Ortiz says Johan Santana won't be a Red Sox

"No," Ortiz said when asked if he thought his good friend, Santana, would be traded to the Red Sox. "I was (following it) for a minute, but I guess they stopped. They don't want him to go. (Minnesota) already gave Boston too many good things already. Me, and now Santana? No way."

While Ortiz' belief that the left-hander won't be coming to the Red Sox might serve as coal in the stockings of many New Englanders, the idea of missing out on the former Cy Young Award winner doesn't thrill the Sox slugger, either. The two have remained close since they first played together with Minnesota in 2000, and Ortiz still carries pictures of Santana's children on his cell phone.

"Hell yeah," Ortiz said when asked if he was excited at the prospect of calling Santana a teammate again. "What do you think? That's a whole lot less trouble for me."