The National Hot Stove Edition; What to Watch For, Santana & Cabrera...

With the Hot Stove coming to a critical juncture, Major League Baseball will be holding their winter meetings in Nashville, Tennessee, and there is incredible anticipation for it this year.

The biggest topic of this year’s meeting will be centered on two players – lefty ace Johan Santana of the Minnesota Twins and slugger Miguel Cabrera of the Florida Marlins. The two players have dominated much of the talk for the past few weeks and the sporting world is in anticipation to where they’ll be dealt.

As baseball has become a game of the haves versus have-nots money-wise, Johan Santana is being targeted by the financial powerhouses of the sport, mainly the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox as the main players; meanwhile, the Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle Mariners and possibly the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim as the dark horses.

Well, considering things as they are, the Minnesota Twins want a boat load of prospects, and whatever team signs the left-hander must get him committed to a long term deal, which will average over twenty million per season. We shall see what happens, but if I played the role of GM, I’d hold onto my prospects and hope that Johan reaches free agency, but considering the state of the sport along with the desperation to win, I would be surprised if he is still a Twin by the middle of December.

The other big fish (no pun intended) that will dominate the winter meeting is Miguel Cabrera. With the signing of Torii Hunter by the Los Angeles Angles of Anaheim, they finally have the protection that was sorely needed in the middle of the order for their slugger, Vladmir Guerrero.

However, Angels’ owner Arte Moreno wants to hook Cabrera in.

Right now, they are battling primarily with the Dodgers for his services, and much like Minnesota, the Marlins want a boat load of prospects in return. The team who signs will him will also want him for a long term deal.

The problem with Cabrera that many echo isn’t with his skills, but his conditioning and his ability to play third base down the road. However, Cabrera is only 24, and if he could put a little more effort into his fitness, he could be one of the pre-eminent hitters in the history of the sport.

Other Storylines to Look Forward to This Week With the Winter Meetings:

· Assume there will be a lot of trades considering the inflated values of some of the free agents out there.

· Who will win the Santana, Cabrera sweepstakes?

· With Dan Haren now on the market, where does he go? Will Oakland rebuild?

· Will Minnesota have a new team by next year?

· Which Pitcher will be the next Gil Meche? Lohse, Silva or Hernandez?

· What about Andruw Jones, Aaron Rowand?