The Toronto Blue Jays are hoping that Johan Santana can return to something resembling his 2004 and 2006 Cy Young-winning form. According to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News, the Jays agreed to a minor league deal with the veteran lefty.
ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick believes Santana offers a low risk but a nice reward if he can stay healthy and effective:
Sportsnet Stats also unearthed an interesting statistic regarding the Blue Jays:
In his prime, Santana was one of the most dominant pitchers in the league. He either tied or led the American League in strikeouts and ERA+ from 2004 to 2006, per Baseball-Reference. In his 12-year career so far, Santana has gone 139-78 with a 3.20 earned run average.
The four-time All-Star hasn't appeared in a regular-season game since 2012, with injuries and old age conspiring to make him a shell of his old self.
Back in January, Santana's agent, Peter Greenberg, spoke about why the former Minnesota Twin and New York Met is still trying to get his career back on track, per Crasnick:
Johan wants to go out on his own terms. He doesn't want to go out because an injury put him out. He's worked very hard and kept himself in shape, and he's never thought about retiring. It's not about the money or anything like that. He's said he wants to draw his own ending. He wants to go out on his own terms. He's told me, 'I want to add to my legacy.' I think anybody who knows him is going to bet on him.
Nobody will expect Santana to roll back the years and repeat his prime.
However, he could be a nice addition for the Jays as they attempt to make the postseason for the first time since 1993, which was the second of their back-to-back World Series-winning seasons.
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