Certain Toronto Blue Jays were so intent on bringing in free agent pitcher Ervin Santana as a teammate that they were will to de

Certain Toronto Blue Jays were so intent on bringing in free agent pitcher Ervin Santana as a teammate that they were will to defer some of their salaries. Sam Shields Jersey . First reported by FOX Sports Ken Rosenthal, its unknown if the impetus for the deferral proposal came from players or management, but it never left the preliminary stages. Rosenthal says that a pair of agents had heard word of the plan, but that they were never approached by Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos. Santana turned down a one-year, $14 million offer from the Jays and signed with the Atlanta Braves on the same deal after the Braves lost Kris Medlen for the season with Tommy John surgery. Whether or not the actual deferral proposal would fly in practice is another discussion altogether, as there would likely have been significant hurdles from the MLBPA, who is normally loath to allow its players to concede any sort of contractual edge without commensurate compensation. "I never took it that seriously," an agent told Rosenthal. "No way it would have ever passed the (union) unless there was some gain for the players who did that." In an interview with Matt Galloway on CBCs Metro Morning, Blue Jays president and CEO Paul Beeston confirmed that such discussions took place, but maintained that payroll was there if needed. "There was discussion about that and, to be very honest with you, I think, had it gone that way, it would have been fine, but we are at $140 million [in payroll] right now," said Beeston. "The one thing that we do have is a very generous owner from the point of view of what they have committed to try to build the team. I think that the Rogers people, more importantly [former Rogers Communications CEO] Nadir [Mohamed] last year and carried on this year with [current CEO] Guy Laurence and the Rogers family, have given us the dollars weve wanted, that we need to put a contending team on the field. Its up to us to bring them together." For his part, Anthopoulos believed the deal was done. He would not, however, get into the specifics of how the pact would have been structured. "The takeaway for me is we felt that we had an agreement in place," Anthopoulos told reporters prior to teh Jays Friday home opener. "He was prepared to come here. We had the dollars. How we choose to structure those dollars, those are things that we keep in house. "But I believe if Kris Medlen had not been hurt, Ervin Santana would be here today." Not that Anthopoulos was about to hold that against the 31-year-old. "He had a lot more interest going into the NL, which is his right," he said. When pressed on whether or not the teams spending was capped, Beeston insisted that it wasnt. "Were a business, so the answer to that is that we have a budget," said Beeston. "Its not a cap. If we can increase our revenue, we can increase our expenses, but we run it as a business." With the Jays only signing catcher Dioner Navarro during the offseason, Beeston said that free agency is not the only avenue to improve his team and that trades could be made over the course of the season. "You have to organize it in manner that you might have to make some trades," Beeston explained. "You may have to look at different ways of bringing your players along, but I dont think from the point of view of money, money is our problem. One of the issues that we have is that we had to build our farm system up and we have done that over the last three or four years, but its not like hockey or basketball, where you come right out of the colleges or out of the minor leagues and move right into the Majors. So some of the pitchers that we have down there like [Marcus] Stroman and [Aaron] Sanchez, theyre just ready to come, but those are the guys that you will want to have introduced into your organization because they have to play three or four years before they make the big dollars. So you need a mixture of the players who are at the minimum, as well as your stars. But you dont win without stars." While Beeston acknowledged that teams can win with smalled budgets, free-spending teams are the ones most likely to find success. "Lets be realistic about it," said Beeston. "You can do it, but youre gonna get lucky and have everybody pop at the same time. Ultimately, teams like the Dodgers and the Yankees and Boston, that are spending all kinds of money, are basically the teams that have star players at every position." The Jays open a three-game set with the New York Yankees on Friday night at the Rogers Centre. Aqib Talib Jersey . On Tuesday, the star questioned whether that was still the case. Speaking to reporters at a charity event, Johnson said: "I just kind of wonder sometimes: Is this still the place for me?" Johnsons comments came after he was asked why he recently skipped a voluntary minicamp. Joseph Noteboom Jersey . On Saturday, the paths of Drew Tate and Kevin Glenn cross again as opposing quarterbacks. http://www.ramsrookiestore.com/Rams-Ndamukong-Suh-Jersey/ . Donald Young lost in straight sets to Israels Dudi Sela 6-3, 6-0. Querrey, ranked No. 61, is the second-highest ranked American, ahead of Johnson (64).Wednesday nights matchup between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals will mark the 26th regular season meeting between Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin. They have at times been considered the two best players in the game, the question is, has their rivalry been rekindled? The NHL season has reached its quarter point and both Crosby and Ovechkin find themselves at the forefront of the scoring race. With 17 goals, Ovechkin is tied with Alex Steen for first, three goals ahead of injured Tampa Bay Lightning forward Steven Stamkos. Crosby meanwhile, shares the overall points lead with Steen as both players currently have 26 on the season. With seven assists added to his goal total, Ovechkin is fourth, two points behind the leaders. In their head-to-head battle, that has also included seven playoff games, Crosby has been the more successful of the two, picking up 43 regular season points and also has 13 more in the postseason. Ovechkin has 46 points in those 32 matchups. All of those playoff games were contested during a heated seven-game series in 20009 that the Penguins eventually captured in final game blowout in Washington. Ramik Wilson Rams Jersey. Adding fuel to the fire, the Penguins and Capitals are currently fighting for first place in the Metropolitan Division, with only a single point separating the two teams after 21 games. Last season, they split the two most prestigious post-season awards with Ovechkin being named the Hart Trophy winner as league MVP for the third time in his career while Crosby captured the Ted Lindsay award as most outstanding player as voted by the members of the NHLPA for the second time. Other players have also entered the upper echelon of the NHL to challenge Sidney Crosbys place at the top including Stamkos, New York Islanders forward John Tavares, Anaheim Ducks forward Corey Perry and Crosbys teammate Evgeni Malkin. Has Ovechkins resurgence been enough to add the spark back into the rivalry between himself and Crosby or has everyone moved on to another battle for the top spot in the NHL? Has the rivalry between Crosby and Ovechkin been rekindled? Its Your! Call. 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