Ervin Santana to Twins: Latest Contract Details, Comments, Reaction

For the second consecutive season, Ervin Santana has spent the winter in search of a team, and the 10-year veteran has made his decision.

Santana will be pitching for the Minnesota Twins in 2015, the team announced Friday.

Jon Heyman of CBS Sports initially reported the deal, while Yahoo Sports' Jeff Passan passed along terms of the deal:

Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports the annual breakdown of the deal:

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported the full terms of the agreement:

Last year, Santana was in limbo for a long time. He didn't sign with Atlanta until March 12, only getting a one-year pact despite coming off a season with Kansas City in 2013 in which he posted a career-best 3.24 ERA. 

Despite signing so late into spring training, Santana didn't take long to get ready. He made his 2014 debut on April 9 with eight shutout innings against the New York Mets. His overall numbers for the season were solid with a 3.95 ERA, 179 strikeouts and 193 hits allowed in 196 innings.

Dustin Bradford/Getty Images

After being forced to take a one-year deal in 2014, Santana was trying to capitalize on his successful season, with ESPN's Buster Olney reporting on December 2 that the former All-Star was looking for a five-year contract:

The pitching market this offseason was very top-heavy, with Jon Lester and Max Scherzer leading the way. Because those two pitchers have the resumes to command more money than a lot of teams are capable of offering, Santana is a nice alternative.

There are limitations to Santana's game, like his usually high home run rates, but there are certain things a team can live with if the price is right. Plus, as noted by David Schoenfield of ESPN.com, there's a lot of value in having a pitcher you know will be out there for 30 starts every year:

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Are you getting a Cy Young candidate in Santana? No. But you're getting a pitcher who has made 30-plus starts the past five seasons, making him a reliable 200-inning midrotation workhorse. He's averaged 1.7 WAR over those five seasons, but that includes a terrible 2012 season when he posted a 5.16 ERA. Otherwise, he's averaged 2.5 WAR in the other four seasons, which prices him at about $16 million per season in this market. 

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Santana is joining a pitching staff in Minnesota that struggled in 2014. The Twins posted a team ERA of 4.57, only better than the Colorado Rockies, making the pitcher a much-needed addition for a team that finished in last place in the AL Central.

It's a natural reaction to be underwhelmed by a contract when it's not given to one of the marquee names. Santana has had very good years throughout his career but has only finished in the top 10 of Cy Young Award voting once.

While Santana isn't likely to be a Game 1 starter on a championship team, he's the kind of rotation stalwart who gives a manager comfort because he will take the ball every fifth day and more often than not perform well.

For the Twins, that's the type of player they need if they're to return to the postseason for the first time since their loss to the Yankees in the 2010 American League Division Series.

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