Ervin Santana

This MLB offseason offered little in terms of impact pitchers. And as we look to round third base on it, any that were available are now off the market.

The big three closers—Mark Melancon (San Francisco Giants), Kenley Jansen (Los Angeles Dodgers) and Aroldis Chapman (New York Yankees)—all signed with teams. The Chicago White Sox sent starting pitcher Chris Sale to the Boston Red Sox, and the Kansas City Royals shipped closer Wade Davis to the Chicago Cubs.

It has left the market for pitchers looking like August in Death Valley.

Only a few days remain before the MLB trade deadline Monday. Yet there are probably still a couple front offices around the league surveying the market and the tight-knit playoff race to determine whether they should be buyers or sellers leading up to Aug. 1.

There is no crying in baseball; we all know that by now. But deriding your work environment when things don't go your way? That's apparently fair game for Ervin Santana.     

The Minnesota Twins pitcher took to the media to call Yankee Stadium a "joke" Wednesday after giving up two home runs to rookie first baseman Greg Bird, as captured by Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press:

It didn't take long to catch the first violators of the season.

Just days away from the opening of the 2015 season, the performance-enhancing drug monster that Major League Baseball cannot escape from has snatched up its first wave of offenders.

Ervin Santana's situation isn't unique. He's a big-name free agent who's still looking for work, but he's not the only one. Stephen Drew and Kendrys Morales are in the same boat.

Santana's situation is, however, more puzzling. The right-hander is an innings-eater who's coming off a career-best 3.24 ERA, and he's floating on a market that has been very kind to pitchers.

He's a member of the Texas Rangers now, but remember how Prince Fielder came to be on the Detroit Tigers? It was via a devastating injury to Victor Martinez, which opened up a need for an impact bat and, in turn, Tigers owner Mike Ilitch's wallet.

In most years, the free-agent market would be barren in early February. Roster upgrades would be difficult to find, leaving general managers scouring for low-risk, high-reward options to augment their respective rosters.

This year is different.

One of the great dangers Major League Baseball teams face when bidding on a player in free agency is what I like to call "The Contract-Year Star."

It takes talent to succeed at the highest level of baseball, sure, but sometimes a player will put in more focus and attention when he knows that a big contract is waiting on the open market. Teams are then forced to decide how much of this increased production is going to stick. 

A year ago, Ervin Santana was a reclamation project who was basically up for grabs. Taking him on meant fixing a pitcher who had allowed 39 homers while pitching to a 5.16 ERA in 2012.

Because funny things have a way of happening in baseball, Santana now finds himself looking for a $100 million contract.

The San Francisco Giants finished the 2013 season with a disappointing record of 76-86, 16 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West.

The work to rebuild the roster has already begun for the Giants and GM Brian Sabean.

First, the Giants signed outfielder Hunter Pence to a five-year, $90 million contract. Pence played in every game for the Giants and was their top overall offensive weapon this past season.