Johan Santana Injury: Updates on Orioles Pitcher's Achilles and Recovery

The injuries just keep coming for Johan Santana. The Baltimore Orioles pitcher tore his Achilles tendon on Friday in extended spring training.   

MLB made it official with this tweet, stating he's out for the season:

Orioles general manager Dan Duquette spoke about Santana's injury (via Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun):

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It's unfortunate. We were looking for Johan's leadership and also his pedigree from being a winning pitcher to come back and be added to the team. Now we'll have to look for that capability somewhere else.

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Santana hadn't even made his 2014 debut prior to Friday's incident as he's been rehabbing from two shoulder surgeries that have kept him off the mound in competitive action since August 2012. 

His latest shoulder issue came just before the 2013 season, and he missed all of that campaign as a member of the New York Mets before he agreed to buy out the rest of his contract, making him a free agent. The 35-year-old's career was very much in question at that point before Baltimore surprised many around baseball by signing Santana to a minor league contract. 

Jason Cole tweeted about Santana's career prospects following the injury:

It wasn't long ago that Santana was arguably the most feared pitcher in all of baseball. His no-hitter in 2012 was the first in Mets history, and two Cy Young Awards earlier in his career along with the coveted pitching Triple Crown in 2006 had him on track for Cooperstown.

Given Friday's injury as Santana aims to rehab a completely separate injury, he might be nearing the end of his career. 

Some of the greatest pitchers can regain their game in the twilight of their careers, but few have had to endure the beatings Santana has over the past few years. It will be interesting to see if there's any more baseball left for him.