Ervin Santana is still on the free agent market with the MLB season weeks away from starting and the Baltimore Orioles have remained a team that is interested in spring training, while the Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates, Texas Rangers and Seattle Mariners are also potential options for the former Royals pitcher.
Santana was originally on the market waiting for Masahiro Tanaka to sign and that was supposed to start the dominoes in free agency, but instead it slowed things down. Matt Garza and Ubaldo Jimenez eventually got their deals, but Santana remains on the market because of his money demands and draft pick compensation and now he could wait until the season starts to sign. According to Hardball Talk, the Baltimore Sun reports that Santana is still on the radar for the Orioles and they would only have to give up a third round pick to get him.
The team already signed Jimenez and Nelson Cruz to deals and while they have to give up picks for them, the team felt it was a wise decision to make and now they could do the same with Santana. The Royals starter went 9-10 last season with a 3.24 ERA and he came into the offseason hoping for a $100 million deal and now he would be lucky to even come close to the $50 million that Matt Garza got from the Brewers.
The Orioles have no problem giving up their draft pick says the report, they are just now waiting for his price to come down more. The Mariners could get into the mix and this comes after Robinson Cano suggested to reporters that the team take a look at Santana and Kendrys Morales and some numbers being thrown out by ESPN.com includes a three years and $36 million deal for Santana.
