Agent: Santana has not given Twins list of desired trade destinations

 

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -While the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox have emerged as the main competitors for Johan Santana, the pitcher’s agent says his client is not insisting that the Minnesota Twins trade him to one of the AL powers.
Peter Greenberg said his client was angered by a report that Santana, who has a no-trade clause, has told Twins general manager Bill Smith that he will only consider deals involving either the Yankees or Red Sox.
“He was very adamant about that. He wanted to make sure we clarified that. That upset him,” Greenberg told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Monday. “He’s been very clear all along that he wants Bill to make the best deal possible.”
Greenberg and his associates arrived in Nashville, Tenn., on Monday for baseball’s annual winter meetings.
Santana is the biggest prize available on the trade market, and the Twins have been fielding offers for the two-time AL Cy Young winner.
New York offered pitcher Phil Hughes, center fielder Melky Cabrera and a midlevel prospect. The Red Sox are believed to be offering Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz or Jacoby Ellsbury – but only one of them – as the headliner of their package.
Greenberg said Santana has not requested a trade or ruled out returning to the Twins next season.
“He really hasn’t tried to tie Bill’s hands at all,” Greenberg said. “He wants him to get best deal possible, and we’ll go from there.”
The left-hander is due $13.25 million next season in the final year of his deal, can become a free agent following the 2008 season and hasn’t agreed to an extension with the Twins. The $126 million, seven-year deal Barry Zito agreed to with the San Francisco Giants last winter may have priced the Twins out of Santana’s range.
“He hasn’t ruled anything out,” Greenberg said. “It’s in their hands.”
Smith has said he would be content to have Santana back in the rotation next year. If Santana leaves as a free agent, Minnesota would receive two high amateur draft picks as compensation. That’s what happened when Torii Hunter left last month to sign with the Los Angeles Angels.
“We’ve got good players. We have players that maybe other clubs would like to acquire,” the typically tightlipped Smith said in Nashville. “We’ve had a lot of years where we keep going over and picking up the phone receiver to be make sure the dial tone was still (there). We couldn’t get the phone to ring.”
Hunter and Santana grew close over the years in Minnesota, with the pitcher especially thankful for all those diving catches and highlight-reel plays Hunter made behind him in center field. And even after he was critical of management during the season for not doing enough to bolster a soft-hitting lineup, Greenberg said losing Hunter did not affect Santana’s feelings on returning to the Twins.
“Obviously he would have preferred for Torii to stay,” Greenberg said. “He was very comfortable with Torii playing center field behind him and hitting in the lineup. But he understands it’s all about business. (Hunter) has his job to do. Torii leaving is really Torii’s decision.”
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AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum in Nashville, Tenn., contributed to this report.