by Chris Lima
108 Red Stitches

Breathe easy Minnesota Twins fans, you've just witnessed your General Manager diffusing a potentially earth shattering situation:

A bidding war for Mike Redmond.

The Twins picked up Redmond's $950,000 option, keeping the veteran backup catcher for one more season.

Thank God they got him now, you know, before he set the free agent market on fire.

Spring training is right around the corner and here's a look at some early February activity around the league;

The Phillies are looking into signing Kris Benson to a one year deal, according to MLB.com. While remaining quiet about the possibility of adding Benson into the rotation, the Phillies have scouted him on two different occasions, liking what they saw in the 33 year old right hander.

The reigning National League Champion Rockies signed Scott Podsednik and Victor Zambrano to minor league deals and invited them to spring training.

The Detroit Tigers have pulled off a minor trade with the Rangers to add depth to their farm system, acquiring right-handed pitcher Armando Galarraga from Texas in exchange for outfielder Michael Hernandez.

Remember me? Kelsie Smith of the Pioneer Press reports that Randy Keisler will be in line to compete for a shot at cracking the Twins Rotation.

The Pirates avoided arbitration with Freddie Sanchez, giving him a new deal that could net him up to $19 million for three seasons.

Pending everyone passing a physical and Johan Santana agreeing to a contract extension, the New York Mets may have pulled off one of the biggest upsets this offseason.
Santana had just about done everything except try on a Yankees or Red Sox uniform, until the dark horses of the NL East came charging back with an offer that, apparently, the Minnesota Twins felt comfortable enough to deal the game's best pitcher. The Mets will send Carlos Gomez, Phil Humber, Deolis Guerra and Kevin Mulvey to Minnesota in exchange for the coveted left handed strikeout artist.
However, the deal isn't exactly "signed, sealed, or delivered". According to ESPN: "Santana has a full no-trade clause and can veto the deal unless he gets a contract extension, and it's expected that the Mets and Santana will begin negotiating as soon as possible. New York and Santana have until 5 p.m. ET Friday to reach an agreement".

If we may step outside of the objective journalist point of view for a few seconds:

"What the hell where the Minnesota Twins thinking? They got screwed over big time. The Yankees and Red Sox offers were far and away better than anything the Mets could have come up with. Humber is not even considered Major League talent by a majority of Major League officials and Carlos Gomez is borderline at best (right now). Sure he was flashy for the Mets last season, but that was with limited at-bats. It'll be interesting to see how he pans out for the length of an entire season. At least with the Yankees offer, they would have been getting a proven outfielder in Melky. The Twins had initially asked for Jose Reyes, and the Mets refused. So now they settle for less? From the team that rejected a counteroffer?"

Whew, glad to get that off our chest. While its not our primary goal to stand on a soapbox and give our opinion (we'd like to think our selves as a news source, not a biased slanted blogcommunist) this situation all but presented itself in a gift basket.

Apparently we're not the only ones that feel the Twins got fleeced. According to MLB.com:
"At a seemingly reasonable price -- swift outfielder Carlos Gomez and young pitchers Philip Humber, Kevin Mulvey and Deolis Guerra -- the Mets have satisfied the Twins. Now, they have until 5 p.m. ET on Friday to satisfy Santana, who, armed with a no-trade clause potentially as effective as his world-class changeup, can veto the trade if the Mets don't make him happy."