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Sports / Other Sports |
Santana, Cabrera top trade targets at MLB winter meetings(Agencies)
Updated: 2007-12-04 10:03 NEW YORK - Minnesota Twins ace left-hander Johan Santana and Florida Marlins third baseman Miguel Cabrera are the top trade targets at Major League Baseball's winter meetings starting in Nashville, Tennessee on Monday. While the Venezuelan stars dominate trade speculation, free agents shopping for contracts include center-fielders Andruw Jones, Aaron Rowand and Mike Cameron, third baseman Pedro Feliz and relievers Eric Gagne and Octavio Dotel. Japanese outfielder Kosuke Fukudome and comptriot Hiroki Kuroda, a right-handed pitcher, are also being courted by major league teams at the four-day meetings. American League rivals New York Yankees and World Series champion Boston Red Sox have been assembling packages of top prospects to entice a trade with Minnesota, who are looking to deal Santana before he can become a free agent. The 29-year-old Santana has been the most dominant pitcher in the majors over the last four years, winning two Cy Young awards, three strikeout crowns and two ERA titles. Santana, 15-13 last season for Minnesota, yielded 183 hits and 52 walks in 219 innings while striking out 235 batters. The Yankees offer is believed to include top pitching prospect Phil Hughes and starting center-fielder Melky Cabrera, while the Red Sox have countered with a package including young left-hander Jon Lester and center-fielder Coco Crisp. Santana is expected to demand more than $20 million a year on a record-setting long term deal. Last December, Barry Zito set a new standard for pitcher deals by signing a seven-year, $126 million contract with the San Francisco Giants. Zito was a disappointing 11-13 with a 4.53 earned run average for the Giants last season. The Marlins have been entertaining offers for 24-year-old Cabrera, who they fear they will not be able to afford to keep in the future. Cabrera, a career .313 hitter with 138 homers and 523 RBIs, belted 34 homers, drove in 119 runs and batted .320 last year. He has been pursued by the Los Angeles Angels and Dodgers, with interest also shown by the Phillies and Giants among others. |
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