For Twins, the waiting and dickering goes on

By LA VELLE E. NEAL III, Star Tribune

Last update: December 19, 2007 - 11:05 PM

While the Twins continue to consider deals for ace lefthander Johan Santana, their rotation is expected to lose righthander Carlos Silva to Seattle soon.

The Mariners could announce as soon as today a four-year contract worth $44 million for Silva, who was 13-14 with a 5.19 ERA last season. The Twins' best offer was three years and $18 million, so Silva's departure was expected.

The Mariners desperately need starting pitching. They had some talks with the Twins about Santana that never developed, so they settled for Silva, considered the best free-agent pitcher among a thin field.

As for the Santana talks, indications are that little has changed since the end of the winter meetings earlier this month. The Red Sox and Yankees continue to have the best chance of landing the two-time Cy Young winner. Different options remain alive with Boston, including a package of center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury, infielder Jed Lowrie, righthander Justin Masterson and perhaps another prospect, or a package of Jon Lester, center fielder Coco Crisp, Lowrie and Masterson. It still appears the Red Sox won't part with Lester and Ellsbury in the same deal.

The Yankees would have to add righthander Ian Kennedy into a deal that includes prized young righthander Phillip Hughes and outfielder Melky Cabrera. One report Wednesday indicated that some Yankees officials want to pull Hughes out of the deal.

Other teams, including the Angels, have expressed interest but have yet to make a serious offer. The Twins remain patient in trying to make the right deal, and still could open the season with Santana.

Shopping around

Meanwhile, the Twins could bring in a low-risk veteran pitcher or two to look at in spring training. Or at least a lefthander to help out Dennys Reyes.

The Twins were one of several teams who watched righthander Kris Benson's 60-pitch workout in Arizona on Monday. Benson missed all of last season because of a shoulder injury.

And the Twins were very interested in lefthander Glendon Rusch before he signed a minor league deal with San Diego over the weekend.

"We have some interest in some players,'' Twins General Manager Bill Smith said. "We continue to look to see if there's someone out there who can make us better.''

When asked about lefthanded relievers, Smith said: "In general, you always like to have two lefthanders in the bullpen.''

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