Mets Eyeing A Cheap Santana Return?

With the Mets in need of starting pitching and many in the media reporting that Bronson Arroyo and, sadly, even Bartolo Colon are out of their price range, it is a distinct possibility that the Mets turn to a familiar face to fill a spot in their rotation. From Mike Puma in the New York Post:

It has left the Mets looking toward more realistic options — one of which could be Johan Santana, who is recovering from a second surgery to repair the anterior capsule in his left shoulder.

According to a source, Alderson has expressed interest in Santana with the idea of potentially signing him to a low-base, high-incentive deal. The 34-year-old lefty received a $5.5 million buyout last month on the final year of the $137.5 million contract he signed with the Mets before the 2008 season.

But Alderson isn’t alone in his interest: The Orioles and Twins are among the handful of teams that have been linked to Santana.

 I think this may actually be a good idea, if it can be arranged after the tenuous relationship between Alderson and Santana last season. Picking Santana back up plugs a starter in your rotation who, if healthy, will compete every time he steps on the mound. Even assuming he's dropped a few MPH off of his fastball that will never return, I have faith enough in Santana as a thinking pitcher to see what he has left in the tank. This becomes even more true when weighed against your other options: Daisuke Matsuzaka proved a disaster last season with the Mets, and he may be the best of the bunch left in the Met price range. Looking at starters who will accept short, incentive laden contracts, Santana has the highest ceiling for the short term.

Photo by Michael Baron

On a sad note, it will mean that I did not attend Santana's last home game with the Mets on August 11th, 2012. The tickets were a gift, and after I received them I remember running through the rotation and realizing I was probably going to see Johan on the mound. This was shortly after his no-hitter, and I was really excited for the game. Still the only Mets game I've been to.

Braves tagged him for 8 runs in an inning and a third, knocked him out of the game. Effing Mets.

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