The Blue Jays signed former Cy Young award winner Johan Santana to a minor league deal today with hopes he can find some of his old form and health (or maybe they think he can play left field). The deal also includes an invitation to Spring Training giving the lefty the chance to win a job with a pitching staff that is looking pretty thin at the moment. The news broke a little bit ago and was overshadowed by llama chases (rightfully so) and David Clarkson trades.
#BlueJays sign LHP Johan Santana to minor league deal with spring invite.
The 35-year-old last pitched in the majors in 2012 for the New York Mets and has faced a myriad of injury problems in years since. He signed with the Orioles last year but an achilles injury forced him out for the rest of the season derailing his comeback attempts. In 360 major leagues appearances Santana has a 3.20 ERA and 1988 strikeouts.
The Venezuelan is mainly a fastball, changeup, slider pitcher and certainly won't be blowing anyone away with his low-90's heater. The move is extremely low risk as very little is lost if it turns out that the veteran southpaw doesn't have anything left in the tank. It's unlikely he ends up in the rotation anytime soon but maybe he snags a bullpen role and rediscovers some magic left over from his time with the Mets. He most recently was pitching in the Venezuelan Winter League so he should come into camp in fairly good shape.