At the winter meetings, the Red Sox talked extensively about Johan Santana. They debated and evaluated and argued and made offers. He was a front-burner item for them, and there seemed to be great desire, for Boston, to get a deal done.
But since the holidays, Boston's enthusiasm for the conversation has seemingly waned, perhaps as the Red Sox considered the looming implications of giving Santana something close to the contract extension he wants -- six years and $150 million. The sobering consideration of the money and the risk and the prospects involved are cast against the reality that the Red Sox don't have to make the trade. It's as if the Red Sox are holiday shoppers who just got their first post-Christmas credit card bill and are thinking: Maybe we ought to cut back...
You won't see the Red Sox announcing they are pulling out of the trade talks the way that Yankees head honcho Hank Steinbrenner did. It doesn't do the Red Sox any good to signal that they have departed the field, even if they have determined, internally, they are not going to make a Santana trade built around Jon Lester. It would not surprise me if Boston GM Theo Epstein has communicated to Minnesota GM Billy Smith: Look, old friend, you and I are probably never going to finish a Santana trade, but officially, that package deal built around Jacoby Ellsbury remains on the table. This allows Smith to convey to the Mets or the Yankees that Boston remains in play.