freep: Dave Dombrowski talks about the big trade, the farm system and more

Project Hindsight in Retrospect…

Play hindsight, when you see what the Mets gave up for Johan Santana and you look at what you guys gave up for Renteria, in my mind, the Mets didn’t give up that much more to get Johan Santana, than you gave up for Edgar Renteria. Do you ever sit back and say if I would’ve waited maybe I could’ve gotten Santana?

No, I don’t because I think a couple things, first of all, in that situation in the division. Secondly, we weren’t on his shortlist to sign. He had New York and Boston to my knowledge. Shortstop was our biggest need. At the time we had to fill our shortstop position. So no, and I don’t know if we would’ve been able to sign him if we would’ve offered those guys, and it was one year, plus a little bit more, we might’ve had a chance to make that type of deal. Now he had a no trade so he could’ve vetoed it, but I don’t think in that spot we would’ve had the same success, and that’s for us the way it fit in. I don’t know if we would’ve had those finances to be able to sign him.