getting Dontrelle from the Tigers, now there's an idea i think is realistic for u guys... they just gave up Maybin in that trade... that means they may be looking for a young OFer to replace him... if u'r willing to give up Gomez & either Pelfrey or Humber for Willis, i think u can get a deal done there to shore up your starting staff.

Posted by TMS:

getting Dontrelle from the Tigers, now there's an idea i think is realistic for u guys... they just gave up Maybin in that trade... that means they may be looking for a young OFer to replace him... if u'r willing to give up Gomez & either Pelfrey or Humber for Willis, i think u can get a deal done there to shore up your starting staff.

No way do I want Dontrelle and I was a HUGE fan of his when I lived in Florida. He's nowhere near the same pitcher he was a few years back. His body has changed a lot and he's not as flexible in his back and doesn't get that good turn with fluid motion he used to have. I'd much rather see what Pelfrey can do. Dude has good stuff, just needs to work out the nerves. If the Tigers would take back Humber/Heilman and someone other than Gomez, I'd take a chance on Willis, other than that, I'm not trading Gomez or Pelfrey for him. I'd rather put Willis in the outfield and let him hit for 162 games than see him pitch.

per Metsblog:

"...posted by Matthew Cerrone...

…having talked with a variety of people over the last few days, ranging from those who are connected to the team to people connected to player reps to those who work in media and for teams who are following the negotiations, from what i can gather, Johan Santana prefers to be on the Mets, where he can a) be in New York City, and b) get out of the hitter-dominant American League…

…the Twins are well aware of this, and are willing to accommodate his request, while also trying to maximize the level of talent they get in return…

…so, over the last few days, if not longer, the Twins have been speaking on and off with the Mets, who are willing to flood them with young talent, but who refuse to provide a major-league ready, immediate-impact player, like Jose Reyes…

…since the Yankees and Red Sox will not part with more than one or two of their best prospects, acquiring up to five or six semi-developed, high-ceiling players from the Mets is starting to be Minnesota’s most attractive option, and they’re comfortable with that - especially considering that santana can ‘strongly suggest’ he end up in Queens, seeing as he has a full no-trade clause…as such, the Mets and Twins have essentially agreed upon what players can and cannot be involved in the trade, and so it’s now up to santana and his agents to frame out a contract extension…

…however, while santana wants a seven-year contract, the Mets - like most teams - will not offer more than five…and understandably so, since a) it is nearly impossible to get such a contract insured, especially for a pitcher, and b) it is widely believed that the Yankees and Red Sox will not have offered him such a long-term deal either…at the same time, he is the best pitcher in baseball, and believes he should be compensated at or above the same level as Barry Zito, which is understandable, as well…the thing is, i do sense that he and his agents are willing to work out a solution to get him to Queens, and so they will not take a hard-line position like zito and Scott Boras did…

…in other words, from what i can tell, if santana doesn’t end up on the Mets, it most likely means that either a) he and the Mets could not agree to the terms of a contract extension, b) the Twins simply chose to keep him for one more opening day, or c) the Twins had no choice but to skip over the Mets to accept a much-better offer that they couldn’t refuse, and santana did not stand in their way, which all is still very possible…

…i still do not have my hopes up, but i do have hope…"

The Milledge for Church deal reminds me of the Rudy Gay for Shane Battier trade to a lesser degree.

i have a feeling a lot of names we never suspected will be on that report, probably several from both NY teams.

mets' off-season has almost equally disgust me as the knicks. no question we needeed to bolster our bullpen but matt wise? he did worse as the year went on. we should have kept mota then. plus i like how we let the d-backs get haren instead of us being in the mix making them automatically the team to beat. we are probably 5th in our league right now if we are lucky. now we are said to go after louhse. what the hell? i also can't stand minaya pulling an isiah saying " i like our team". stfu! randolph didn't sugar coat it , he straight up said we need pitching. with our luck, the cubs or phillies will get bedard while we are left out in the dust.

Mets Trade Meyers, Coles For Cubs' Pagan
5th January, 2008 - 2:18 pm
Yahoo.com - The Mets on Saturday acquired outfielder Angel Pagan from the Cubs for righthander Ryan Meyers and outfielder Corey Coles.

Pagan is returning to the Mets' organization for a second stint. The Cubs originally acquired Pagan from New York for cash on January 25, 2006.

In 71 games with Chicago last season, the 26-year-old Pagan batted .264 with four homers and 21 RBI.
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Appears to be a younger Endy Chavez. Possibly means another deal is in the works since we now have Alou, Beltran, Church, Chavez, Pagan with also Anderson and Easly who can play the OF. Gomez should be in AAA if not traded.

At his blog, AaronGleeman.com, well-respected writer and Twins fan Aaron Gleeman has the following to say about potentially trading Johan Santana…

“Monday in this space I discussed the strength of a Phil Hughes-led offer from the Yankees, but a Mets package that includes Martinez, Guerra, Gomez, and Mulvey would blow that out of the water.”

Gleeman also writes for The Hardball Times and Rotoworld.com, among other noteworthy websites.

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According to a person with knowledge of the negotiations, Fred Wilpon is willing to meet Johan Santana’s contract demands, writes Joe Christensen at his blog for the Star-Tribune.

Christensen continues by writing…

“If Minaya swings the trade, as I wrote about today, Wilpon is confident he’ll get Santana signed. In the Mets’ camp, there is a belief that the price for Santana won’t be quite as high as advertised. Santana might ask for a six-year, $150 million extension, but there’s a belief teams could negotiate down from there.”

I would not give Santana a 6 year contract. 5 is even pushing it for me because he's pitcher. However, seeing that we don't have a #1 pitcher on our major league roster and most likely don't have a potential ace in our farm system, then I'm willing to go 5 years plus a team option on a 6th year with a buyout like Glavine got.

I don't mind trading outfielders because they are the easiest to replace. So losing Gomez and possibly Martinez although real tough to give up, I would make the trade. Mulvey and Guerra I haven't seen pitch so I have no emotional loss invested in them and Humber really hasn't impressed.

Pelfrey I don't want to trade because I think once he's confident, he will eventually be a nice #2 pitcher. He has real good stuff so no reason why he can't be dominant at times.

“The Yankees have pulled their ‘Phil Hughes-centered trade offer’ for Johan Santana off the table,” reports ESPN Radio’s Andrew Marchand.

According to Marchand, citing a baseball official with knowledge of the talks, the Yankees will not restart trade talks unless Hank Steinbrenner has another change of heart.

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Plus it is believed by many out there that Gomez has more value(higher ceiling) than Ellsbury. Boston won't include Lester+Ellsbury so it is looking very promising.

Bedard's going to the Mariners