MLB

YANKEES, METS EXPECT ‘HAN TO ‘HAN COMBAT

The greatest offseason showdown of all-time is brewing, as the Yankees and Mets prepare to go to war for two-time Cy Young winner Johan Santana, the ace lefty both teams crave.

With the GM meetings having wrapped up in Orlando on Thursday, the next big dates on baseball’s calendar are Dec. 3-6, when the Winter Meetings are held in Nashville, Tenn. And there won’t be a more popular man in town than Twins’ GM Bill Smith, provided Minnesota hasn’t already moved Santana, almost certainly baseball’s best pitcher.

All indications are the Twins want to deal the two-time Cy Young Award winner, who can become a free agent after next season and figures to command more than $120 million over six years.

The Yankees and Mets both have the resources and, most important, the prospects to make such a mammoth acquisition.

Santana, who turns 29 in March, went 15-13 with a 3.33 ERA for the Twins last season and finished second in the AL with 235 strikeouts.

Hank Steinbrenner hinted the Yankees would be players in the Santana sweepstakes. After telling The Post earlier this week that none of his top-tier young pitchers – Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes or Ian Kennedy – would be traded for a position player, Steinbrenner offered no comment when asked about the possibility any of the trio would be dealt for another pitcher.

The Mets could assemble a package that could include top pitching prospect Phil Humber and either Lastings Milledge or Carlos Gomez, but that would be just a starting point. Likewise, the Yankees’ starting point would be one of their young guns and Melky Cabrera.

The Twins likely would insist on a center fielder in return, with Torii Hunter on the free-agent market and not expected to re-sign in Minnesota. If the Yankees were to deal for Santana, they might then be inclined to sign the 32-year-old Hunter, who hit .287 with 28 homers and 107 RBIs last season and is still among the game’s best defensive players.

The sense of urgency for the Yanks to make a deal for Santana would increase should Andy Pettitte decide to retire. Pettitte, the Yankees’ only lefty starter, has said he’ll pitch for the Yanks or call it a career. If the latter should occur, the Yankees would be left with Chien-Ming Wang and Mike Mussina as their only veteran starters.

The Mets’ level of interest in Santana figures to be as high as the Yankees’. Though Pedro Martinez returned from rotator-cuff surgery in September and provided glimpses that he still can be an effective pitcher, he can’t be counted on to lead a rotation.

The same goes for Tom Glavine, should he re-sign – he could be headed back to the Braves. And neither Oliver Perez nor John Maine has “ace” written all over them. Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez also is signed for next season, but is somewhere over 40 and injury prone.

Whether the Mets can outdo any Yankees offer for Santana is the big question. Humber is not as highly regarded as Chamberlain, Hughes or Kennedy, and Mike Pelfrey’s struggles last season, when he bounced between Triple-A and the Mets, have decreased his trade value.