Rumors: Ervin Santana seeks $100 MM

I like Ervin Santana. I really do. He's a great pitcher, a great guy, and a late bloomer in the big leagues. I enjoyed watching his no-hitter in 2011. I enjoy watching him pitch. But, he does not deserve his next contract. 

Look away baseball teams. Ervin Santana is looking for a $100 million contract this winter, according to Ken Rosenthal (via Twitter). He stated that Ervin was looking to "cash in" on his next deal. Believe me, I don't have anything against Santana. But, too ask for that much? I just do not see any teams looking to buy in on that. Still unconvinced? Let's break the stats down. 

Santana, although not given much run support (he was only given over 5 runs in seven of his 32 starts), he still did not pitch to the level a $100 million man should be pitching to. A very solid pitcher, nonetheless, Santana went 9-10 with a 3.24 ERA. Yes, those are very good numbers. Can you be sure that Santana can keep them up, however? In his past five years (with the Angels and Royals), Santana pitched to a 54-53 record with a 4.03 ERA. Yes that is solid, but once again, does Santana really deserve a $100 million deal? I think not. 

Any way you slice it, Santana is not worth $100 million. I believe he is too unpredictable as a pitcher and has to become more consistent to be able to receive a contract near that size. I think it will take some serious negotiating before Santana signs this winter, which ultimately could be well into January. 

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