The next time a top pitcher enters a big contract negotiation, you might hear the words Santana Money. The soon-to-be-former Twins ace appears set to receive the richest contract for any pitcher in baseball history.

According to Ken Rosenthal, at FoxSports.com, the Mets are offering about $22 million per season. The Mets were guaranteeing a five-year extension, and there was talk of a sixth year being added as a vesting option, as the sides approached the 4 p.m. (Central) deadline to strike a deal.

Jon Heyman, at SI.com, has the Mets guaranteeing a sixth year and adding a $7 million signing bonus, which would give Santana the equivalent of a seven-year, $152 million contract.

Geez. Do you think the former Rule 5 draft pick can live on that?

Update: The deadline has passed, and no announcement has been made. I just spoke to a well-placed source who said he heard the deal is close. No word yet on whether the commissioner’s office granted an extension to the 72-hour window. But the fact the sides are close suggests a brief extension could be granted.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 1st, 2008 at 2:07 pm and is filed under Twins thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.