Tony DeMarco

On the eve of the winter meetings, the epicenter of the baseball universe is … in Minnesota? You bet, and that’s an obvious signal that new general manager Bill Smith is in a much more active mode than his predecessor, Terry Ryan.

Smith has little choice, really. The ticking of the free-agent clock has dictated as much, turning this off-season into a watershed period for him and his franchise. Two and one-half years away from moving into a new stadium that should push revenues upward, the Twins face(d) important decisions on three of their best players — Torii Hunter, Johan Santana and Joe Nathan.

You saw what happened with Hunter. No new deal was reached at the critical point last season, making it a foregone conclusion that somebody would outbid the Twins for his enticing combination of skills, leadership and fan appeal. And sure enough, the $90-million deal Hunter received from the Angels was about $30 million more than the Twins reportedly were willing to go.   

A more-aggressive approach last season could have kept Hunter in place. But here’s where Smith’s proactive stance quickly made Hunter’s departure yesterday’s news. On the same day the Angels held a news conference to introduce Hunter and newly acquired right-hander Jon Garland, Smith pulled off a major six-player deal that netted Delmon Young.

Young isn’t without question marks — impatience at the plate and a lack of maturity. But at 22, he is an emerging star who could put up better numbers than Hunter as soon as 2008. Young will move to left field, where his strong arm will be an asset and his lack of range will be minimized. And if he hits behind Joe Mauer, Michael Cuddyer and Justin Morneau, he could rack up 125 RBI.

To get Young, the Twins went against their norm by trading right-hander Matt Garza, the club’s No. 1 pick in 2005. This could signal their expectation of getting another young starter to replace Garza in whatever deal they settle upon involving Santana.

Garza’s 2007 numbers were a bit alarming — 132 base-runners in 83 innings, .294 opponents’ batting average — but the consensus opinion is that the 24-year-old right-hander will be a front-end-of-the-rotation starter soon enough. The rest of the deal involves a swap of infielders Jason Bartlett and Brendan Harris (edge Devil Rays), and outfield prospect Jason Priddie for reliever Eduardo Morlan (too early to tell).

As for a Santana deal, it’s not a matter of if, but when. Early negotiations revealed a gap of up to $60 million between the $80 million the Twins reportedly were willing to offer and the $140 or so million Santana wants.

That leaves the question of do the Twins pull the trigger this winter, or wait until mid-season, when contenders still will be needing pitching, but running the risk of Santana suffering a downturn in performance or an injury.

The offers undoubtedly will be talent-rich, as it doesn’t hurt that the Twins find themselves in the enviable position of possibly capitalizing on a critical need of both the Yankees and Mets.

While there is no replacing a Santana, we could be talking packages including Melky Cabrera and either Phil Hughes or Ian Kennedy from the Yankees; Carlos Gomez and a young starting pitcher (but not Jose Reyes) from the Mets; Clay Buchholz — or Jon Lester — plus from Boston; take your pick from among three Angels’ young players; Brendan Morrow-plus from the Mariners (but probably not Adam Jones).

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You get the idea — either now or in mid-July, the Twins could get a starting pitcher, fill at least one of their position-player needs (second base, shortstop, third base, center field), plus get another top prospect. And you can bet one or two players they receive will have All-Star potential.

Nathan also can become a free agent after the 2008 season, and therefore, his situation is the same as Santana’s, only with more-manageable numbers. He is a steal at $6 million this year, as the Twins wisely picked up his option. And they could hang onto him, at least until the July 31^st deadline.

The Twins won’t give up on 2008 no matter if Santana stays or goes, and keeping Nathan around awhile can only help their chances of contending in the tough AL Central. But if the right deal comes along, Smith should make it if the Twins — as expected — don’t have the means to sign Nathan long-term.

There apparently will be no changing Twins owner Carl Pohlad’s philosophy of operating at low-to-mid revenue and payroll — even with his net worth recently estimated by Forbes magazine at $3.1 billion, making him the richest owner in baseball by a long shot.

But Smith does have the opportunity to succeed in a big way within that operating framework, setting up the Twins for the transitional period before they move into their new home.

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