Schilling's Loss Is Omar's Gain

Had Curt Schilling's shoulder issues come about a week or so earlier, the baseball world may have been discussing the Red Sox 1-2 punch of Josh Beckett and Johan Santana. There is no doubt that had Schilling been diagnosed with an injury keeping him off the field until after the all star break that Boston would have actually pursued Santana, instead of exercise smokescreen tactics.

Fortunately for the New York Mets - and by extension, the Yankees - Theo Epstein and company had no desire to surrender a package built around Jacoby Ellsbury or Jon Lester. The status of Boston's rotation as one of the best in the business made this decision much easier for the Red Sox. However, had the Sox known about Schilling's shoulder earlier, Omar Minaya would have been scrambling to sign Livian Hernandez or Kyle Lohse.

Subway Squawkers had this to say:

Reports out of Boston say that Curt Schilling has a major shoulder injury and the Red Sox may try to void his contract. Had the Red Sox known earlier that Schilling would be unavailable, might they have gotten back in the bidding for Johan Santana? Sure, Schilling might not have pitched more than one more year anyway, but the Yankees supposedly had a lot less interest in Santana once Andy Pettitte decided to return, and Pettitte may only be around for one more year himself.

Actually, the Mets also have an aging, injury-prone ace with one year left on his contract, but I’m glad they didn’t use Pedro Martinez’ return as an excuse not to pursue Santana. And if Pedro does continue his successful comeback, I hope he’s still an important part of the team next year at Citi Field.