Back in 1999 the Twins' scouting department saw something they liked in a 20-year-old left-hander who had just gone 8-8 with a modest 4.67 ERA for the Astros' high Single-A affiliate. Minnesota acquired Johan Santana via the Rule 5 draft that December and stuck him in the back of the bullpen, where he stayed for the next two seasons, going 3-3 with a 5.90 ERA before heading to Triple-A in 2002.

At that point Santana was 23 years old and had shown relatively minimal promise, but that all changed when he met Triple-A pitching coach Bobby Cuellar. Cuellar worked with Santana to perfect his changeup, which when combined with a low-90s fastball and sharp-breaking slider created … well, it created Johan Santana. His changeup suddenly became a world-class pitch and Santana immediately began to dominate.

He struck out 75 batters while allowing just 37 hits in 49 innings at Triple-A to earn a trip back to Minnesota, where he posted a 2.99 ERA with 137 strikeouts and a .212 opponent's batting average in 108 innings. A switch had been flipped within Santana while he was at Triple-A and since the seemingly innocuous moment when he rejoined the Twins midway through the 2002 season he's been the best pitcher in all of baseball.

No doubt as shocked as anyone about the monster that was created in Cuellar's lab, it took the Twins another year to finally hand Santana a full-time spot in the rotation. Once they did, he never looked back. In four seasons as a full-time starter Santana has gone 70-32 with a 2.89 ERA and 983 strikeouts in 912 innings, winning two ERA titles and three strikeout crowns while capturing a pair of Cy Young awards and deserving a third.

He toyed with hitters, setting them up with his fastball and then making them look silly once the count got to two strikes, as his changeup left even the league's best bats helpless when the bottom dropped out. He was an artist on the mound, painting corners and pulling strings, but as has long been the case for the small-payroll Twins the clock was ticking the entire time.

Minnesota brilliantly plucked him away from the Astros and shaped him from a raw project into the game's best pitcher, yet with free agency just one season away the writing was on the wall for Santana's departure. Bill Smith took over for long-time general manager Terry Ryan at season's end and immediately began shopping Santana, as rumors swirled around the usual suspects in New York and Boston for three solid months.

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For many teams the notion of willingly giving up the best pitcher in baseball during his prime may seem absurd. Such is life on a budget and the Twins have been down the same road before, albeit with lesser talents than Santana. Acquire them, develop them, watch them thrive, and then let them go when the money gets too big. The names change, but the story remains all too familiar for Twins fans.

Just days after uncharacteristically handing Justin Morneau and Michael Cuddyer $100 million in contract extensions, Smith made what will undoubtedly be the biggest decision of his career. Rather than accept seemingly superior offers from the Yankees or Red Sox that could have netted Phil Hughes or Jacoby Ellsbury, Smith choose the Mets' quantity-over-quality offer for Santana.

Now that the two sides have agreed to a long-term contract extension — the Twins send their ace to New York for prospects Deolis Guerra, Carlos Gomez, Kevin Mulvey, and Phil Humber.

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