Orioles, Twins, Blue Jays have offers on Ervin Santana
By Matt Fisher
Wherever the blame lies for Ervin Santana being out of a job this long, it seems that the extreme lowering of his asking price has jump-started his market.
Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports has the latest news on the 30-year old starter, which includes news of both the Minnesota Twins and Baltimore Orioles having put official offers on the table. Both are for three-years, but the full financials of the contract are different. Rosenthal says that the Orioles have offered $27 million, while the Twins are somewhere in the $30-33 million range.
The report also details an offer from the Blue Jays, although the terms of that offer have not been disclosed. Santana has recently been said to want a one-year deal to try and re-establish his value and then test the open market again next season. The decision could also come down to incentives – Toronto reportedly has not offered any incentives, while the Orioles are willing to include enough bonuses that could push the total value of the contract higher than either of the other offers.
Signing Santana does come at the price of sacrificing a draft-pick, which doesn’t seem to have deterred the other teams, but in the case of the Baltimore Orioles, that seems even more of an after-thought. The Orioles have already given up two draft picks in signing Ubaldo Jimenez and Nelson Cruz.
The Atlanta Braves may also be in play for Santana, after projected Opening Day starter Kris Medlen left yesterday’s Spring Training game with a right forearm strain. Their interest will be based on the reports from Medlen’s MRI today.