The Minnesota Twins and New York Mets tentatively agree on a trade for two-time Cy Young winner Johan Santana, who spent the first eight years of his career with Minnesota.
New York beats out the crosstown rival Yankees and defending World Series champion Boston Red Sox to acquire Santana from the Twins for a package of outfielder Carlos Gomez and pitching prospects Deolis Guerra, Philip Humber, and Kevin Mulvey.
The deal hinged only on Santana agreeing to a contract extension with the Mets, which he would three days later, a six-year, $137.5 million deal.
Santana would pitch three years for the Mets, finishing third in Cy Yung voting in 2008, before undergoing shoulder surgery in the final month of the 2010 season.
Santana would miss the entire 2011 season and return in 2012 to start 21 games for New York, but he missed all of 2013 to undergo a nearly identical shoulder surgery to his first just two years earlier.
Santana is currently a free agent and has been linked in a return to Minnesota.
As for the package the Twins received for Santana, Gomez played two largely ineffective years with Minnesota and was traded to Milwaukee in 2009. His first three years with the Brewers were pedestrian, but he had a breakout 2013, finishing ninth in NL MVP voting, participating in his first All-Star game, and winning a Gold Glove in center field.
For Gomez, Minnesota received Brewers infielder J.J. Hardy, who hit just six home runs in his only season with the Twins. He now plays for the Baltimore Orioles, and has hit 77 home runs in three seasons with the AL East club.
Humber appeared in 13 games for Minnesota, then moved on to Kansas City, Chicago, and Houston. He will forever be remembered for pitching the 21st perfect game in Major League Baseball history, though his career has been forgettable outside of that feat.
Guerra reached Triple-A with Minnesota before missing most of 2013 with a blod clot in his shoulder. He remains in Minnesota’s organization.
Mulvey appeared in just two games with the Twins, and is now out of baseball.
