Twins Insider: To trade or not to trade

Boston General Manager Theo Epstein, sequestered in his suite during the winter meetings in Nashville last December, had grown bored. So Epstein, assistant GM Jed Hoyer and other members of the Red Sox organization took a stroll through the expansive Gaylord Opryland Hotel.

It was during the height of Johan Santana trade coverage, and the Red Sox were interested in adding Santana to create a potentially devastating 1-2-3 combo of righthanders Josh Beckett and Daisuke Matsuzaka sandwiched around the two-time Cy Young Award winner.

They eventually ran into a weary reporter, who asked about the latest trade speculation involving Santana. Epstein spoke about how much he liked his prospects and how hard it would be for him to weaken his farm system by dealing a package of them for one player. As tempting as adding Santana was, the Red Sox weren't going to give in.

Boston never paired lefthander Jon Lester and outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury in the same offer to the Twins, and the Red Sox's interest waned after the winter meetings. There also were signals out of Boston that ownership had reservations about signing Santana to a precedent-setting contract, such as the six-year, $137.5 million he wound up receiving from the Mets.

Six weeks into the regular season, and it's easy to see why Epstein was in love with his prospects.

Boston is in the Twin Cities this weekend -- where there seems to be a sizable Red Sox fan base -- with the familiar group of core players such as David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez and Jason Varitek and a strong pitching staff that includes Beckett and closer Jonathan Papelbon.

But if you watch any of the games this weekend, you'll also see the next wave of Red Sox players at work -- many of whom were mentioned in the Santana trade talks with the Twins.

Lester is scheduled to start tonight. He's battled back from cancer first diagnosed in 2006, so he's a great story. He's 2-2 with a 3.94 ERA and is showing signs, at 24, of becoming a well-rounded pitcher.

"I've been figuring some things out this year," Lester told the Boston media after his start Sunday. "Figuring out how to set guys up more, how to go to other pitches other than what I think my strengths are and get guys out. I think it's more just confidence than anything."

Infielder Jed Lowrie, also mentioned in trade talks, made his major league debut last month and is batting .263. Scouts say they believe Lowrie will be a .300 hitter in the majors with good plate discipline.

Righthander Justin Masterson was called up for a spot start on April 24 and two-hit the Angels over six innings in a 7-5 loss.

And there's the center field combo of Ellsbury and Coco Crisp, two players Boston manager Terry Francona has masterfully interchanged so far.

Red Sox fans are in love with Ellsbury, who's batting .290 with a .397 on-base percentage. Twins fans seem to feel the same way about Carlos Gomez, who is the top prospect of the four the Twins received from the Mets for Santana. Both are fast -- each has 13 stolen bases -- but Gomez is faster. Both have good offensive potential, but Ellsbury is more polished and disciplined. Both have been electrifying at times, with Ellsbury batting .438 in last fall's World Series against Colorado and taking off from there, and Gomez hitting for the cycle on Wednesday.

Crisp, who would have been part of the Lester-Masterson package, runs well and is considered one of the best defensive outfielders in the game. But he isn't as good of a hitter as Ellsbury.

If the Red Sox had decided to trade for Santana, it could have been him starting tonight against his former team and the game would be drenched in intrigue.

Even with Santana in New York, this series is an interesting matchup of first-place teams. Gomez is winning over Twins fans. And Epstein can watch his young players, content in the knowledge that sometimes the best trades are the ones that are never made.

La Velle E. Neal III • lneal@startribune.com