Twins to sign Ervin Santana

The Minnesota Twins have agreed to sign right-hander Ervin Santana to a four-year, $54 million deal, according to reports Thursday at the Winter Meetings.

Santana had reportedly been close to signing with the Twins for the past couple of days, so it was only a matter of time before a deal got done. He finally gets the long-term deal he wanted last year after being offered, and rejecting, a qualifying offer from the Royals. 

The 2008 All-Star Santana got another qualifying offer this past year from the Braves, but still was able to find the deal he wanted. Santana represents just one of many starting pitchers to have changed teams during the Winter Meetings, joining the long list of Jason Hammel, Jon Lester, Justin Masterson, Wade Miley, Rick Porcello, and others.

Santana, 32 today, went 14-10 with a 3.95 ERA and a 3.39 FIP this season in 196 innings pitched. He posted a 2.8 fWAR and a 179 to 63 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Santana is a workhorse and an innings eater, averaging 207 innings pitched since 2010.

Santana will be joining a Twins rotation that includes the likes of Phil Hughes, Kyle Gibson, Ricky Nolasco, and Mike Pelfrey. Minnesota has been fairly quiet this offseason, with their lone major signing to this point being Torii Hunter. Santana adds to a rotation that posted the highest ERA in the major leagues in back-to-back seasons.

The Dominican native was signed by the Angels as an amateur free agent in 2000. Over his career, Santana has a 4.17 ERA and a 4.26 FIP in ten big league seasons, with the Angels, Royals, and Braves. 

--Devan Fink

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