MLB

BOSOX TRYIN’ TO STOCKPILE

The Yankees strongly suspect that if the Red Sox were on the brink of acquiring Johan Santana that the Twins would let them know as a way to, at the least, elicit a last, best package offer. And as of last night, the Yanks had not heard such info.

Nevertheless, the Yanks consider the package that is being brandished by the Red Sox as formidable as the Santana stakes seem to have come down to the AL East superpowers, extending the heat of The Rivalry into the chill of the offseason. It is late November and it is Red Sox vs. Yankees for the biggest prize available.

As of now, Boston is still refusing to include the center fielder Minnesota craves, Jacoby Ellsbury, and is instead offering Coco Crisp, who is owed $10 million over wo seasons. But the other pieces of the package, likely pitchers Jon Lester and Justin Masterson, and infielder Jed Lowrie are an attractive collection.

“The younger players are very good prospects,” a Yankee official said.

The Yankees remain where they have been for days, hedging on meeting the Twins’ request to have Phil Hughes along with Melky Cabrera and two prospects. “We know what they want,” a Yankee official said. “We are still talking.”

The Yanks are trying to see if they can find a package that perhaps has Ian Kennedy as the main component. Other players under discussion include outfielders Austin Jackson and Jose Tabata, pitcher Alan Horne and shortstop Alberto Gonzalez. The Yanks obtained Gonzalez in a deal last year for Randy Johnson. He is considered a defensive whiz and the Twins are looking for a shortstop.

Officials from multiple teams believe the Twins, while obviously wanting to extract the best package from having the Red Sox and Yankees squared off, are hoping to do a deal before the Winter Meetings end and possibly even before they officially start. But completing the trade is just a first step. The acquiring team would then have to sign Santana, who has a complete no-trade clause, to an extension that will be a record for a pitcher, probably in the seven-year, $150 million range.

The financial outlay is one reason interested teams are so hesitant to surrender their high-ceiling, low-cost prospects. If, for example, Santana were under control at an appealing wage for the next three years, the Yanks would more comfortably deal someone as good as Hughes.

As for the Boston prospects, a Yankee official described the 23-year-old shortstop Lowrie as a “Dustin Pedroia-type player who might be better at second base” and likened the 6-foot-6, 250-pound, 22-year-old right-handed Masterson to Jeff Nelson. Michael Bowden, 21, another pitching prospect who is in these discussions, was termed “a power right-hander.”

Asked if the quality of the Red Sox prospects being changed the Yankees’ agenda, the official said, “We are on our own program.” But clearly, the Twins want the Yanks to be worrying about the Red Sox obtaining Santana, and vice versa.

The Yanks have taken Joba Chamberlain and Robinson Cano off the table as the Red Sox seemingly have with Ellsbury and Clay Buchholz. But the Yanks continue to believe, especially if they include Hughes, that they could build a superior offer. There was a buzz last night that the Yankees might include Cano in the package, but that appears to be a long shot.

It appears the Santana stakes are down to the rivals since a person familiar with the Twins said the Dodgers are refusing to part with stud lefty Clayton Kershaw.

Jorge Posada, who has hit against Santana and caught him in the All-Star Game, clearly wants the team from The Bronx to win the sweepstakes.

“I love all three of them,” Posada said of Kennedy, Chamberlain and Hughes. “But we need a No. 1. That’s the reason they are going after Santana. I caught him at the All Star Game and was impressed. I would love to have him. We need a No. 1 in October, there is no question.”

george.king@nypost.com