Why couldn't the Cubs get Santana?
The Johan Santana deal was FINALLY consummated today, and he's going to the Mets for four good-but-not-great prospects. This pisses me off. First of all, he's going to the Mets. I loathe the Mets. Second, the Cubs should have made a play for him. Everyone kept saying that the Cubs didn't have the prospects to land Johan, but judging by what the Mets gave up -- they certainly did. I'll let Keith Law sum it up.
It's hard to see this deal as anything other than a win for New York, and given how many people claimed (erroneously) that the Mets didn't have the prospects to get Santana, it must be doubly sweet for Omar Minaya right now.
For the Twins, or at least for their fans, this has to feel like a huge letdown after a winter that saw names like Jacoby Ellsbury and Phil Hughes bandied about by the media, although whether those players were actually available in trade talks is another matter entirely. The Twins deal their best asset and the best pitcher in franchise history -- not to mention the greatest Rule 5 pick in the history of that draft -- for quantity, but not the type of quality you expect a pitcher of his caliber to fetch in return.
The Cubs don't have a Phil Hughes or Jacoby Ellsbury. Those are two of the top prospects in baseball. But they did have a few B+ types of prospects that they could have packaged with Rich Hill to land Santana. I'd say Hill plus Gallagher, Veal, and maybe a Matt Murton could have landed Johan. The Cubs rotation now is good enough to win the Central, but not good enough to win in the postseason. Imagine a big three of Santana, Zambrano, and Lilly going in the playoffs. Only in our dreams, my friends. Only in our dreams.
The problem, obviously, is the payroll. The Cubs simply didn't want to add $20 million per year to the payroll; not with the impending sale. The Cubs have done a good job spending money the last two offseasons, and I find it hard to find fault them. But when you can land the unquestioned best pitcher in baseball without completely gutting your farm system, you've got to do it. The new guy's going to foot the bill anyways, right? Right?!