Mets first baseman Jose Valentin nails the Red Sox’ Jed Lowrie on a pickoff attempt during the eighth inning yesterday.

AP / James A. Finley

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — For anyone who watched yesterday’s game, it was hard not to think about what it would have been like if the Red Sox actually won the Johan Santana sweepstakes during the offseason.

While the Red Sox and New York Mets played to a 1-1 tie at Tradition Field, Santana was upstaged by one of the players rumored to be part of that possible deal — Jon Lester.

Lester was outstanding. The left-hander worked four scoreless innings and allowed only two hits, with one walk and five strikeouts. Santana was equally good, working four scoreless innings and allowing two hits with four strikeouts.

Yesterday could have been a case of “what if?”, but both sides appeared to be happy with the way things worked out. Even though the Red Sox were not able to acquire the two-time Cy Young winner, the club did keep Santana out of the American League and away from the Yankees.

Lester has proven to be a valuable commodity, and he displayed that yesterday.

Red Sox GM Theo Epstein made the cross-state trek yesterday and discussed in general how the negotiations with the Minnesota Twins went during the winter.

“His presence can impact a franchise in a significant way for a long time,” Epstein said of Santana. “We were legitimately interested in acquiring him. We were willing to pay a significant price. We got close at a couple different points to a deal.”

Epstein said the Red Sox had two separate offers on the table, and that they did not back out of a possible deal, but the Twins decided that the Mets’ offer was better. Also, Epstein did not want to jeopardize the organization’s future by giving the Twins all that they wanted from the Red Sox for Santana.

“We thought our offer was strong and fair, and it wasn’t enough so we move on,” Epstein said. “Yeah, there was an offer the Twins made to us and we could’ve made the deal if we gave up a certain four-player package. In my mind, it was too much. It was not just one or two really good young players, it was a whole generation of young players that I think will make a significant impact for us over the long haul.”

Lester and center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury were two of the big-name prospects that were mentioned in separate deals. Manager Terry Francona has continually said that he realizes the impact made by the young talent in the Red Sox organization, and the impact they will continue to make. “My thoughts are, because of who were are, we’re kind of a player (when it comes to trades),” said Francona. “We’re always a player in those kinds of things, which is pretty cool. It’s great for the fans, for me and the organization. We’re pretty fortunate that we’re a player in those kinds of things. Having said that, we love our young kids. We absolutely love them.

“I think you can fall into a thing where you over-evaluate your own players. I don’t think we have. We really like our guys. I think we’re all in agreement how we feel about our young players.”

Around the bases

Chris Carter continues to impress this spring. The infielder/outfielder went 2-for-3 yesterday to bring his Grapefruit League average to .360. Carter, who was acquired from the Washington Nationals in exchange for Wily Mo Pena last season, has been arriving at City of Palms Park every morning around 5:30 a.m. to start his day. ... Former Red Sox outfielder Mike Greenwell, who was elected to the Red Sox Hall of Fame in February, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to today’s game in Fort Myers. ... The Sox and Mets will play again today at City of Palms Park with Tim Wakefield, Jonathan Papelbon, Mike Timlin and Manny Delcarmen scheduled to pitch for Boston.

jmcdonal@projo.com