Who better than M. Ward to introduce our newest Bluebird Banter contributor, Matt, blogging from the beautiful land of Nova Scotia. Matt formerly wrote a blog devoted to young players and prospects and we're thrilled to have him as a writer for BB. Welcome aboard, Matt!
In other news, you might've heard that the Mets traded 4 prospects to the Twins for some guy named Johan Santana. Considering the production and now the prospects the Twins got for the former Rule 5 draftee, they can't be too upset at the big picture, but I'm shocked at how little they got for Santana. The Mets don't have a very good farm system, but the Twins didn't even get their best prospect, Fernando Martinez. Instead they got Carlos Gomez, who may top out as a 4th outfielder, Phillip Humber and Kevin Mulvey, who both profile as mid/back of the rotation starters at best, and Deolis Guerra, a raw 18-year old who's got plenty of upside but doesn't even top out over 90 mph. Twins fans are none too happy about the deal. From the Jays perspective, although they've traditionally done well against Johan, it's certainly good news that he's not going to the Yankees or Red Sox. The deal will be finalized if the Mets can work out an extension for Santana, which seems likely.
In other news, Seattle is bantering about with Baltimore about an Erik Bedard for Adam Jones + others trade. We'll see if it gets done. Interestingly, according to the reliable Jeff Blair, the Jays inquired about Bedard but O's owner Peter Angelos absolutely refused to deal him within the division. Funny, if I were running the O's, I'd have a preference for dealing Bedard within the AL East. If you're rebuilding and expect to contend in 2011 or so, what better comparative advantage than to snag the best prospects out of a division rival, who will then be providing excellent production on the cheap for you instead of your rival, right at the time you're making your move to compete. By then, Bedard will be gone or likely past his prime, so why wouldn't it be a crafty move? I'm guessing Angelos isn't much of a chess player.
Stay tuned for Part II of our Keys to Success in 2008 series, which will focus on the Jays 5th starter, a job up for grabs. If you haven't yet checked out Part I, featuring Vernon Wells, you can find it here!.