Johan Santana

Now that the Yankees and Alex Rodriguez have come to terms on the most unholy deal since Adam Vinatieri left the Patriots for the Colts, the Red Sox can strike for the best "available" player in baseball. Johan Santana and the Boston Red Sox would be a perfect marriage. The Minnesota Twins are in a tough spot. They just don't have the money to keep the two-time Cy Young winner. To stay competitive in the AL Central, the Twins need to get back young, cheap talent. That is where the Red Sox come into play. Under Theo Epstein, the Red Sox have become one of MLB's leaders in developing young talent. Just looking at the current roster in Boston will reveal the impact of Epstein's decision to draft and develop players instead of relying on free agency. Jonathan Papelbon, Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury and Jon Lester all were drafted by Epstein and all contributed immensely to the World Series championship. Epstein also refused to part ways with Kevin Youkilis and Manny Delcarmen -- two players he inherited from Dan Duquette. Also, players like Clay Buchholz, Craig Hansen, Justin Masterson, Jed Lowrie and Brandon Moss are all on the horizon. As much as I love seeing the Sox draft, develop and play the kids because they give the team financial flexibility, this is an instance when I would love to see Epstein use some of that talent to get a pitcher who would set up the Sox for the next decade. The Sox could part with two pitchers from the group of Lester, Masterson and Buchholz and then add Coco Crisp (the Twins will probably be looking to replace Torii Hunter in centerfield) to pry Santana away from Minnesota. That would give the Twins two young starters to add to their current crop of Francisco Liriano, Boof Bonser, Scott Baker and Nick Blackburn and a solid (and cheap) replacement for Hunter. The Twins would then be able to build around their pitching and a lineup that features 2006 MVP Justin Morneau and Joe Maurer. On the other hand, the Red Sox would enter 2008 with a rotation of Santana, Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Curt Schilling, Tim Wakefield and the pitcher they don't send to the Twins. As we have seen in 2004 and 2007, pitching is what ultimately wins in October. I'll let the Yankees mash away with A-Rod, Jeter and Posada all summer but when push comes to shove in the playoffs, I know that Chien-Ming Wang and Mike Mussina can't get the job done.