Johan Santana is officially a free agent, as the Mets declined his $25 million option for 2014 and paid him a $5.5 million buyout.
It was obviously a no-brainer move, as Santana missed the entire season following shoulder surgery and is no sure thing to be ready for the beginning of next year. He’ll likely be looking for an incentive-laden one-year contract on the open market and publicly at least the Mets have indicated they’re interested in re-signing him for a much, much lower price.
Santana last saw action in an MLB game on August 17, 2012. He ended up throwing 717 innings with a 3.18 ERA for the Mets while making $137.5 million.