We spent a lot of time last winter writing about Boston’s alleged interest in Johan Santana. It’s interesting now watching some of the players the Red Sox allegedly made available in those alleged trade talks taking on vital roles in the postseason.

Remember, the Twins could have allegedly had Jon Lester or Jacoby Ellsbury — but not both — with Justin Masterson and Jed Lowrie in either deal as alleged throw-ins.

Looking back, I think it was convenient for the Twins and Red Sox to keep those rumors afloat, since most everyone expected Hank Steinbrenner’s Yankees to eventually make the superior offer.

Right now, Lester for Santana looks like a pretty good trade straight up. As Buster Olney notes today, Lester has a 1.71 ERA in his past seven starts and is 11-1 with a 2.49 ERA this year at Fenway Park, heading into his Game 4 start tonight.

Ellsbury is a nice player, too, though I think the Twins did fine to get Carlos Gomez. Ellsbury has considerably more polish and plate discipline, but Gomez is two years younger and should hit for more power with time.

After being told by scouts that Lowrie wasn’t good enough defensively to be an everyday shortstop in the big leagues, I’ve watched with great respect as he’s overcome that label, filling in admirably for injured shortstop Julio Lugo. A switch-hitter, Lowrie also managed 46 RBI in half a season.

Finally, there’s Masterson, who has emerged as Boston’s primary setup man in front of closer Jonathan Papelbon. Masterson, 23, is 6-foot-6 and throws a hard sinker. After using him for a handful of starts, the Red Sox sent him back to the minors to groom him as a setup guy.

That sure looks like a smart move now. You wonder if the Twins would have been better off doing this with Nick Blackburn this year after Pat Neshek got injured. Like Masterson, Blackburn has the stuff to handle the eighth inning, though the way Blackburn pitched as a starter in Game 163 leaves the Twins with no regrets.

Anyway, this Red Sox/Angels series has been terrific, and I was thrilled to see the Angels extend it to Game 4. We’ll see if Lester, Ellsbury, Lowrie and Masterson can finish the job tonight.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 6th, 2008 at 10:48 am and is filed under Around MLB. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.