RADIO
The New York Yankees interest in the two-time Cy Young award winner is back. According to the New York Post, the Yankees were in attendance for Johan Santana's first appearance on a mound, pitching two scoreless innings in the Venezuelan Winter League on Tuesday night. He is looking to make a comeback from a torn Achilles tendon he suffered in June of last season that sidelined him for the season.
Santana, 36 in March, suffered the season-ending Achilles injury while pitching with the Baltimore Orioles. The Yankees were interested in Santana last season as he recovered from shoulder surgery in 2012 before he ultimately signed with the Orioles.
The shoulder surgery occurred in his last season with the New York Mets, when he went 6-9 with a 4.85 ERA in 117.0 innings. The four-time All-Star will see a significant decline in the velocity of his pitches due to the shoulder surgery so he will rely more on control and location instead of power.
In 2008, the Yankees were interested in trading to acquire Santana from the Minnesota Twins before the team in the Bronx backed out and the team in Queens stepped in and acquired the lefty.
The fact that the Yankees will “keep an eye on him,” according to a source, could likely be a matter of depth rather than expectations of contributions at the major league level. So far this offseason, the Yankees have signed Andrew Miller, acquired Justin Wilson from the Pittsburgh Pirates and acquired Chasen Shreve from the Atlanta Braves. In addition to these three newly acquired left-handed relievers; minor league reliever Tyler Webb and 2014 draft pick Jacob Lindgren have been on the Yankees radar from within their system.
