Report: Santana Deal "On Life Support"

According to Jayson Stark at 10:59 p.m., the Minnesota Twins are doing everything within their power to kill a potential deal sending Johan Santana to New York. Stark reports that the Twins are asking that Ian Kennedy be included with a deal already holding Phil Hughes. The Yankees have simply answered no way to that request, as they should.

According to baseball officials who were aware of the talks, the Twins again asked the Yankees on Monday night for pitcher Ian Kennedy -- a pitcher the Yankees have insisted for several days that they wouldn't trade -- as the third player in their proposed deal. The Yankees apparently turned down that proposal immediately.

Stark then describes the reluctance several Yankees officials had in even including Phil Hughes in the first place, much less including Hughes and Ian Kennedy. This feeling has only risen with the recent return of Andy Pettitte:

Meanwhile, officials from other clubs said some Yankees baseball personnel at the meetings have continued to agonize over the inclusion of Hughes in their offer, out of fear Hughes could come back to haunt them for years. So clearly, the decision to include Hughes in the first place was far from unanimous. And if the Yankees had any inclination whatsoever to waver on their stand a few days ago, the news Monday that Andy Pettitte had decided to return undoubtedly helped ease those concerns.

The Red Sox have reportedly not made any forward movement either, though other teams appear to be jumping back into the fray. Regardless of what Stark reports now, baseball fans are all too aware that things can change in a millisecond.

The Twins, on the other hand, may be having second thoughts about the repercussions of trading Santana in the first place, especially after the departure of his fellow face of the franchise, Torii Hunter. "This is a monumental franchise decision," said an official of one AL team. "And I'm just not sure anymore if they're really ready to do this."

All Bill Smith has to do is realize he isn't getting a better deal anywhere else, pick up a cell phone and dial Cashman to accept a proposal and the talks could go from dead to done-deal.

All in all, this may be the tipping point for the Santana to the Yankees trade buzz. Then again, the Yankees or Twins could possibly cave in, call the other team and modify an offer conducive to a quick resolution resulting in a new address for Johan.