Gordon Edes of the Boston Globe had a nice there’s-nothing-new-in-the-Santana-Sweepstakes story today. He points out how the Theo Epstein Administration routinely makes late moves.

We all - and I mean baseball hacks in the Twin Cities, New York and Boston - would like closure so we can get on with the rest of the offseason. But I guess we must wait for that one phone call.

We’ll see….

Minor league maven John Sickels checks in with a top 20 list of Red Sox prospects.

And his take on Yankees prospects, among other entries…

Not much to report today, but it’s still early. We have reported about the Yankees getting more involved in Santana talks - but I never ruled them out of it even when Hank S. claimed they were out of it. I received assurances over the weekend that the Twins were still talking with the Red Sox.

With Erik Bedard possibly headed to the Reds or Mariners and Joe Blanton likely headed elsewhere (if Billy Beane gets what he wants for him(, the Twins still have the Hankees and the Nation interested in Santana, which is good for the Twins.

I have produced a new podcast, this one discussing the Twins’ moves so far this offseason. Check it out, and I’ll be back later if anything breaks.

Latest update:

I’ve added three links to my blogroll of sites worth checking out.

1. Joe Posnanski. K.C. Star columnist and one of the best baseball scribes in the country. It talks baseball, and other things.

2. MLB Trade Rumors. This blog has blown up like bubble gum, as the producer of this site links to trade news across the country.

3. Twins Ballpark Update. Get the latest news as the [Insert name here] Park rises from the ashes.

The Twins continue to talk to teams about lefty Johan Santana but, understandably, the club had more pressing issues this weekend, namely Jake Mauer’s wedding on Saturday. This upcoming week will be a busy one, with several meetings and staff functions scheduled in addition to ongoing talks with clubs.

The folks over at metsblog claim that Santana prefers pitching for them and that the Twins are trying to accommodate him. I was told today, by a well-placed source, that the Twins have had a lot of good dialogue lately with the Red Sox. Peter Greenberg, Santana’s agent, said this week there have been no limitations placed on the Twins as to where they can trade Santana.

Santana, of course, can veto any trade. If he does have a preference, the Twins still have to agree on the players. They’d rather not make a trade than make a bad trade (read my Twins Insider in Sunday’s editions). And the general consensus among us hacks at the winter meetings was that, other than Fernando Martinez, the Mets’ prospects aren’t top shelf. If their shortstop or third baseman isn’t involved, a deal with the Mets would appear to be difficult.

I personally think the Twins deserve credit for not moving Santana yet. Several trades have been made after the winter meetings.

Twins fans should remember that Chuck Knoblauch was dealt in February of 1998 when the Yankees were the only real team interested. The Twins did O.K. there.

Mark Mulder was traded for Kiko Calero, Daric Barton and someone named Dan Haren in December of 2004. Too bad Mulder came down with shoulder problems.

Oakland also dealt Tim Hudson about the same time for Juan Cruz, Charles Thomas and Dan Meyer. Ick.

The timing was different, but I was on the Royals beat in 1995 when David Cone was traded to Toronto for Chris Stynes, Anthony Medrano and David Sinnes. Ick.

Cone was traded that July to the Yankees for Marty Jansen, Jason Jarvis and Mike Gordon. Ick.

So can you blame the Twins for trying to get as much as they can?

Before I’m done, I’d like to say hello to Scott Shapiro, who reads my blog regularly and with whom I chatted with during the winter meetings. What’s up Scott!!

And I would kick myself for not pointing out that I saw the great Clark Griffith walking around and chatting up people during the winter meetings in Nashville. Sorry I didn’t yell at you, Clark, but I was in the Santana trade meat-grinder. I owe you lunch. Capital Grill?

That’s all I’ve got for now. Joe C. will be on the case this week.

Some teams have started to leave the winter meetings, one of the most non-eventful ones I’ve been a part of. The Twins will hang around for tonight’s minor league banquet before leaving on Friday. I leave tomorrow, too.

The Twins headed to their suite following the Rule 5 draft for internal meetings. I do have a few tidbits.

I’ve always wondered how serious Boston’s interest in Johan Santana was. After talking with some Red Sox officials last night, they are very serious about landing Santana and dominating the Yankees for several years. It remains to be seen if they are serious enough to put Jon Lester and Jacoby Ellsbury in the same deal.

One agent I spoke with on Wednesday called the Mets the, “sleeper,” team. They have two good outfield prospects in Carlos Gomez and Fernando Martinez, but do they really have enough to pull off a deal? Omar Minaya thinks so. I don’t unless a certain shortstop is part of the deal.

My sleeper pick is the Angels. I checked this morning and they still haven’t spoken to the Twins lately about Santana. Many of us here think they match up well with what the Twins need, especially power-hitting infield prospect Brandon Wood. There’s always a chance the Angels could jump in this thing. And everyone knows the Angels go all-in as well as anyone.

I’ve been told the Twins aren’t that fired up about Gary Matthews. That may mean they prefer Reggie Willits as a center field option.

The Dodgers? Unless I’m being lied to, there hasn’t been much contact with them, especially on the Santana front. Many people here are speculating that the addition of Andruw Jones frees up outfielders to throw in a Santana deal, but there’s a belief that Matt Kemp is more of a corner outfielder than centerfielder. Juan Pierre? That contract? Andre Ethier? Corner guy.

Travel schedules may slow down trade talks today and tomorrow. Sorry folks, the saga continues. And the Twins can’t zero in on potential free agents until they figure out what they can get back for Santana.

The Twins didn’t select anyone the various phases of the Rule 5 draft today, but three picks in the first round came from the Twins’ organization.

Righthander Tim Lahey, a catcher-turned-reliever (future Troy Percival?) was selected by Tampa Bay then sold to the Cubs for $150,000.

Righthander R.A. Dickey, who was recently signed to a minor league deal, was selected by Seattle.

Outfielder Garrett Guzman, not a bad player, was taken by Washington.

The run on Twins didn’t end there.

The first two picks of the AAA phase are now ex-Twins: Outfielder Rashad Eldridge (Tampa Bay) and righthander Joshua Hill (Pittsburgh). And righthander Jonathan Martinez, who must have been a recent signing because his bio says he was with the Mets this year,  was selected by Baltimore. [EDIT]: Oh! It’s J.P. Martinez. That makes more sense.

The Twins expected some of these players to be picked. They were a little surprised Eldridge was selected.