It appears some Toronto Blue Jays players would have altered their contracts in order to land right-hander Ervin Santana.
According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, several players discussed deferring portions of their salaries to clear payroll for Santana. It’s unknown where within the organization the talks began, but even if players were willing to defer a portion of their salaries it would have been difficult to gain the approval of the players’ union.
The 31-year-old declined a one-year, $14-million offer from the Jays to sign for the same terms with the Atlanta Braves on March 12.
Rosenthal reported back in March that the Jays’ Dominican players lobbied for Santana, who is from La Romana, Dominican Republic, and texted a photo to the right-hander’s cell phone of the players holding a sign that read, “Come to Toronto.”
Santana is pitching in the NL for the first time in his 10-year career. He spent eight seasons with the Los Angeles Angels before being traded to the Royals in 2013, helping Kansas City post an 86-76 record, its best since 1989.
He was an AL all-star in 2008, tossed a no-hitter in 2011, and has reached double-figure wins five times, going a career-best 17-10 in 2010 and twice winning 16 games.
–With files from Associated Press