Free Agency Rumors: Ervin Santana Wants Five Years, Twins In?

By Ted Schwerzler |

Thus far during the free agency period, the only name that the Twins have been tied to with any considerable amount of weight is Torii Hunter. While the reunion would be heartwarming, it doesn’t win baseball games. Instead, the Twins need to turn the focus on pitching, and Ervin Santana is a name I could get behind.

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After pitching for one season in the AL Central with the Kansas City Royals, Ervin Santana spent last season in the National League pitching for the Atlanta Braves. A well rounded 2014 campaign has him once again back on the free agent market and he is looking to cash in on a solid season.

Not surprisingly, Ervin Santana looking for as long of a deal as possible: Five years.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) December 2, 2014

Going into 2015, Santana will be 32 years old. Looking for a five-year deal, he would be rounding out his contract at 37, a still respectable age for a productive major league pitcher.

Looking back over his 10 year major league career, Santana has only posted an ERA north of 4.68 three times. More importantly, he has posted ERAs in the 3’s five times. Over the past two seasons, spanning both the American and National Leagues, he has a 3.58 ERA 340 strikeouts, and a 7.5 K/9 ratio. Notably, his numbers were also better with the Royals in the AL Central, than they were with the Braves in the lesser regarded hitting National League.

The Twins have an abundance of arms vying for spots in the starting rotation at this point, but as discussed earlier, they lack when it comes to quality of those arms. Behind Phil Hughes, there are no clear-cut, go-to type options. Although Ervin Santana is no James Shields, Jon Lester, or Max Scherzer, he can be expected to provide you with a quality start nearly every time he goes out.

Minnesota is familiar with Santana having faced him for the Royals, and in toying with the idea to sign him last season. Although a five-year commitment isn’t for the faint of heart, Minnesota should be the ones to make it. If they can talk Santana down a year, great. If not, take the plunge.

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