Washington Nationals: Possible August starting pitching targets
By Ron Juckett
ERVIN SANTANA
Ervin Santana is enjoying a season for the ages, but Cinderella has grabbed her Viking hat and shouted “Skol!” as the Minnesota Twins good fortune ran out.
While the good Disney princess is in line for nachos and a brat at US Bank Stadium waiting for football, the Twins would like to cut some payroll and wait for next year. No question Santana’s name will be in the rumor mill this month.
The interest in Santana is genuine. An All-Star for the second time in his career, he enters August with a 12-7 record and 3.28 ERA in 145.1 innings. He has a whopping five complete games this year with three shutouts. The WHIP is a solid 1.108 and his 7.0 K/9 gets the job done.
But, his FIP is 4.81. Ouch. Santana gets outs, but allows a ton of home runs. Try 24 this year, the highest since 2013 with Kansas City. That year, 26 left the yard in 211 innings. Even solo shots sting in October.
Contract wise, Santana is under team control next year for $13.5 million. Again, taking him on furthers how far the Nats are over the revenue sharing tax. A trade here fixes the Ross problem for next year though. Not forced to be the ace, he fits a mid-rotation role with a matching price tag.