The MLB free agent class still has some prime names available and pitchers Ervin Santana and Ubaldo Jimenez are two of the top players left and as the season get closer to starting, teams like the Atlanta Braves, Toronto Blue Jays, Seattle Mariners, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers could be options.
According to ESPN.com Insider Jim Bowden, the Toronto Blue Jays could be an option for both Santana and Jimenez, as they were looking at the David Price trade earlier in the year and also looked to sign Matt Garza before he went to the Brewers. The Blue Jays had a down season in 2013, but they feel like they have young talent and a solid lineup and adding a top of the line pitcher to that could help turn things around in the AL East. Santana reportedly wanted a $100 million contract, but now that it's just weeks away from pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training, Buster Olney reports his price is going down considerably and the same could be going for Jimenez.
Santana had a good year last season and pitched a ton of innings and was the best player in the rotation with a 3.24 ERA ERA, but with Masahiro Tanaka already signing along with Garza, the demand for pitchers is low and on top of that, a team will have to give up a pick to sign him, which is likely why he remains on the free agent market. The Yankees were thought to be options for both pitchers if they did not get the Tanaka deal done, but clearly that happened and now it appears they are done spending this offseason.
The Seattle Mariners spent huge money on Robinson Cano and while they are still talking with Nelson Cruz, they were also interested in adding one of the pitchers to a rotation that already includes Cy Young winner Felix Hernandez and Cy Young finalist Hisashi Iwakuma. The Blue Jays and the Diamondbacks are solid spots for those pitchers as well and both were in the mix for Tanaka and the David Price deal, but now it appears that free agents are more likely. Right now it looks like Santana will be forced to take a shorter deal, but if he pitches well this season, that could set him up for another nice pay day down the line.
Santana originally wanted $112 million, but now that Garza came in for $50 million over four years, that is the wheelhouse he is looking at and the Royals are not looking to re-sign him, especially at that price. Jimenez had a very nice finish to the season and he ended up striking out nearly 180 batters over his final 28 starts and his ERA was solid as well and that could mean a deal is coming soon. There are a number of players on the market and now that Tanaka is coming to the US, one player will sign soon and that should start the dominoes falling for these dudes.