1. Ian Kennedy, RHP, Rangers: We’re nearing Memorial Day weekend, and Kennedy is tied for the American League lead in saves — just as everyone expected! The 36-year-old righty isn’t just scraping by and narrowly escaping in a bunch of three-run leads, though. He’s tallied 19 1/3 innings and allowed just four runs, all while recording a terrific 31.1 percent strikeout rate and a tiny 5.4 percent walk rate. If Texas remains near the bottom of the AL West standings, he’ll be an appealing trade target for bullpen-needy clubs.
2. Drew Steckenrider, RHP, Mariners: A quality setup man with the 2017-18 Marlins, Steckenrider’s time in Miami was derailed by injuries — most notably a 2019 flexor strain. He looks to be back on track in his new surroundings, however, having tossed 18 1/3 innings of 2.45 ERA ball with a 29.2 percent strikeout rate and an 11.1 percent walk rate. The walks are a bit elevated, but he’s helped to combat that with a career-best 54 percent ground-ball mark. The Mariners (or another club) could control Steckenrider through 2023 via arbitration as well, which only adds to the value.
3. Jimmy Nelson, RHP, Dodgers:  The Dodgers just placed Nelson on the injured list due to a forearm issue, so there are (once again) some obvious health question marks with Nelson. There’s no ignoring how effective he’s been thus far, however. Nelson’s 39.1 percent strikeout rate is the ninth-best among all MLB relievers, and he’s paired that with a pristine 2.41 ERA. Like Shaw, he’s walked too many batters (13 percent), but the former Brewers ace has shown high-leverage, late-inning potential with L.A.
4. Bryan Shaw, RHP, Indians: Shaw was an iron man in the Cleveland ’pen but flopped in Colorado after signing a three-year, $27MM contract going into 2018. Back in his old stomping grounds, he’s tallied 19 innings with a pristine 1.42 ERA. The 33-year-old has issued 13 walks, so he’ll need to cut back on the free passes if he hopes to continue this success, but Shaw’s strikeout and ground-ball percentages are among the best of his career (29.3 percent, 57.5 percent, respectively).
5. Lucas Luetge, LHP, Yankees: Luetge’s last MLB appearance prior to his Yankees debut came with the 2015 Mariners. The now-34-year-old southpaw signed minor league deals with five organizations before making it back to the show, which is remarkable in and of itself. That he’s been one of the Yankees’ best relievers, however, makes his story all the more incredible. Luetge, who entered 2021 with all of 89 MLB frames under his belt, has a 2.95 ERA and a 19-to-3 K/BB ratio in 21 1/3 innings for the Yankees thus far. Considering the injuries to Zack Britton and Darren O’Day, Luetge’s unexpected contributions have been a godsend. If he can keep this up, he’ll be arbitration-eligible this winter and controllable through the 2024 season.
6. Hyeon-jong Yang, LHP, Rangers: Yang, a former KBO MVP, could’ve returned to that league on a guaranteed deal but refused to give up on his aspirations of playing in the Majors, even if it meant taking a non-guaranteed pact. He’s 21 1/3 innings into the realization of that lifelong goal, and the Rangers are no doubt pleased with their decision. Yang, 33, opened the season with the Rangers’ alternate site group but had his contract selected in late April. He now owns a 3.38 ERA, and while his pedestrian strikeout and walk rates might point to some possible regression, he’s induced plenty of weak contact (average 87.4 mph exit velocity, just a 13.1 percent line-drive rate). An 11.2 percent swinging-strike rate suggests there could be more K’s to come, as well.
7. Chi Chi Gonzalez, RHP, Rockies: Gonzalez’s numbers don’t stand out that much, but he’s eating innings and delivering roughly league-average run-prevention numbers when adjusting for his home park (102 ERA+, 99 ERA-). Through nine appearances, seven of them starts, Gonzalez is carrying a 4.54 ERA. He’s totaled 41 2/3 innings for a Rockies club that has gone the whole season without lefty Kyle Freeland. Gonzalez has rattled off consecutive quality starts and helped the Rox get through the first two months of the season. The secondary marks aren’t great, but average innings have value — especially in 2021 when teams are so conscientious about their pitchers’ workloads.
8. Nabil Crismatt, RHP, Padres: Crismatt had just 8 1/3 innings of MLB experience (all with the 2020 Cardinals) when he arrived in Padres camp this spring. He’s more than doubled that total in 2021 already, pitching 17 2/3 innings of 2.55 ERA ball with a hefty 52.2 percent grounder rate. Crismatt is an oddity in today’s game, sitting under 89 mph with a fastball that is only seldom used due to the fact that he throws his changeup at a whopping 46.5 percent clip. It’s weird, but so far — it’s worked.
9. Anthony Bender, RHP, Marlins: A 26-year-old rookie who never pitched above Double-A with the Royals or Brewers before joining the Marlins on a minor league deal this winter, Bender is sitting 97.4 mph with his heater and has tossed 8 2/3 shutout innings to open his career. He’s whiffed 36.7 percent of his opponents against a 3.3 percent walk rate. Small sample? Sure, but Bender also rattled off 8 1/3 shutout frames during Spring Training, too. Not bad for a guy who posted a 5.48 ERA with the independent American Association’s Milwaukee Milkmen in 2020.
10. Heath Hembree, RHP, Reds:  After a rough 2020 season, Hembree has bounced back early in 2021. His 4.15 ERA through 13 frames is nothing special, but his strikeout rate is sitting at a career-high 33.3 percent after plummeting in 2020. His 6.3 percent walk rate is a career-best, and his 13.1 percent swinging-strike rate isn’t far off from his peak years in Boston. Hembree’s velocity is also up to 95.2 mph after dipping to 93.9 mph in 2019-20. It’s early, but those are some encouraging indicators.
11. Zack Littell, RHP, Giants: Littell hasn’t spent much time with the Giants yet, but he’s chucked 10 2/3 innings and held opponents to just one run on eight hits and three walks with nine punchouts. His 94.8 mph average fastball velocity is a career-high, as is his 48.3 percent grounder rate. The former Twins righty only has a year of big league service and could be controllable for several years if he figures it out in San Francisco.
12. Deolis Guerra, RHP, Athletics: It’s hard to believe Guerra just turned 32, given that he was one of the pieces traded from the Mets to the Twins way back in 2008’s Johan Santana trade. He’s bounced around the league in journeyman style but is enjoying a nice run with the A’s to kick off the ’21 season. In 20 2/3 frames, Guerra has a 3.92 ERA with a pedestrian K-BB% but intriguing levels of weak contact induced.
13. JT Chargois, RHP, Mariners: Like Littell, Chargois hasn’t seen much time in the bigs yet, but he’s sporting a 9-to-1 K/BB ratio in 8 2/3 innings for Seattle. He’s had multiple chances with the Twins and Dodgers in recent years but never found much consistency. Chargois also mustered only a 5.81 ERA pitching for Japan’s Rakuten Golden Eagles in 2020. Still, it’s a nice start to his 2021 season.
14. Brad Boxberger, RHP, Brewers: The right-hander, who’ll turn 33 this week, has hurled 17 1/3 innings so far in Milwaukee and pitched to a 4.15 ERA but with a more impressive 17-to-3 K/BB mark. As with many relievers early in a given season, the bulk of the damage against Boxberger came in one appearance (against the Cardinals). He’s been unscored upon in 16 of his 19 outings so far in 2021.
15. Ervin Santana, RHP, Royals: The Royals love their reunions more than any team in baseball, and Santana is somewhat improbably back to “smelling baseball,” as he likes to say, for a second stint in Kansas City. He’s only allowed four runs in 15 1/3 innings (2.35 ERA), but he’s also only picked up eight strikeouts against four walks. His fastball is sitting 93 mph again after living at 89-90 in 2018-19, but the red flags are plentiful: 13.1 percent strikeout rate, 91 percent strand rate, .213 BABIP, 45 percent opponents’ hard-hit rate.
16. Paolo Espino, RHP, Nationals: The Nats quietly re-signed the now 34-year-old Espino before the calendar even flipped to November last year. So far, it’s been a worthwhile reunion, as he’s held opponents to four runs on nine hits and a walk with eight strikeouts in 14 innings (2.57 ERA). Espino won’t keep this up if he can’t miss some more bats and/or induce far more grounders, however. He’s currently benefiting from a .175 BABIP and an 83.3 percent strand rate, while his 26.6 percent grounder rate will make it to limit home runs. Still, the Nats have 14 innings of decent results to show for the deal.

As with the position players, some of these strong starts will fade. There are a few at the back of the list that look particularly difficult to sustain, but there also look to be some genuine bargains unearthed among this group. Some will likely result in trades (Kennedy), but it’d make for a fun story to follow should any of the controllable arms (e.g. Bender, Crismatt) ultimately emerge as long-term pieces for the clubs who gave them their best career opportunities to date.

Santana pitched for five big league teams, including the Royals, from 2005-19, and typically produced solid results while eating up a significant number of innings. The 38-year-old has six seasons of 200-plus innings under his belt, 2,421 in total, as well as a 4.09 ERA. While with the Royals in 2013, he fired 211 innings of 3.24 ERA ball, though Santana then rejected KC’s qualifying offer and went through a prolonged stay in free agency before signing with the Braves.

Santana lasted just one year in Atlanta before joining Minnesota, with which he delivered quality seasons in 2016-17. However, a middle finger injury limited Santana to five starts, 24 2/3 innings and an ugly 8.03 ERA. He continued to struggle during his most recent action, as he recorded a 9.45 ERA in three starts and 13 1/3 frames as a member of the White Sox. Santana finished the year in the Mets organization, but he didn’t pitch for them that season, and he sat out 2020 before signing a minors pact with the Royals.

Santana has started in 384 of 387 appearances, though it remains to be seen which role he’ll fill now. Notably, Royals starters have put up a 5.56 ERA – the sixth-worst mark in baseball.

10:52am: The Royals announced Tuesday that they’ve signed old friend Ervin Santana to a minor league contract. The veteran right-hander will presumably head to Major League Spring Training and vie for a roster spot.

Santana, 38, didn’t sign with a team for the 2020 season and hasn’t appeared in the big leagues since an early-2019 run with the White Sox failed to pan out. He starred for the Royals back 2013 — the start of a five-year run that marked the most consistently productive stretch of the two-time All-Star’s career. Santana racked up 211 innings of 3.24 ERA/3.93 FIP ball with Kansas City that year but found a harsh market in free agency after rejecting a qualifying offer and eyeing too large a contract early in the winter.

He eventually opted to take a one-year deal with the Braves — one that continues to benefit Atlanta to this day — before returning to the market in the 2014-15 offseason and cashing in on a four-year, $55MM contract with the Twins. Santana was the Twins’ most consistent pitcher for much of that deal, but the wheels came off in year four after he underwent surgery to repair a tendon in the middle finger on his right hand. After pitching to a 3.47 ERA in his first 500 innings in Minnesota, Santana was clobbered for an 8.03 ERA in just 24 2/3 innings in the final year of the deal. He signed with the ChiSox that offseason but was tagged for 14 runs in 13 1/3 innings.

It’s been quite some time since Santana was a productive big league starter now, but he’ll head back to the Royals organization in search of a job somewhere on a staff that looks heavily reliant on young, still-developing arms. Kansas City’s rotation has veterans Mike Minor and Danny Duffy locked into spots, and Rule 5 gem Brad Keller is set to open a fourth year in the rotation as well.

Jakob Junis gives the club an inconsistent but at times solid option, and Kansas City has a bevy of upper-level pitching prospects in the form of Brady Singer, Kris Bubic, Daniel Lynch and Jackson Kowar. Both Singer and Bubic made their MLB debuts in 2020, but neither is exactly a lock to hold down a spot all year — particularly given the difficulties of managing innings workloads in the wake of the shortened 2020 schedule.

The 38-year-old Santana will give the Royals a veteran depth option to compete for either a rotation spot or a long-relief job. He’s been pitching in the Dominican Winter League this offseason, logging a 2.61 ERA and a 25-to-11 K/BB ratio in 20 2/3 innings to date.

But Santana hit the market aiming quite high, reportedly seeking a contract worth more than $100MM. A big payday wasn’t exactly far-fetched — we predicted a five-year deal at a more reasonable $75MM term that winter — but teams clearly balked at a nine-figure guarantee for a pitcher who struggled with year-to-year consistency. Kansas City, after all, had only acquired Santana in a salary dump from the Angels after the righty posted an ERA north of 5.00 in a sub-replacement-level 2013 effort.

By the time Santana’s asking price dropped into the four-year, $50-60MM range as Spring Training approached, it was too late. He reportedly received three-year offers from the Twins (who’d sign him a year later) and Orioles that spring but preferred a one-year deal to reenter free agency next winter. The Braves obliged, signing Santana at the exact $14.1MM value of the qualifying offer he’d rejected four months prior.

The signing worked out swimmingly for Atlanta. Santana made 31 starts, totaled 196 innings and logged a 3.95 ERA (3.39 FIP) with 8.2 K/9, 2.9 BB/9, 0.73 HR/9 and a 42.9 percent ground-ball rate. The Braves finished second in the NL East that year, but their playoff miss couldn’t be pinned on Santana, who largely held up his end of the bargain. At season’s end, Santana entered the open market a second time.

Unlike the 2016-21 collective bargaining agreement, the previous arrangement allowed players to receive multiple qualifying offers in their career. As such, the Braves issued a second qualifying offer, which Santana again rejected. This time around, his expectations were set a bit lower, and by the end of the Winter Meetings he’d landed a four-year deal with the Twins that guaranteed him $55MM. The Twins lost their second-round pick to sign Santana. The Braves received a compensatory pick at the end of the first round.

As readers have likely gleaned by now, that’s where the Atlanta organization struck gold. The Braves’ organic pick that year, No. 14 overall, saw them select lefty Kolby Allard, whom they traded to Texas last July to rent reliever Chris Martin. The compensatory pick they landed in exchange for Santana turned into Mike Soroka.

At the time of the selection, Soroka was an aggressive selection. Pre-draft rankings from MLB.com, Baseball America, FanGraphs and ESPN all had Soroka ranked in the 60 to 90 range among draft prospects. He was one of the youngest players in the draft and generally pegged as more of a second- or third-round pick. In their scouting report heading into the draft, Baseball America wrote: “There hasn’t been a player out of Alberta selected in the top 100 picks since the Red Sox picked Chris Reitsma 34th overall in 1996, and while Soroka probably won’t go that high, he should end up off the board in the first few rounds in June.”

Just 17 when he was selected, Soroka nonetheless rose quickly through the Braves’ system and steadily improved his prospect stock along the way. Soroka was at least three years younger than the average age of his competition at every minor league level he competed, and before he’d reached his 21st birthday he was suiting up for the Braves at SunTrust (now Truist) Park. Shoulder troubles in that debut campaign in 2018 limited Soroka to just 25 2/3 innings in the Majors another 30 2/3 frames in the minors.

This past season, of course, unfolded quite differently. Were it not for the outrageous power display put on by division rival Pete Alonso, Soroka might well have locked up Rookie of the Year honors. The 2019 NL runner-up pitched to a pristine 2.68 ERA with 7.3 K/9, 2.1 BB/9, 0.72 HR/9 and a 51.2 percent grounder rate. Soroka was worth 4.0 fWAR and 5.6 bWAR, and he ranked well above average in terms of Statcast metrics such as opponents’ barrel rate, average exit velocity, expected ERA and expected wOBA. Considering he was 21 for most of the 2019 season, optimism regarding Soroka abounds.

With Ronald Acuna Jr. and Ozzie Albies already locked up long term, Soroka stands out as an obvious candidate for a long-term deal of his own. At the very least, the Braves can enjoy Soroka for four full years beyond whatever semblance of a 2020 season we get, all the way through the 2024 season. So long as Soroka’s shoulder holds up, it seems the Atlanta organization will still be reaping the benefits of that Santana signing more than a decade after the ink on his contract dried.

Though the Phils have a number of arms already vying for the fifth starter job, none of the current candidates have Santana’s track record.  It was only back in 2017 that Santana posted one of the finest years of his career, tossing 211 1/3 innings of 3.28 ERA ball for the Twins and finishing seventh in AL Cy Young Award voting.  That season capped off a five-year stretch for Santana that saw him average 182 innings and a 3.52 ERA per year with Kansas City, Atlanta, and Minnesota from 2013-17.

Since then, however, Santana has thrown only 38 innings total over the last two seasons.  Finger surgery kept Santana sidelined for almost all of the 2018 campaign, and he posted a 9.45 ERA over only 13 1/3 innings for the White Sox last season before being released.  The results weren’t much better for Santana in the Mets’ farm system, as he managed just a 5.31 ERA over 95 total innings at the Triple-A and high-A ball levels.

Santana turned 37 in December, so his decline could be simply chalked up to age and wear and tear after the accumulation of 2421 1/3 Major League innings.  He does want to continue his career, Heyman notes, and Santana is also hoping to pitch for his native Dominican Republic if the D.R. national team qualifies for the Olympics.

Santana, 36, missed nearly all of the 2018 season after undergoing surgery to repair a tendon in his right middle finger just prior to Spring Training, and the Twins declined a $14MM option on him last November. He signed a minor league pact with the White Sox this offseason but was released after just three unsuccessful starts with the team.

Despite the poor showing in 2018-19, Santana was a consistently and perhaps quietly effective mainstay in the Twins’ rotation in the preceding three seasons. From 2015-17, he pitched to a 3.47 ERA with 7.2 K/9 against 2.7 BB/9 and even was named to the American League All-Star team in 2017. That year, he racked up 211 1/3 innings, tossed five complete games (three shutouts) and finished out the season with a strong 3.28 earned run average.

The Mets’ rotation hasn’t performed as well as hoped in 2019, and while no one would reasonably expect Santana to return to his 2017 levels, he could eventually push Jason Vargas for the fifth spot in the rotation. He’s gone more than a month without pitching since being cut loose by the ChiSox, so he’ll need some time to build up, though. If nothing else, he’ll eventually serve as a depth option in the event of an injury at the big league level. New York has been using Wilmer Font in that role but has received just 10 1/3 innings of 7.84 ERA ball in three starts since trading a low-level minor leaguer for him.

Players with more than five years of service time earn the right to retain their salary even after being released or rejecting an outright assignment in favor of free agency. The 45-day advance consent clause, however, gives teams the option of cutting loose a veteran with six-plus years at any point within the season’s first 45 days (barring an injury) without being on the hook for the remainder of his salary. (Trade Rumors’ Zach Links examined 45-day advance consent clauses in depth a few years ago.)

April 26: The White Sox announced this morning that they’ve designated veteran right-hander Ervin Santana for assignment. His spot on the active roster will go to Eloy Jimenez, who has been reinstated from the bereavement list.

Santana’s stay with the Sox proved to be brief, as he made only three starts before the team shifted course today. The 36-year-old righty pitched just 13 1/3 innings for the Pale Hose, allowing 14 runs on 19 hits and six walks with only five strikeouts.

Chicago inked Santana to a minor league contract with a rather hefty $4.3MM guarantee at the MLB level in hopes that he could bounce back from an injury-ruined 2018 season. Santana underwent surgery to repair a tendon in his pitching hand in February of 2018, and lingering effects from that procedure limited him to just 24 2/3 ineffective innings with the Twins. Following that injury shortened campaign, Minnesota declined a $14MM option on the righty.

Prior to that injury, however, Santana was not only durable for the Twins but quietly one of the league’s more effective starters. Santana turned in 392 2/3 innings of 3.32 ERA ball with 7.2 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9 for the Twins from 2016-17. The 2017 campaign saw Santana toss five complete games — a rare feat in this era of baseball — including three shutouts. From 2010-17, Santana avoided any absences due to injury and averaged 30 starts and 192 innings per season (despite an 80-game PED suspension at the onset of the 2015 season).

It’s now uncertain whether Santana can reestablish himself as a viable rotation piece at the big league level, although given his track record and the sheer number of teams that could use rotation reinforcements, one would imagine that he’ll get the opportunity to do so. He’ll first have to clear release waivers — it’s unlikely that the Sox find a trade partner for the righty — but once he does, he can sign with any club on either a minor league contract or an MLB deal worth the prorated league minimum.

As for the Sox, they’ll look to internal options to help right the ship in what has been an awful rotation to begin the year. While Carlos Rodon has performed well through the season’s first month, each of Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, Ivan Nova and Santana have pitched poorly. Dylan Covey, Jordan Stephens and top prospect Dylan Cease are all looming in Triple-A as potential options, or the team could simply plug Manny Banuelos into the fifth spot in the rotation moving forward. Some type of spot starter will likely need to be recalled in the coming days, however, as Giolito is on the shelf with a hamstring injury at the moment.

The groundwork for Santana’s ascension to the MLB roster had already been laid by the Chicago front office. There was already a 40-man roster spot to work with and the team optioned righty Carson Fulmer back to Triple-A yesterday.

It’ll be interesting to see what the 36-year-old Santana has left in the tank. He was sidelined for much of 2018 with a lingering finger injury and wasn’t effective when he was able to pitch. But he was stellar in the prior two seasons, turning in a 3.32 ERA over 392 2/3 total innings. The peripherals didn’t support quite those results, and expectations ought to be tempered, but there’s reason to hope he can return to being a solid MLB starter.

As for Fulmer, he’ll need to earn his way back into the majors or await an opening. He has now seen action in parts of four MLB seasons but hasn’t come close to fully harnessing the talent that led the South Siders to pick him eighth overall in the 2015 draft. Through 70 1/3 innings at the game’s highest level, Fulmer owns a 6.53 ERA with 7.8 K/9 and 5.9 BB/9.

Once promoted, the 36-year-old Santana will immediately become the elder statesman in a White Sox rotation which features Ivan Nova, 32, and three mid-20s hurlers in Carlos Rodon (26), Reynaldo Lopez (25) and Lucas Giolito (24). The former Angel, Royal, Brave and Twin will bring a quality track record to Chicago, having logged a 4.06 ERA/4.26 FIP in 384 appearances (381 starts) and just over 2,400 innings. Santana has also fired upward of 200 frames in six individual seasons, including as recently as 2017, when he turned in a terrific 3.28 ERA in a 211 1/3-inning campaign in Minnesota.

Had that version of Santana shown up last season, he likely would have landed a guaranteed major league contract in free agency over the winter – or the Twins could have exercised his $14MM option for 2019. Instead, Santana suffered through what may have been a career-worst campaign and then sat on the free-agent market for nearly four months before signing a minor league contract with the White Sox in late February. However, the deal did come with a $4.3MM salary in the majors, which is especially high for a minors pact.

A right hand injury limited Santana to just five starts and 24 2/3 innings in 2018, when he registered an atrocious 8.03 ERA/7.94 FIP with a personal-worst strikeout rate (5.84, compared to a lifetime 7.18) against 3.28 BB/9 (versus a career 2.8 mark). Nevertheless, after their rotation was among the majors’ worst last season, the White Sox deemed Santana worthy of an affordable, low-risk accord. Now, a rebound from Santana would be a boon for the White Sox, who have received mixed results from their starters this year. Rodon has been effective in both of his performances, while Nova and Giolito have each posted one solid start and one clunker, and Lopez hasn’t been good in either of his appearances.

Feb 22, 1:15pm: Santana’s contract comes with a $4.3MM base salary if he makes the roster, Heyman tweets. That’s an abnormally large base salary for a minor league pact and likely speaks to the interest that Santana had elsewhere. In essence, the White Sox gave Santana the opportunity to be guaranteed a rate that many would’ve expected him to command on a big league deal, but did so while delaying the need to make an immediate 40-man move.

10:52am: The White Sox and free-agent right-hander Ervin Santana have agreed to a minor league contract, Jon Heyman of the MLB Network reports (via Twitter). The contract is pending a physical. Santana will head to Major League camp and compete for a spot in a thin rotation mix.

Santana, 36, has been a longtime divisional foe for the ChiSox, having spent the past four seasons leading the Twins’ rotation. The final season of his four-year, $55MM pact with Minnesota was almost entirely wiped out by surgery to repair a tendon in his right hand, however. That injury limited him to five starts and just 24 2/3 innings and led the Twins to decline a $14MM option over the righty.

Prior to the 2018 season, however, Santana was both a durable and high-quality workhorse. From 2016-17, Santana ranked 11th in the game in total innings pitched and also ranked 11th among qualified starters with a 3.32 ERA. In all, while his four-year deal with the Twins was marred by last year’s injury and a PED suspension in 2015, he worked to a 3.68 ERA with 7.1 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9 in 525 1/3 innings with Minnesota. When he was healthy and on the field, Santana was generally a quality option on the mound, making him a logical pick for the Sox — especially at this price point.

So long as he is healthy, it seems quite likely that Santana will break camp in Chicago’s rotation. Currently, the Sox are looking at Carlos Rodon, Ivan Nova, Reynaldo Lopez and Lucas Giolito as the top four in their rotation. Santana will compete with Manny Banuelos and Dylan Covey, among others, in trying to secure that final starting job. Given that slate of rotation options, it’d rank as a surprise if a healthy Santana didn’t secure a place on the roster this spring.

Santana becomes the latest but perhaps most surprising veteran player to settle for a non-guaranteed pact in a second consecutive winter that has been unkind to veterans in their 30s. While last season was obviously a nightmare for Santana, he’d averaged 182 innings of 3.52 ERA ball from 2013-17 with the Royals, Braves and Twins.

Presented in order of 2018 innings pitched…

James Shields: He topped 200 frames for the tenth time in 2018, so teams looking for volume will have to place Shields on the top of their value list. True, the results (4.53 ERA) and peripherals (6.8 K/9, 3.4 BB/9, 1.5 HR/9, 35.2% GB rate) weren’t exciting, but Shields is also a respected staff member who’d be valued for his positive influence on teammates. For the right organization, he’s a viable innings eater.

Bartolo Colon: Yep, he’s back — or at least he hopes to be. Home runs were a big problem last year for Big Sexy, but he still racked up 146 1/3 frames on the year for the Rangers. As with Shields, there won’t likely be much interest from contenders, but other teams that are thin on upper-level pitching depth could look to Colon as a cheap source of innings.

Clay Buchholz: It’s quite a different story for the 34-year-old Buchholz, who had a nice turnaround campaign before it was cut short by yet another injury. Organizations that are interested in building waves of talented arms, whether or not they come with health concerns, will certainly be intrigued by Buchholz, even if his peripherals (7.4 K/9, 2.0 BB/9, 0.82 HR/9, 42.6% GB rate) didn’t quite support the sparkling 2.01 ERA he carried through 98 1/3 innings last year in Arizona.

Yovani Gallardo: Though he made it through 94 1/3 innings, the outcomes weren’t pretty for Gallardo. Memories of his days as a sturdy mid-rotation starter are long faded, though perhaps there’s reason to believe in at least some amount of positive regression. Gallardo’s 6.39 ERA in 2018 was caused in some part by a low 64.5% strand rate. Of course, ERA estimators still valued his contributions in the low-5.00 realm, so there’s not a ton of room for optimism.

Edwin Jackson: Jackson ran up a productive ERA in about a half-season of work as a key member of Oakland’s patchwork rotation. But the spread in this case between his ERA (3.33) and ERA estimators (4.65 FIP, 4.88 xFIP, 4.98 SIERA) is significant. Jackson is still averaging better than 93 mph on his heater, but he likely won’t benefit again from a .240 batting average on balls in play from opposing hitters.

Brett Anderson: Some will be surprised to learn that Anderson only celebrated his 31st birthday earlier this month. The lefty debuted as a 21-year-old and has had a tumultuous career, but he put forth a solid effort in 80 1/3 frames with the A’s in ’18. Anderson registered a 55.6 percent grounder rate and notched a career-best 1.46 BB/9. He doesn’t miss many bats and has a long injury history, but the southpaw’s knack for keeping the ball on the ground and his typically low walk rates could be appealing for a team seeking depth rather than a candidate to make 30 starts.

Doug Fister: A knee injury wrecked Fister’s 2018 season, but the righty displayed his typical penchant for keeping the ball on the ground (50.4 percent) and avoiding free passes (2.5 BB/9). Fister managed a 4.50 ERA in 66 innings — nearly half of which came at the launching pad that is Globe Life Park in Arlington. It’s an extraordinarily small sample, to be sure, but the righty did notch a 2.82 ERA and 4.14 FIP in 35 2/3 innings on the road. As far as depth options go, clubs could do far worse than the 35-year-old veteran.

Ervin Santana: Only 10 pitchers threw more innings than Santana between the 2016-17 seasons, but an injured tendon in his pitching hand that required surgery last offseason more or less wiped out his entire 2018 campaign. It’s perhaps heartening that the injury wasn’t specific to the his elbow or shoulder. Santana’s results in 24 2/3 innings were awful (22 runs on 31 hits and nine walks), though it’s unlikely that he was healthy when on the hill. He may be 36 now, but Santana posted a combined 3.52 ERA in 907 2/3 frames from 2013-17. If his hand is healed up, he could be the best bet for a productive season on this list.

As we wait for some movement at the top of the market — particularly, regarding reputed Phillies targets Bryce Harper and Manny Machado — let’s check in on a few other situations further down the priority list, all courtesy of MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (links to Twitter) …

• The Yankees still want to boost their rotation depth, Heyman says, though it’s a bit unclear as of yet how they’ll go about doing so. He lists Gio Gonzalez and Ervin Santana as at-least-hypothetical targets, but it stands to reason that both will want to sign somewhere that they’ll be promised a rotation spot. Gonzalez is one of the best remaining starters and should have little trouble finding at least a clear rotation placement, if not a multi-year deal. Santana does seem to be an interesting bounceback candidate, but he’ll surely be seeking a chance to take the ball every fifth day, which the Yanks can’t promise.
• Unsurprisingly, the Giants appear to be hunting for value on the market in their search for a new slate of outfielders. That seemed reasonable to suspect when last we checked in on the situation, as the San Francisco organization seemingly wants to remain competitive while also embarking upon an effort to get younger and enhance payroll efficiency. There could be some interesting free agent opportunities, though perhaps the most intriguing possibility would be for the Giants to pick up some pieces that become available after late-breaking signings.
• The Rockies have some level of interest in yet again bringing back outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, Heyman adds. This particular item is frankly difficult to understand, as the Rox are working with a limited budget and still need to improve behind the dish, in the bullpen, and perhaps on the bench. Meanwhile, the team has a nice assortment of left-handed-hitting outfielders already on hand, making the veteran former star a tough fit on paper. In any event, other teams are also said to be interested in CarGo.

There’s certainly no shortage of interest in Gray, as GM Brian Cashman told reporters (including Sherman) that 11 teams have checked in on the right-hander.  “We haven’t found the sweet spot yet” in talks, Cashman said, as the Yankees are exploring a variety of offers involving Gray from a smaller number of teams than that initial 11-club group.

Some more on the busy pitching market…

• Teams who have called the Diamondbacks about Robbie Ray say that the left-hander isn’t available in trade talks, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets.  That tracks with reports from earlier today, which stated that the D’Backs had put a very high price tag on Ray, even if the southpaw isn’t entirely untouchable.  Ray is controlled for the next two seasons at fairly reasonable arbitration costs, giving Arizona less incentive to him than a player entering his last year under contract (the already-dealt Paul Goldschmidt) or a player taking up a massive chunk of the payroll (i.e. Zack Greinke).  The D’Backs are telling teams they aren’t entering into a complete rebuild, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (via Twitter).
• There is “widespread interest” in Ervin Santana, as per MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo (Twitter link), though a signing doesn’t seem imminent.  Finger surgery limited Santana to just 24 1/3 innings in 2018, and he feels he’ll probably sign later in the offseason once he can display to teams that he is fully healthy.  Santana is an intriguing buy-low candidate, given that he posted solid-to-excellent numbers in the five seasons prior to his injury-marred 2018 campaign.
• Also from Cotillo, another bounce-back candidate in free agent lefty Drew Pomeranz has drawn interest from a “handful” of suitors.
• Even after signing Patrick Corbin, the Nationals searching for another starter, per Jon Heyman of Fancred (Twitter link).  Tanner Roark is coming off a middling season and Joe Ross only just returned from Tommy John surgery, so there’s certainly some room for Washington to improve at the back of their rotation beyond the big three of Corbin, Max Scherzer, and Stephen Strasburg.  Beyond another starter, Heyman also said the Nats are looking to add a reliever and a second baseman.
• Three other teams were finalists for Nathan Eovaldi before the right-hander re-signed with the Red Sox, Evan Drellich of NBC Sports Boston tweets.  The Angels were one of the finalists, and Eovaldi himself implied that the Astros were another, saying that he strongly considered pitching in his hometown of Houston.  It isn’t known who the fourth finalist was, though the Phillies also had interest in Eovaldi, but as a closer, reports The Athletic’s Jayson Stark (Twitter link).  Eovaldi’s desire to remain as a starting pitcher closed the door on that opportunity, however.

Santana will receive a $1MM buyout in lieu of a $14MM club option. While it had seemed at times as if the club would likely end up deciding to keep him around for a fifth campaign, the veteran’s injury-limited 2018 campaign rendered that unlikely.

So long as he can show that his problematic right middle finger is healed, Santana ought to be a popular bounceback target on the open market. Though he’s now 35 years of age, he had turned in two consecutive stellar seasons before the forgettable season that just concluded.

As for Morrison, who signed on last winter in what seemed to be a highly team-friendly deal, injury issues also marred his season. The club will give him $1MM rather than picking up an $8MM salary for another.

The 31-year-old Morrison had settled for his contract with Minnesota after entering the market after a big platform season. Unfortunately, he found himself among the many defensively limited sluggers who didn’t find a lot of demand, and ended up requiring hip surgery after struggling at the plate with the Twins. He’ll surely also draw plenty of looks from clubs interested in finding a productive lefty bat at an affordable price.

Minnesota signed the 29-year-old Graterol to a minors pact in late June after he was designated for assignment and subsequently released by the Angels. His lone MLB plate appearance on the season resulted in a single, but he’d also spent parts of 2016 an 2017 in Los Angeles and racked up just over 100 trips to the plate during that time. The backstop owns a lifetime .222/.225/.283 batting line at the MLB level, though he’s perhaps better known for sound defense behind the plate.

Since joining the Rochester Red Wings, Graterol has posted a .284/.317/.336 batting line across 123 MiLB plate appearances. That comes with a sustainable .289 BABIP, so there’s at least some optimism surrounding his potential to make good contact in the majors. But the more fascinating element of Graterol’s game is his plate discipline profile. He’s got just a 2.4% strikeout rate with the Red Wings, along with a 1.6% walk rate. Put more simply, Graterol swings often, and he doesn’t miss very much. He’ll sit behind Willians Astudillo and Chris Gimenez on the Twins’ depth chart.