NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The New York Yankees likely will pull out of trade talks for Johan Santana if the Minnesota Twins don't make a decision by late Monday.
"I'm not going to be played against the Red Sox. That's not something I'll do. That's not something the Yankees should ever do, and that's I think what they're trying to do now," Yankees senior vice president Hank Steinbrenner said Sunday. "So if they want the best offer that has been offered to them, then they need to make up their minds."
The Yankees have proposed swapping pitcher Phil Hughes, center fielder Melky Cabrera and a midlevel prospect for the two-time Cy Young Award winner, who can become a free agent after next season.
Boston also is competing to land Santana. The Red Sox are thought to have offered a package that would include pitcher Jon Lester or center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury but not both. Center fielder Coco Crisp also could be part of a trade.
Steinbrenner wouldn't set a specific time Monday for pulling out.
"We'll see how it goes, but this is not an act. It's not a bluff. It's just reality," he said. "Because as much as I want Santana, and you can make that clear - for his sake, to know that I do want him - but the fact is that I'm not going to play the game. We've made them the best offer. And at this point, it's not going to get any better. So they can decide. At this point, it's up to them. I don't think they want to lose us in this thing, obviously. Nobody wants to lose the Yankees in a negotiation."
A trade likely would have to be made on a conditional basis, giving the Yankees or Red Sox 72 hours to work out a new long-term contract for Santana, who is owed $13.25 million next season. Steinbrenner said the Yankees didn't want to wait too long, miss out on Santana and then find out it was too late to get involved in talks for other pitchers, such as Oakland's Dan Haren.
"We need to get things straightened out, and not wait around for them to run back to Boston and back to us, and then back to Boston," he said. "I'm not going to do that."
Other prominent players could be traded, too, at the four-day annual session. The Los Angeles Angels have pursued Florida third baseman Miguel Cabrera and the Baltimore Orioles might be shopping shortstop Miguel Tejada.
"I think there's going to be a lot of trades because the free agent market is so poor," Toronto general manager J.P. Ricciardi said. "We like our club. We've just got to stay healthy. For us, it's going to have to be a blockbuster, because if it's not, we like our team."
One player who dominated last year's meetings isn't likely to make an impact this year. While Barry Bonds personally met with the Giants last December in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., San Francisco doesn't want to re-sign the home run king -- and it's unclear whether any team is interested following his indictment last month on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice.
His first court appearance in San Francisco is set for Friday, the day after the meetings end.
First up on the agenda is Monday morning's Hall of Fame announcement by the new Veterans Committee, which met for the first time Sunday. After charges of cronyism, the Veterans Committee was opened to all Hall of Famers, but no one was voted during balloting in 2003, 2005 and 2007. The format was changed again, and this time present and former management types dominate the panels.
