The Chicago White Sox have reportedly agreed to terms with Ervin Santana on a minor league deal that includes an invite to spring training. According to Jon Heyman, the deal will be worth $4.3 million if he makes the team out of Spring Training:
Ervin Santana to white sox, pending physical. Minors deal. Camp invite.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 22, 2019
Ervin has 4.3M base if makes #chisox
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 22, 2019
Ervin Santana Heads to Chicago
Santana will compete for a spot in the starting rotation against Manny Banuelos and Dylan Covey to add to a rotation consisting of Reynaldo Lopez, Lucas Giolito, and Ivan Nova. Nova arrived this off-season via a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates that included Yordi Rosario and international cash.
Bounce back season?
After playing four seasons with divisional opponent Minnesota Twins, Santana looks primed to have a bounce-back year. He missed all but 24.3 innings of his final season with the Twins because of surgery on his right hand.
An All-Star in 2017, if healthy, Santana can easily slide into a rotation position. With Minnesota, his four-year deal was negatively affected by last year’s injury and a PED suspension in 2015. However, he still worked to a 3.68 ERA with 7.1 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9 in 525.1 innings.
Santana is entering his 15th season in MLB. With a career ERA of 4.06 and two top-10 finishes in Cy Young voting, the White Sox hope he can get back to his old self after limited appearances resulted in a vaulted 8.03 ERA last year. Chicago is Santana’s fifth city in his career, and the White Sox are hoping that the fifth time’s the charm.
The White Sox finished 2018 with an abysmal 62-100 record. An off-season of free agent signings, trades, and being in the mix for names such as Manny Machado and Bryce Harper makes one believe that they are looking to win now. They are hoping that by boosting the pitching, the hitting will follow. Santana could very well be one of those needed additions.
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
