The New York Yankees' quest for pitching depth has taken them to Venezuela, where two-time Cy Young winner Johan Santana hurled two innings in the Venezuelan Winter League. A source close to the Bronx Bombers said the team will "keep an eye on him."
The 36-year-old is far from a lock to be in the Yankees' rotation if they sign him, and he has an uphill climb to relevance. He signed a minor league contract last offseason with the Baltimore Orioles, but couldn't make it to Opening Day after suffering a season-ending torn Achilles tendon.
The last time Santana saw MLB action was in 2012 with the New York Mets, when he went 6-9 with a 4.85 ERA and 1.33 WHIP in 21 starts. By then multiple shoulder injuries had robbed Santana of much of his velocity, and blunted the impact of his go-to changeup.
Santana became more of a finesse pitcher relying on guile, and he did throw the first no-hitter in Mets history during the 2012 campaign. On June 1 Santana threw 134 pitches against the Cards, authoring a historic moment that many believed led to his subsequent, season-ending shoulder surgery.
After the no-no Santana made 10 more starts, going 3-7 with an 8.27 ERA with opponents batting .327 against him.
The Yankees' rotation is stocked from one through five, but there are major injury concerns clouding the prospects of veteran ace CC Sabathia, who managed just eight starts in 2014 and has a degenerative condition in his knee, and oft-inured right-hander Michael Pineda.
The current options to fill in as starters are swingmen Esmil Rogers, and farmhand Chase Whitley.
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