GLENDALE, Ariz. — The White Sox are adding some starting-pitching depth to a team that seems to need it, bringing in veteran righty Ervin Santana on a minor league deal.
The White Sox made the signing official on Saturday.
The 36-year-old Santana has spent 14 years in the big leagues and only pitched in five games for the Minnesota Twins during the 2018 season while battling a finger injury. He was roughed up in those 24.2 innings, surrendering nine home runs and finishing his brief season with an 8.03 ERA.
The year prior, however, Santana was excellent for the Twins, making an All-Star appearance and finishing with a 3.28 ERA in 33 starts. He led baseball with five complete games and a trio of shutouts and finished seventh in voting for the American League Cy Young Award. Santana made five starts against the White Sox in 2017 and went 4-0 with a 2.67 ERA.
It figured the White Sox would add to their starting-pitching depth, with a hole still to fill in the starting rotation behind the foursome of Carlos Rodon, Reynaldo Lopez, Lucas Giolito and Ivan Nova. General manager Rick Hahn has had good things to say about Manny Banuelos, acquired earlier in the offseason in a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers, who is in a battle with Dylan Covey for the fifth spot on the starting staff. But Santana could now jump into that mix.
At the very least, having depth is important, as beyond Banuelos and Covey, there are few internal options ready for the major leagues, either as a starter or a long reliever in the bullpen.
MLB
Santana's health will be an obvious question moving forward after he made just those five appearances in late July and early August last season.
Click here to download the new MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the White Sox easily on your device.