Proposed Johan Santana Deal Pushes Mets to Favorites in National League

After what seemed like an eternity, the Twins finally dealt Johan Santana, perhaps the premier starting pitcher in the game, to the Mets for a collection of four prospects, pending New York's ability to work out a contract extension. This piece is about the impact of Santana on the National League so there will be no talk about the pros and cons of this deal for either club.

Santana is a fireballing lefty with a top-notch changeup. In eight years in the Major Leagues, he has won 68 percent of his games, notching a record of 93-44. A three-time All-Star and a two-time Cy Young Award winner, Santana won the pitcher's triple crown in 2006, when he led the American League in wins (19), strikeouts (245) and ERA (2.77).

The Mets already had a formidable pitching staff, highlighted by 2007 15-game winners John Maine and Oliver Perez, along with Pedro Martinez and Orlando Hernandez, skilled veterans coming off injury-plagued seasons. The addition of Santana means the Mets have the best pitching staff in the league.

Prior to the deal, the Mets were among the top teams in the National League. However, they had no guarantee of even making the playoffs, being in the same division with the Phillies and the Braves.

The acquisition of Santana immediately makes the Mets the team to beat in the senior circuit. They were the top team in the league in 2006 and only an historic collapse at the end of 2007 kept them from repeating that feat last year.

In addition to Santana, the 2008 Mets hope to have Martinez healthy for the entire season, which should be a huge boost to the team. This deal also allows Mike Pelfrey to act as a potential injury replacement for either Martinez or Hernandez. It makes the off-season loss of Tom Glavine seem completely insignificant.

Santana changes the entire story surrounding the Mets. Instead of "How will the team survive last season's collapse?", the story line now becomes, "Will the team's offense keep up with the pitching?"

Any team that starts with Jose Reyes, David Wright and Carlos Beltran has an excellent offensive core. Can Moises Alou stay healthy and can Carlos Delgado bounce back? If the answers to those two questions are yes, than the sky is the limit for this team.

Johan Santana transforms the Mets to the unquestioned team to beat in the National League. This move trumps the Diamondbacks' acquisition of Dan Haren and puts the Phillies' pick-up of Pedro Feliz and the Braves' addition of Mark Kotsay to shame.

More information:

http://www.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=276371