Originally published Sunday, February 3, 2008 at 12:00 AM

Baseball Notebook | Santana passes physical exam, joins Mets

For the New York Mets, the euphoria was obvious when their trade for Minnesota Twins pitcher Johan Santana finally became official after...

By McClatchy Newspapers and The Associated Press

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Johan Santana won two AL Cy Youngs.

MINNEAPOLIS — For the New York Mets, the euphoria was obvious when their trade for Minnesota Twins pitcher Johan Santana finally became official after he passed a physical Saturday.

Mets general manager Omar Minaya said they "exceeded our expectations" in acquiring a No. 1 starter. Santana, 28, reportedly got a six-year, $137.5 million contract in exchange for waiving his no-trade clause.

Santana's agent, Peter Greenberg, joined a conference call with Mets officials and said, "I keep pinching myself that this isn't a dream."

Meanwhile, in Minnesota, the news passed with far less hyperbole.

Twins GM Bill Smith spoke realistically about the four-prospect package the team received in exchange for the two-time American League Cy Young Award winner: outfielder Carlos Gomez and pitchers Kevin Mulvey, Phil Humber and Deolis Guerra.

None is a shoo-in to help the 2008 team, Smith said, but all have nice upsides.

The Twins had on-again, off-again negotiations with the Mets, New York Yankees and Boston for weeks. Asked if, at any point, the Twins had better offers than the one they took, Smith declined to answer.

"If we had not gotten an offer that we felt was acceptable, we would have kept Johan for the 2008 season," Smith said.

Notes

• Shortstop Khalil Greene, 28, and the San Diego Padres are closing in on a two-year deal worth about $11 million, a source said.

• Reliever Jon Rauch, 29, and the Washington Nationals agreed to a $3.2 million, two-year contract, avoiding arbitration.

• Houston Astros infielder Miguel Tejada homered twice and became the career HR leader in the Caribbean Series with 13. Tejada led the Dominican Republic's Cibao Eagles to a 13-6 victory over Mexico's Obregon Yaquis.

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