Toronto Blue Jays Johan Santana Signing a Befuddling Move
Hours after the Toronto Blue Jays lost starting left fielder Michael Saunders to a knee injury for an expected four to five months, news broke that they have signed former All-Star pitcher Johan Santana to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training.
Is this GM Alex Anthopoulos looking to add a long shot high reward bullpen arm to the staff? Is it an attempt to see if Santana is still serviceable as a starter? Or is it potentially to add depth and setup a future move to offset the loss of Saunders?
The first question considered, the Jays already have two reliable left handers slotted to be relief pitchers for them in 2015. Brett Cecil, who could possibly close, and Aaron Loup. Rob Rasmussen is another logical entity.
In terms of depth in the rotation, Santana has not pitched more than 120 innings of ball at any level since 2010 with the New York Mets. In 21 starts (117 IP) with them in 2012, he had an inflated ERA of 4.85 and a 6-9 record. Additionally, Santana missed most of 2013 and 2014 with separate injuries. Turning 36 in a few weeks, he is a questionable asset on any MLB team at this point in his career.
If the Jays acquired him to setup a future move, this is wishful thinking on Anthopoulos’ behalf. The platoon of outfielders is now a much bigger concern for the Jays than anything revolving around the pitching staff.
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Santana was once a Cy Young caliber pitcher in the early 2000’s. But so too was former Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay. Only two years older than Santana, Halladay hung up his cleats after the 2013 season. The juxtaposition of these to player’s career trajectories should only further question the rationale behind the organization’s move. Worth noting as well, Halladay won his most recent Cy in 2010, while Santana last appeared on a Cy ballot in 2008.
Santana has appeared in 76 games in a relief capacity over his career. He has a 3.96 ERA versus a 3.14 ERA as a starter. Even more alarming is that his WHIP as a reliever is a robust 1.48 compared to a more respectable 1.10 from within the rotation.
If the Jays have done anything with this move, it’s simply to provide cause for fans to scratch their heads some. The move is rather perplexing, and doesn’t come across like Anthopoulos has his priorities in line with obvious areas of need, alluding once more to the outfield. But also the ‘pen, to a lesser extent.
Financial terms of the Johan Santana deal have not yet been disclosed.