Royals sign Ervin Santana to Minors deal

The Royals signed right-hander Ervin Santana to a Minor League contract on Tuesday, as they take a shot on a veteran who didn’t pitch in 2020.

Santana has put together an accomplished big league career. His 15 seasons include one with the Royals in 2013, when he posted a 3.24 ERA over 32 starts after being acquired in a trade with the Angels. Santana then left as a free agent and signed with the Braves.

Now 38, Santana owns a career record of 149-127 and an ERA of 4.09 (101 ERA+) in 387 games (384 starts). He was an All-Star in 2008 for the Angels and in ‘17 for the Twins. Since the latter season, he has made a total of eight MLB starts, recording a combined 8.53 ERA with Minnesota (‘18) and the White Sox (‘19), who released him at the end of April that year.

Santana then caught on with the Mets, pitching the rest of that season in their Minor League system. He didn’t pitch in the Majors or Minors in 2020, though he did have a good showing in the Dominican Winter League this winter, with a 2.61 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 20 2/3 innings (five starts) for Tigres del Licey.