Orioles, Rangers, and a mystery NL West team are very interested in Ervin Santana

D.J. Short

Feb 22, 2014, 4:28 PM EST

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With Ubaldo Jimenez off the board, Ervin Santana is the last big name starting pitcher available in free agency. Maybe not for much longer, though.

Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes reports that the Orioles, Rangers, and a mystery team from the NL West team are very interested in free agent right-hander Ervin Santana. And while Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos continues to downplay the possibility, Rojas isn’t ready to rule out Toronto just yet.

The Rangers make sense as a possibility given Derek Holland‘s knee injury and Matt Harrison‘s continued back issues. The Orioles are already prepared to give up their first- and second-round picks for Ubaldo Jimenez and Nelson Cruz, so they’d surrender a third-round pick if they also sign Santana. Talk about going for broke. As for who the mystery NL West team could be, you can never rule out the Dodgers. The Rockies have the biggest need among the other teams in the division, though Santana would seem to be a poor fit for Coors Field.

Santana, 31, had a 3.24 ERA and 161/51 K/BB ratio over 211 innings with the Royals last season.

Orioles, Blue Jays among teams considering adding Ervin Santana

Bill Baer

Feb 9, 2014, 10:06 PM EST

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Orioles pitchers and catchers report on Thursday; Blue Jays pitchers and catchers report on Sunday. No one knows if free agent starter Ervin Santana will have a new home by then, but Jon Morosi of FOX Sports is reporting that the O’s and Jays have had discussions with Santana’s representatives at Proformance Baseball.

Santana remains unsigned into February in part because he is tied to draft pick compensation. The Orioles would have to surrender their first round pick, 17th overall, in order to sign the right-hander. The Jays’ two first round picks (9th and 11th) are protected, so they would have to give up their second round pick (49th).

Santana, 31, was one of baseball’s most effective starters last year with the Royals, finishing the season with a 3.24 ERA in 211 innings. However, he has been Jekyll & Hyde over his career, finishing with a sub-3.50 ERA three times and with an ERA above 5.00 three times. PECOTA, the projection system created by Baseball Prospectus, sees Santana posting a 4.25 ERA in 2014.

 

Orioles, Blue Jays among teams considering adding Ervin Santana

Bill Baer

Feb 9, 2014, 10:06 PM EST

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Orioles pitchers and catchers report on Thursday; Blue Jays pitchers and catchers report on Sunday. No one knows if free agent starter Ervin Santana will have a new home by then, but Jon Morosi of FOX Sports is reporting that the O’s and Jays have had discussions with Santana’s representatives at Proformance Baseball.

Santana remains unsigned into February in part because he is tied to draft pick compensation. The Orioles would have to surrender their first round pick, 17th overall, in order to sign the right-hander. The Jays’ two first round picks (9th and 11th) are protected, so they would have to give up their second round pick (49th).

Santana, 31, was one of baseball’s most effective starters last year with the Royals, finishing the season with a 3.24 ERA in 211 innings. However, he has been Jekyll & Hyde over his career, finishing with a sub-3.50 ERA three times and with an ERA above 5.00 three times. PECOTA, the projection system created by Baseball Prospectus, sees Santana posting a 4.25 ERA in 2014.

Bronson Arroyo finalists: Dodgers, Diamondbacks, Orioles

Aaron Gleeman

Feb 5, 2014, 3:31 PM EST

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As of last week Bronson Arroyo was saying he’d yet to receive an actual offer from any teams, but presumably that’s changed now because Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that the Dodgers, Diamondbacks, and Orioles “have emerged as finalists” for the free agent right-hander.

Los Angeles’ interest in Arroyo was reported by several sources recently and Baltimore has made no secret about continuing to pursue rotation help late in the offseason, but Arroyo’s fit in Arizona is somewhat less clear. Despite that Nightengale calls the Diamondbacks “slight favorites” to land Arroyo.

AL East Notes: Rays, Orioles, Markakis

By Zach Links [January  5 at 10:23am CST]

The Blue Jays remain among the favorites to sign either Ervin Santana or Ubaldo Jimenez, despite their quiet offseason thus far, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  In fact, the Jays could be quite aggressive in the New Year.  Rosenthal writes that they could acquire as many as two starters before the offseason is over and they’ve also discussed trades for significant starters, including the Cubs’ Jeff Samardzija.  More out of the AL East..

• Rays executive vice president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said he is looking to add another bench player and remains on the lookout for another arm for the bullpen, writes Roger Mooney of the Tampa Bay Tribune.  Friedman also indicated that this year’s payroll could be a record high, beating 2010’s total of $72.8MM.  If that’s the plan, it could be an indication that they plan to hang on to David Price.
• Like the Blue Jays, it’s been a pretty quiet offseason so far for the Orioles, but Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com fully expects the club to go out and get another starter based on the current makeup of the rotation.  For now, it looks like Chris Tillman, Wei-Yin Chen, Miguel Gonzalez, and Bud Norris are in the rotation. The fifth spot is wide open, but left-hander Zach Britton is the likely favorite because he’s out of options.
• Nick Markakis potentially could be entering his last season with the Orioles in 2014, a year where he will be paid $15MM with a club option at $17.5MM.  While it would take an exceptional season for that to be triggered, the O’s would happily settle for a return to the norm for Markakis in 2014 and worrying about 2015 later, writes Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com.

Orioles, Grant Balfour going back and forth on potential contract

Bill Baer

Dec 15, 2013, 6:05 PM EST

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Jen Royle of the Boston Herald is reporting that the Orioles and free agent reliever Grant Balfour are still hammering out their differences on a potential contract. The Orioles preferred a two-year deal at $6 million per year; Balfour wanted a three-year deal at $8 million per year with a vesting option. Royle’s source says there won’t be a vesting option. Royle also adds that Balfour has been offered a “sweet” deal from an unnamed team but the right-hander would prefer to work things out with the O’s.

Balfour, who turns 36 years old, is one of the few high-quality relievers still available in free agency. Joaquin Benoit remains available, and following him, Fernando Rodney would move up in the free agency rankings. Every other reliever has some inherent risk due to some combination of age, injury history, and/or inconsistency.

Justin Morneau rumors: Yankees, Orioles, Pirates all showing trade interest

By Nathan Aderhold              @AdrastusPerkins                 on Aug 21 2013, 11:06a     +

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Hannah Foslien

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The Twins’ veteran first baseman is on fire lately, causing his trade market to heat up.

The Pirates, Yankees and Orioles are all showing interest in acquiring Twins first baseman Justin Morneau, according to a pair of reports. Morneau cleared the waiver wire last week, so the Twins can trade him to any team.

More Twins: Who Takes Gibson’s Place in the Rotation?

 

Pittsburgh, who was involved in Morneau rumors at the trade deadline, are said to have “some” interest in bringing the former MVP into the fold, per Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

New York, also part of the Morneau deadline murmurs, are rumored to be “back in it,” which may cause the O’s to “begin to panic” in their hunt for a DH, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN in Minneapolis. Buster Olney of ESPN challenges Wolfson’s source, saying that the Yankees are not discussing a deal for Morneau.

Morneau, 32, was garnering nothing more than lukewarm interest at the beginning of the month, but has started turning heads with his resurgent performance at the plate over the last two weeks. The lefty-swinging slugger went 4-for-5 with a home run Tuesday night, giving him seven home runs in 20 games this month.

On the year, Morneau is batting .267/.321/.431 with 15 home runs in 118 games. While he’s no longer an MVP-type player, he could be a valuable asset to a contender down the stretch. Morneau will be a free agent at the end of the year, so whomever acquires him would have him for just two months, and won’t be offer to submit a qualifying offer to receive a compensation pick should he leave, either.