Changing Timeline: Is It Time To Start Worrying About Santana?

When they signed Lance Lynn I think that could have been a sign the did not expect Santana back anytime soon.

Let's just say it was wonderful that the Twins did get Odorizzi AND Lynn. If they had just gotten one, I would be more worried. I would hope a patch of Hughes/Enns/Slegers/Mejia can carry us thru however long Santana is out. And I would be willing to call up Rmero/Goncalves/Jorge/Littell once ALL have 3-4-5 decent starts under their belt, if push came to shove.

Will warm weather change things up some (Morrison, Buxton). Is the Twins bullpen solid? Those are the bigger questions right now.

I was worried about Santana the second that I heard that he was having surgery and would miss the start of the season. That sounded like a typical final season for an older pitcher that ends with a really ugly ERA.

But luckily the Twins have depth in both veterans and prospects. Hopefully we see Gonsalves or possibly even Romero up with the Twins by midseason. Or do Pineda or May make an early comeback?

I was worried about Santana the second that I heard that he was having surgery and would miss the start of the season. That sounded like a typical final season for an older pitcher that ends with a really ugly ERA.

But luckily the Twins have depth in both veterans and prospects. Hopefully we see Gonsalves or possibly even Romero up with the Twins by midseason. Or do Pineda or May make an early comeback?

From what has been reported, May is currently ramping up and I think he is on track to return in June. I think they want him back as a starting pitcher (Falvey/Levine had a quote about that in Spring Training) but we'll see about that. Pineda is expected to possibly be able to throw in the bullpen in September. I don't think there will be time for him to throw enough innings to be a starter in 2018.

I think in general I'm going to worry about a pitcher in his mid 30s, and moreso if they have a recent injury

Let's try the "glass half full" approach and think of Santana as a strong candidate to be a trade deadline acquisition. While it may be true we don't have a rotation as good as either Cleveland or Houston, it stll is improved over last year.

In a word.  Yes.

Not particularly.  When careers come crashing down for 'older' pitchers, it's arm problems, not finger problems.  Not that it couldn't happen with a finger, I guess.  But until I hear something definitive that points to the finger somehow being 'done'...I'm relatively optimistic that he will be back and pitching decent-to-good by the end of May.

If it means that Phil Hughes gets more starts, then H-E-Double Hockey sticks YES, I'm worried about Santana.

Talked with May a few days ago and he said he'd be ready in May.

Why does it matter? He isn't going to reach 200 IP this year or 400 IP between last season and this season anyway.

Talked with May a few days ago and he said he'd be ready in May.

That would be superb if it happened.  He's been throwing off the mound for weeks now including offspeed stuff. By the end of may it will have been 14 months since his surgery.

Well if Spotrac has it wrong then I guess I do too

Pioneer Press reporter Mike Beradino reported it as an "OR" in his article in December of 2014 covering the signing:

Santana’s deal includes a fifth-year vesting option based on innings pitched — either 200 in 2018 or a combined 400 in 2017-18 — but it does not include a no-trade provision.

https://www.twincities.com/2014/12/12/twins-signing-ervin-santana-about-more-than-the-arm/

Any injury is a cause for worry.  I imagine that when people heard that Dizzy Dean hurt his toe there was nothing to worry about, but then it ended his career. https://www.fangraphs.com/tht/tht-live/the-dizzy-dean-injury-cascade/

"Most importantly, it shows the cascade potential of any injury to a pitcher. He broke his toe, leading to shoulder and arm issues and quieting a great career. For pitchers, any injury can lead to other injuries. Altered mechanics or additional stress can cause issues up the pitching motion’s kinetic chain. Fixing one link in the chain could cause the next weakest link to break. Sometimes a weak link can cause another weak link to break. It can be a vicious cycle."

It's one thing to have him back, and another to be effective. He will be back. Effective becomes the big concern. Hopefully, the amazing free agents signed will be so good that it will be onward and upward, regardless.

Do we know of other pitchers who have returned from this procedure?

Worrying?   Why?  There are two pitchers in the organization, one available now (Fernando Romero) and one available later (Trevor May) who are likely better than Santana, with a third (Michael Pineda) who will be ready to come during the final sprint of the season.

 

Wasted money this season and he should had been traded when he had some value after last season that was an aberration.

 

Santana was going to be irrelevant for the 2018 Twins anyways, with Lance Lynn's addition...

Look, I have always been an advocate for Trevor May, but calling him a better pitcher than Ervin Santana? We barely have enough tape on the guy in the majors as a starter to even think that he's better than Ervin. Now after having back problems and then missing a full year to Tommy John surgery, he'll suddenly become a better pitcher than Santana? I highly doubt that.

And saying that Santana was going to be irrelevant for the 2018 Twins is simply inaccurate. He was going to be the Opening Day pitcher until the injury happened. The rotation would have been Santana-Odorizzi-Berrios-Lynn-Gibson... I bet if you asked Molitor who his ace starter was, he'd tell you it is Ervin. Even if he's the de facto ace, that makes him at the very least relevant.

I was open to trading him, but the price had to be right. I expect regression for him, but apparently not as much as you do... I can just imagine it now, seeing Twins Daily blow up after the front office trades Santana for a B-level prospect and whiffing on Darvish.