This just in. Details as they come. From KFAN:
The FAN has learned the Twins and Johan Santana have agreed to a four-year deal. Terms of the contract are unknown at this time. The deal was confirmed by Santana's agent's office. Santana's representative is Peter Greenberg out of New York. Santana and the Twins were set for an arbitration hearing tomorrow.
Thanks to Sdave for the heads up!
EDIT: Here are some details from the Strib:
The truth is Santana is on the verge of signing the richest contract in team history: four years for about $40 million. And his $13.25 million salary in 2008 would be the highest single-season salary in team history. The deal could be finalized as soon as today.The deal is contingent on Santana passing a physical.
Santana, 25, will receive around $5.5 million this season, $9 million in 2006, $12 million in 2007 and then $13.25 million in 2008. Officials on both sides are reluctant to reveal exact details until Santana passes his physical.
"I'm happy that we've finally got something done," Santana said in Fort Myers, where he is having a home built. "We worked hard on it, and it works out for everybody. I'll be a Twin for four more years."
YES
I don't know what they're going to be paying him, but it's nice to know he'll be around.
Posted by: Andre at February 14, 2005 11:06 AMWonderful! Four more years of supernatural brilliance.
Posted by: SoftballSuperstar at February 14, 2005 11:09 AMHuzzah! Finally a nice sports development after a pretty lousy weekend here in Mpls.
Posted by: Sean at February 14, 2005 11:10 AMGardy informed some of us about it an hour or so ago. Said he didn't have to give up his office either. He was a very happy man! And I'm thrilled.
Posted by: insider at February 14, 2005 11:20 AMWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
::catching breath::
Posted by: Eric at February 14, 2005 11:21 AMWhat Eric said!!
Posted by: Jeb at February 14, 2005 11:30 AMI am doing the happy dance!
Win Twins!
PS: Is anyone sitting near section 218 for the home opener?
Posted by: talldrinkowater at February 14, 2005 11:33 AMNothing more to say other than:
Wooooooohooooo! And, wheeeew!
This is great.
Yours,
k-bro
YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!
Yeah Baby! World Series - I can feel it!
Great job TR. Best GM in baseball.
Posted by: BadAndy48 at February 14, 2005 11:40 AMAnd the Strib has found another excuse to re-link to the "Santanamania" video featuring Batgirl. If you haven't already seen it five or six times, check it out!
Posted by: Andre at February 14, 2005 11:45 AMOn behalf of Yankee fans everywhere, I just want to say: Bummer.
No no, just kidding. This is great for baseball. I hope Johan spends his entire career as a Twinkie.
Posted by: jordan at February 14, 2005 11:57 AMIt's a good day to be a Batling.
Posted by: Florida at February 14, 2005 12:01 PMWhats the STRIB link for the Santanamania?
Posted by: Sasha at February 14, 2005 12:02 PMJordan - The inverse thought crossed my mind. It was along the lines of, "Take that Steinbrenner! Do your shopping elsewhere next off-season you convicted felon!" Sorry - I always feel like taunting the Yankees on occasions like this.
And, yes, I agree: it is better for baseball for the little guys to keep their star players.
This is great stuff.
Posted by: BadAndy48 at February 14, 2005 12:04 PMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
THIS is the best news ever, honestly!! What a boost after 4 hours of class this morning!
Thank you, Twins. Thank you, Johan!!
Posted by: Stacy at February 14, 2005 12:04 PMHere is the Santanamania link!
http://www.startribune.com/stories/1741/4990787.html
Posted by: talldrinkowater at February 14, 2005 12:04 PMO frabjous day! Four more years! Four more years! Viva El Presidente... Santana.
Posted by: buildanewstadiuminMankatoplease at February 14, 2005 12:05 PMI would make an addendum to that, stating that it is important for small clubs to hang onto star players that they have discovered and developed.
Signing Santana makes a success out of the jobs the scouts did that found him, the minor league coaches that worked with him, and everyone else that invested in him in this organization.
Developing talent is our technique, so when it enjoys great success- being able to keep that talent is much more important than it would be for free agent snatchers like the Red Sox and Yankees.
Great day for Twins baseball.
Posted by: Eric at February 14, 2005 12:10 PMEric - Amen and hallelujah to that! Right on Brother!
Posted by: BadAndy48 at February 14, 2005 12:16 PMDearest Johann,
Will you be mine?
Love always and forever,
HooliganKat
(I don't know about you guys, but this made my year.)
Ohhhh this is the greatest. We should totally flood the Ft. Meyers facility with Valentines for Johan.
talldrinkowater - hubby and I will be in 219!
Posted by: She-Ra, P.O.P. at February 14, 2005 12:42 PMSo super psyched.
Posted by: Haplo at February 14, 2005 12:47 PMWhat Eric said.
This certainly made my Monday!
Just Beth
Posted by: Just Beth at February 14, 2005 12:52 PMWOO-HOOOOOOO!!!
Posted by: surlyhorse at February 14, 2005 01:09 PMCongrats to you guys, and not to rain on your small market scouting parade, but you guys do know you weren't the original team to sign Johan, right? He was a Rule 5'er from either the Astros or the Rangers if I remember correctly. No big deal, just some small sour grapes on my part...
I guess, in a way, he was elected President of the greater Twin Cities area for four years. Enjoy.
Posted by: cubsfan36 at February 14, 2005 01:20 PMcubsfan36-
Granted, but scouts recommend who is worth taking a gamble on in Rule 5, am I right?
I think it was the 'stros...
Posted by: Eric at February 14, 2005 01:30 PMOh crap.
Posted by: The Cleveland Indians at February 14, 2005 01:34 PMOh crap, OHIO, ohio, ohio............
Posted by: insider at February 14, 2005 02:11 PMDougie gets his due, defensively:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1991175
Posted by: Word Smith at February 14, 2005 02:45 PMhappy
Posted by: Brundlefly at February 14, 2005 03:12 PMSWEET!
Posted by: Sam at February 14, 2005 03:20 PMHappy Birthday!
Posted by: mk at February 14, 2005 03:23 PM"Happy Birthday!"
That is very funny. I'll bet Santana is saying that to everyone today.
Posted by: Craig in MN at February 14, 2005 04:02 PMYay, contract. The Twins have a four-year window to bring in another trophy!
Aside: Small sour grapes? I'd say that's a vineyard's worth.
Posted by: Old Town at February 14, 2005 04:13 PMJohan was originally an Astros farmhand. The story goes that the Twins had the first pick in the Rule 5 draft and planned to take Johan, but the Marlins front office, which had the 2nd pick, were afraid that the Twins would take an Indians prospect they coveted, Jared Camp. So they made a deal with Terry Ryan: the Twins would take Camp, the Marlins would take Santana, the teams would swap players and Florida would pay the Twins' $50k fee owed to the Astros. Terry Ryan let Florida believe he was doing them a favor, and he got the prospect he wanted all along for free. Another feather in his cap.
Glad to hear that they worked out a fair, multi-year deal with Johan now. Best news the franchise has had this winter.
Posted by: frightwig at February 14, 2005 04:18 PMWhy would a Cubs fan feel sour grapes about the Twins finding Johan Santana in the Rule 5 draft, and now signing him to a multi-year deal, anyway? The Twins did the Cubs a favor, if anything, by taking Santana out of the NL Central. And shouldn't Cubs fans just be happy that the game's economics allowed them to take Mark Prior and LaTroy Hawkins from us? Did they expect to put in dibs on Johan Santana in the next couple years, too?
Posted by: frightwig at February 14, 2005 04:34 PMDear Johan -
Please move your family out of Venezuela. Soon.
Posted by: pessimismism at February 14, 2005 04:44 PMCongratulations, hijo. I do hate packing and moving, so I am really pleased that we will be staying in Minnesota throughout your presidential term. Te quiero! Momita
Posted by: Spike at February 14, 2005 05:19 PMCongrats! Great news.... just about guarantees we'll see you in October - for the third year in a row!
xxxooo
Mrs. Pavano
Someone needs to look up that Jared Camp fellow.
Funny stuff.
Posted by: Eric at February 14, 2005 05:31 PMJared Camp went down in 1999 (I don't know what kind of injury he had). He briefly resurfaced at AA Erie in 2002 for 8 innefective innings, and then his career was over.
Posted by: JH at February 14, 2005 05:44 PMI am pumped up about this-incredible news!! I just hope within this 4 year span the Twins finally get the stadium deal done so they can keep Johan for the rest of his career!
Time to get the jersey done up with Santana #57!
Posted by: Shaun at February 14, 2005 06:27 PMBig news indeed. Hey Batgirl, maybe you should put up a javascript timer until pitchers and catchers report ;)
It's getting to be that time of the year again.
Posted by: MNPundit at February 14, 2005 06:51 PMAhh this warms my heart! Too bad I am not the type of guy who finds other guys attractive, or this would recover the Valentine's day negativity!
And I 2nd the notion of Pessimisism. He really needs to get his family out of Venezula. The families of futbol stars are frequently harrassed in S. America, often times even kidnapped. I am sure 99% of the poeple there are great citizens who would never attempt this, but in all the world there is the 1% who would.
Posted by: soccerfan at February 14, 2005 07:47 PMYippee! Will there be a rush of Johan Santana jerseys now?
Now all we need is a new stadium and Minnesota would be some big steps closer to Utopia!
Posted by: Paul at February 14, 2005 08:22 PMActually, there is a high liklihood of a kidnap[ping. He, and his family should have body guards, if they don't yet. It is a great country, but they have a large group of people, who make a living negotiating settlements with kidnappers, and do very well. He and they would be safer here, plus the political citizenship thing. This is one of the top 5 days in Twin's history, unless coming events prove differently. The pitching staff over the next 4 years is second to none, and, when I said "they", I meant the family, not the negotiators. Al
Posted by: al at February 14, 2005 08:38 PMMay I just add my own "HOOORAY!!!" to the mix...definitely the best valentine ever!!!
Also thought I'd add this info from the article at Twins Baseball.com about the signing.
It seems Mother Nature is doing her best to pesuade our Yodi to get his family out of Venezuela as well:
"Celebration over his new contract was offset by concerns for family and friends in his hometown of Tovar Merida. The Mocoties River flooded over its banks Friday, killing dozens in the region with more missing. Santana's immediate family and parents were with him in Florida. His brother and some in-laws were directly affected but reported safe.
"The river took nearly everything out. It's sad," Santana said. "[The contract] is great news, but most important is that a lot of people in my family are on my mind. It's something I worry about." "
Posted by: bubblemint at February 14, 2005 11:23 PMFrightwig,
I was just kidding about the sour grapes. We've developed a pretty decent starting rotation ourselves with homegrown talent. While the Prior/Mauer argument is an interesting one, you guys don't seem to have done too poorly with the Chairman, assuming he can stay healthy enough to play catcher. Plus, you get to root for a hometown boy.
As for Hawkins, I sure am glad he handled his closing duties with such aplomb this past summer. Not like a certain VP candidate, who pretty much sucked for an entire season.
;)
Posted by: cubsfan36 at February 15, 2005 10:10 AMDoews anyone know what the terms of the deal are ?
Posted by: mike at February 15, 2005 11:46 AMmike,
Looks to be a four year $40M deal.
Win Twins!
Posted by: talldrinkowater at February 15, 2005 02:24 PMAn amusing commentary (in hindsight) about the 1999 Rule 5 draft that I found from the archives of a blog called Ducksnorts:
"Round 1
Minnesota Twins: Jared Camp, RHP (drafted from Cleveland Indians). Camp features mid- to high-90s heat but has been plagued by control problems throughout his pro career. Made stops last season at three different levels, dominating the Carolina League before pitching inconsistently at Double- and Triple-A. Traded shortly after being drafted, the 25-year-old Camp stands a good chance to stick with the Marlins, who are desperate for pitching help and who have had good success turning hard throwers into relief aces in the past (Trevor Hoffman, Robb Nen, and former Rule V draftee Mantei). This could turn out to be a great pickup.
Florida Marlins: Johan Santana, LHP (Houston Astros). Santana, a 20-year-old Venezuelan, spent 1999 in the Midwest League. He put up some decent numbers at Michigan, but it's a long way from the Midwest League to the Show. Traded to the Twins, Santana looks like a longshot to stick with the big club."
As it turned out, the Marlins sent Camp back to the Indians at the end of spring training 2000. Apparently he had an arm injury that put him out for a couple years. He resurfaced for part of the 2002 season with the Tigers AA affiliate, got rocked, and that was it. He never pitched in the majors.
Congrats Twins fans, I'm really glad to see that Santana will be sticking around for four more years...
Posted by: Christian at February 15, 2005 04:40 PMYayness!!! FOUR MORE YEARS! FOUR MORE YEARS! How fitting that President Santana gets a four year deal. Now we just need VP Nathan to get his new deal done, too.
Posted by: MNTwinsFanNV at February 16, 2005 03:20 AM