Mets in talks for Santana, Willis

How things change in 24 hours.

As recently as yesterday, the Mets were in serious talks for the services of Erik Bedard. If they were to acquire an ace, Bedard was the best bet. Now, with the Yankees out of the running for Johan Santana and the Red Sox having only a lukewarm interest in trading for the Twins ace, the Mets have re-entered the race for Santana.

Let me say that again for emphasis.

The Mets are back in the race for Santana.

SI's Jon Heyman reported on WFAN that the Mets are in relatively serious talks with the Twins, and are putting together a package for to acquire Santana. Oliver Perez and Carlos Gomez are rumored to be a part of the package, and Philip Humber is probably in there as well. As much as I absolutely love Oliver Perez and his upside, flipping him to the Twins for a year (he's a free agent after the 2008 season) for Johan Santana would make me do backflips, particularly if we can sign Santana to a long-term deal. I am excited just thinking about it.

Dontrelle Willis is also worthy of mentioning here. Apparently, the Tigers are uncomfortable with keeping a payroll in the mid-$120 millon and are looking to cut some salary. According to WFAN's Sweeney Murti, the Tigers approached the Mets earlier in the day about trading for both Willis and Ivan Rodriguez. Willis is due about $6 million next year, and Rodriguez is under contract for $13 million. That package would not cost nearly as much as Johan Santana, but would still improve the Mets rotation greatly.

I can't provide links to either of those stories because they were on the radio, so you'll just have to trust me. There's a link to a Minnesota Star-Tribune blog about the Santana deal, and I think that's the best I can do.

Paul LoDuca and the Blue Jays are close to agreeing on a 1 year, $2.5 million contract (bottom of the page).

The Mets are interested in Florida utilityman Alfredo Amezaga, who I really like. He's a good defensive outfielder with impressive speed.

A possible Toronto/San Francisco trade involving Alex Rios and Tim Lincecum is on hold, at least temporarily.

The three-way trade rumor between the Mets, Twins, and A's involving Jose Reyes, Dan Haren, and Johan Santana was a complete hoax.

More to come later...