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Ellsbury seems key in any deal with Red Sox

There's still no imminent trade involving Twins ace Johan Santana, but Boston's young center fielder keeps coming up in discussions.

By JOE CHRISTENSEN, Star Tribune

Last update: December 11, 2007 - 12:37 AM

The Twins continued exploring potential trade options for Johan Santana on Monday, picking up where they left off at last week's winter meetings.

While no deal appeared imminent, there were indications that in their talks with the Red Sox, the Twins were focused on a package headlined by center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury.

The Red Sox have offered Ellsbury and pitcher Jon Lester in separate deals, while refusing to include both in the same offer. Of those two options, the Twins were said to be leaning toward a package of Ellsbury, infield prospect Jed Lowrie and relief prospect Justin Masterson, with the sides haggling over a fourth player.

Meanwhile, the Twins' talks with the Yankees remained dormant. According to a person close to the talks, Yankees lefthander Kei Igawa was one of several players the sides discussed last week, along with righthander Phil Hughes and center fielder Melky Cabrera.

Igawa has four years and $16 million remaining on his contract, and though he struggled last year, some scouts say they think he could benefit from a change of scenery.

Mets General Manager Omar Minaya sounded optimistic about his team's chances of landing Santana late last week, but others have all but ruled the Mets out. It's been said Santana would need to fall into Minaya's lap because he won't part with shortstop Jose Reyes and has limited pitching prospects.

Some say that despite the Mets' reservations about Santana's cost -- including talent for the trade and money for his contract extension -- they feel compelled to stay involved so fans can't accuse them of ignoring an opportunity.

The Angels remain a wild card. The Twins have expressed interest in pitcher Jered Weaver among others, but it's unclear how serious the sides have been engaged. The Angels -- who missed out on a trade for third baseman Miguel Cabrera, who went from the Marlins to the Tigers -- still view offense as their top priority.

Instead of merely discussing 3-for-1 and 4-for-1 options, some teams have asked the Twins to add a second piece to go with Santana -- including various prospects -- to make it more enticing for those teams to give up major league-ready talent.

Speaking only generally of the pace of trade talks since the winter meetings, Twins GM Bill Smith said, "I don't think the mode has really changed. There was an intense week of discussion, but I think a lot of that continues. We're trying to move forward and continue the discussions and thought processes that were discussed down there."

Etc.

• The Twins have until Wednesday to offer outfielder Craig Monroe a contract, and as of Monday the sides hadn't reached an agreement. If the Twins non-tender Monroe, they won't have to give the Cubs a player to complete their November trade.

• Asked if the Twins have talked about moving right fielder Michael Cuddyer back to third base, Smith said, "I think at this time our strong preference is to leave him right where he's at. He can handle right field ... and we need to go find a third baseman."

Staff writer La Velle E. Neal III contributed to this story.

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