Twins Still In On Johan Santana
In case you forgot, Johan Santana is continuing to push forward with his comeback attempt. After suffering an Achilles injury with the Baltimore Orioles last season, the previous attempt was derailed. As Santana continues to work towards a resurgence in Major League Baseball, the Twins continue to monitor their former ace.
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Last week, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN reported that this week Johan Santana would resume his throwing program. If you remember correctly, he was shut down during Winter Ball after dealing with some shoulder soreness.
FA Johan Santana resumes his throwing program this week. Plan is to sign in the coming weeks. #MNTwins monitoring. Not sure I see him here.
— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) February 22, 2015
As Wolfson also notes, it would appear as if the Twins would be a long shot to sign the former ace. The problem is not that the Santana couldn’t be of benefit, but where in fact he fits for the club. Santana is likely looking for a minor league deal with some major league contingencies; that’s going to be hard for the Twins to offer.
Right now, Minnesota already seems to have quite a few options for the bullpen, and almost all of them seemingly better than a rebounding Johan. In the rotation, there doesn’t look to be a fit either, and the Twins would have some strong concerns in regards to what Santana could bring them.
At 35 years old, Johan Santana isn’t over a competitive major league age by any means, but with his injury track record and having not pitched in the big leagues since 2012, he’s an extreme long shot. Expect the Twins to continue to monitor the former ace, and the likeliest scenario to be a one day contract offered when Santana is ready to hang them up. A Kevin Garnett or Torii Hunter like reunion doesn’t seem likely for Santana given the recent history.
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