Ervin

Santana

Santana came on after Singer left with an apparent injury to the right upper arm with tow outs in the bottom of the first inning. The veteran right-hander had his wobbles over his three innings of work, including three hits allowed and two walks, but ultimately did not allow a run. Santana owns an unimpressive 4.76 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 51/22 K/BB ratio in 37 appearances (three starts) this season.

The veteran right-hander allowed a Nelson Cruz double in the first inning, which allowed Josh Donaldson to score the two millionth run in Major League Baseball history. Unfortunately for Santana, that was the only highlight in the game that he was involved with. The 38-year-old has performed well this season, mostly out of the bullpen, and is now carrying a 3.26 ERA and 1.09 WHIP over 19 1/3 innings. Hopefully the next time Kansas City needs a starter they will promote prospect Jackson Kowar, as everyone wanted.

The Royals still have a vacancy in their starting rotation with Danny Duffy on the shelf, so Santana will get another opportunity to show that he still belongs in the rotation. The 38-year-old hurler has pitched well out of the bullpen this season -- and in a three-inning spot start last week -- compiling a 2.20 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 10/4 K/BB ratio across 16 1/3 innings. He shouldn’t be expected to work much deeper than three or four innings in this one, which makes him an unappealing streaming option.

He also struck out one. This was Santana’s first major league appearance since 2019, where he started three games for the White Sox. The 38-year-old veteran hurler was a member of the 2013 Royals, and made the roster after being signed to a minor league contract. His fastball velocity reached a high of 94.8 miles per hour; a surprise since hasn’t touched above 93 since 2018. The Royals walked it off in the seventh inning of this doubleheader nightcap, handing him the no decision. Santana’s next turn in the rotation is next Saturday, where he’ll face the Tigers.

Mike Minor -- who was scheduled to start on Friday before the rain washed it out -- will start the first game on Saturday. That means that Brady Singer, who was expected to start on Saturday, is likely to pitch on Sunday, with Danny Duffy getting pushed back until Monday.

Santana struggled to a 5.14 ERA over 14 innings this spring in the Cactus League, though he did strike out 14 batters while issuing only one walk. He hasn’t pitched in the majors since April 2019.

Santana gave up both of his runs in his first inning of relief before settling down in the second. The right-hander has struggled so far in his two Cactus League appearances; giving up four runs over four innings thus far. Signed as a non-roster invite, Santana is going to have to show vast improvement going forward to make the Kansas City roster.

Santana gave up just one hit to Joey Gallo, but it was a two-run shot in the first inning. He also walked one batter, and struck out another. Santana, 38, did not play in 2020; in his last season on a major league roster, he posted a 9.45 ERA in 13.1 innings for the 2019 White Sox. Santana was offered a minor league contract this offseason with an invitation to camp. The veteran right-hander will need to be more impressive in order to make the Opening Day roster.

Alec Lewis of The Athletic reports that the deal includes a $1.5 million base salary if he makes the major league roster, with an additional $1.75 million in possible incentives. Santana turned 38 this month and didn’t pitch in the majors during the truncated 2020 campaign. He has an 8.53 ERA in eight starts at the major league level since 2018, but will try to prove that he still has something left in the tank.

Santana finished his stint at Single-A Rancho Cucamonga going 10-2 with a 2.54 ERA and 130/36 K/BB in 124 2/3 innings.