Johan Santana to Mets: Strangest Trade You'll Ever See

February 26, 2013

Johan Santana will be entering the last year of his six-year contract with the New York Mets. And, when you look at his tenure with the Mets and know who he is and what's he's done, this has got to be the strangest destination for a pitcher of this magnitude.

When a team doesn't have enough money to resign or extend his pitcher, that pitcher usually goes to a great team. That's not the case here with Santana and the Mets. It's almost...the other way around.

With Santana's eight seasons with the Minnesota Twins, he made it to the postseason three times and won two Cy Young Awards. Was clearing the best pitcher in the American League at the time.

Then in 2007, the Twins couldn't extend Santana's contract and decide to trade him to the Mets. Goes to Queens and doesn't accomplish anything. Not only he doesn't win a Cy Young with the Mets, he doesn't even reach the postseason with them.

Santana getting traded to the Mets is like if Justin Verlander got traded to the Kansas City Royals from the Detroit Tigers.

This wasn't Santana's fault. He really wanted to get traded to the New York Yankees. And almost got traded to the Boston Red Sox. I think the Twins GM, Terry Ryan, was being a dick and didn't want to trade him to a winning team. Though he got nothing what the Mets gave back in return.

Santana's run with the Mets was...okay, I guess. It wasn't a success. Far from it.