along with three pitchers now in the minor leagues in exchange for Santana who is 3-2 with a 2.91 ERA. (Livan Hernandez, who the Twins signed as a free agent and possible Santana replacement, is 5-1 with a 3.83 ERA.)
The 22-year-old Gomez is so far more valuable to the Twins than any of the above mentioned Red Sox. He is tied with Ellsbury and Ichiro Suzuki of Seattle for the American League lead in stolen bases with 13, is hitting .279 with two home runs and 13 RBI, while occasionally making a spectacular play in the outfield. The extra dividend on the deal for the Twins may one day be the youngest of the three pitchers they acquired, 19-year-old Deolis Guerra. Keep watch on him in the coming years.
It’s too early to toast the Twins-Mets deal with champagne but local fans should find their beers taste pretty good this weekend.