Orioles hurler Johan Santana has torn his achilles tendon and will miss the season, reports Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter links). Baltimore had signed Santana to a minor league deal that included a $3MM base salary and up to $5.05MM in incentives.
The Orioles had just purchased Santana’s contract and moved him to the 15-day DL as he completed his rehab from left shoulder surgery. With Santana no longer an option, executive VP Dan Duquette says that the club will look to add depth over the summer, possibly via trade.
Though Santana was only working in the high 80s with his fastball, he had found success with that level of heat earlier in his career. Once perhaps the best pitcher in the game, Santana last threw in the bigs in 2012 with the Mets, when he posted a 4.85 ERA in 117 innings with 8.5 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9. For his career, Santana owns a 3.20 ERA with 8.8 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9.
Now 35 years old, and having already rehabbed two significant shoulder surgeries, it is fair to wonder whether Santana will make another attempt at a comeback. The initial word is that we should not count him out, per a report from Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com (Twitter link). When asked if Santana’s career was in jeopardy, agent Peter Greenberg responded: “No. Not with this guy.”
