Flushing, NY (Sportsbooks) - The
New York Mets officially acquired ace pitcher Johan Santana on Saturday, as the two-time Cy Young Award winner passed a physical, completing a trade from the
Minnesota Twins.
The Mets acquired Santana for prospects Carlos Gomez, Deolis Guerra, Kevin Mulvey and Phil Humber earlier this week. The deal was pending on the two sides agreeing on a contract extension, which occurred Friday night to the tune of $137.5 million over six years.
The Mets had until 5 p.m. (et) on Friday to sign Santana and failed to do so. The team was granted a two-hour extension by Major League Baseball, however, in order to get the deal done and were able to hammer things out.
On Saturday, Santana passed the physical and he's scheduled to be introduced to the New York media as a Met during a Wednesday news conference.
"Coming into the winter we looked for a number one starter and I think we have accomplished our objective this offseason," Mets general manager Omar Minaya said on a conference call. "To be able to add a front-line starter to our pitching staff like him, really we almost exceeded our expectations. We are vey excited."
Santana, is coming off his worst season since becoming a full-time starter. He ended the year 15-13 with a 3.33 earned run average, but was just 5-7 with a 4.04 ERA after the break, allowing 88 hits (16 of which were home runs) over 98 innings.
However, since becoming a full-time starter four years ago, Santana has been incredible, winning 70 games for Minnesota in that time, while pitching to a splendid 2.89 ERA with 983 strikeouts.
In 2006, Santana won the second of his Cy Young Awards and became the first American League pitcher in seven seasons to win pitching's Triple Crown, leading the league in wins (19), ERA (2.77) and strikeouts (245).
Santana also won the award in 2004, going 20-6 and leading the league with a 2.61 ERA and a career-best 265 strikeouts.
By going to the Mets, Santana joins a rotation that includes three-time Cy Young Award winner Pedro Martinez, giving New York a potentially potent 1-2 combination.
The 25-year-old Humber did not record a decision with a 7.71 ERA in three games with the Mets last season. The right-hander was a first-round pick of the Mets in 2004.
Gomez, a 22-year-old outfielder, hit .232 with a pair of homers and 12 RBI last season, his first in the majors.
Mulvey and Guerra are also pitchers. Mulvey, a 22-year-old righty, pitched for Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A New Orleans last season, going a combined 12-10 with a 3.20 ERA over 27 starts. Guerra, an 18-year-old righty, went 2-6 with a 4.01 ERA in 21 games (20 starts) for Single-A St. Lucie last year.
The Twins didn't want to deal Santana, but ultimately thought they had little choice in the end.
"We tried to reach agreement on an extension," new Twins general manager Bill Smith said on another conference call Saturday. "Our first preference all along was to sign him to a contract. Once we got to the point where we didn't think that was going to be possible, we explored the feasibility of making a trade. Johan and his agent were open to that.
"If we had not gotten an offer that we felt was acceptable, we would've kept Johan for the 2008 season. But we're excited about these four players. I think it dragged on long enough and we all got to a point that you want to go into spring training knowing what you have. I think everybody just reached a point where we felt this was the best we were going to get."
