Rosner: Sign Santana

Yesterday's Barry Rozner column in the Daily Herald advocated the Cubs going after Johan Santana. The longer I think about this, the more sense it makes. Why SHOULDN'T we go get Santana? Now that the Cubs have found one more starting pitcher, we have many candidates and can afford to deal some of them. After all, there is only one Johan Santana. From the Twins' point of view, it would be much better to send him where they won't have to play against him this year. The Twins do still have a good team, even without Santana on it, provided they get some major-league talent in return. So any package should probably include Rich Hill, and some other starters, such as Kevin Hart, Sean Gallagher, or Sean Marshall.

Here is the all-veteran version of next year's rotation:
Zambrano
Lilly
Marquis
Dempster
Lieber

Don't forget that Piniella has committed to moving Dempster to the rotation for next year. So, if the Cubs DO go get Santana, then Marquis becomes the 6th starter. In the NL Central, that will be just fine. The only real competition this year will probably come from the Brewers, who have a great young team.

If I was running the Twins I would not take less in return for sending Santana to the NL and keeping him away from the Red Sox or Yankees. But I would definitely favor the Cubs' package if it was close.