DUNEDIN, Fla. – A special determination is needed to be still pursuing a comeback after all Johan Santana has been through. Four surgeries on his arm, another on a torn Achilles, and several more minor ailments have all taken their toll on the two-time Cy Young Award winner, yet he arrived at spring training Saturday to try and win a spot in the Toronto Blue Jays starting rotation.
Given that Baseball-Reference.com pegs his career earnings at nearly $156 million, Santana doesn’t need to do this. That he still wants to is telling about his motivation and drive.
“I love what I do and if I’m able to do it, it will be great,” he told a large media throng. “If it doesn’t [work] then at least I tried my best to come back.”
There’s little doubt he’s doing that in his bid to pitch in the big leagues for the first time since allowing six runs over five innings for the New York Mets in a 6-4 loss to Washington on Aug. 17, 2012.
Last year, Santana’s work with the Baltimore Orioles was cut short by the torn left Achilles, and after recovering from that, he pitched two innings for Magallanes in Venezuela on Jan. 13, retiring six straight batters.
He didn’t pitch for them again as Magallanes manager Carlos Garcia told The Associated Press that Santana’s left shoulder was slow to recover from the outing. With the team in the middle of the playoffs and him at the beginning of his recovery process, it was better to regroup, Santana said.
As for how his shoulder feels now, Santana says, “it’s all right, it’s getting back into everything again.”
“I’m trying not to rush anything,” he added, “just trying to get into the system, into the program and to make sure I follow everything. Hopefully that works out. I feel I’m in a good situation here and I’m hoping to put it all back together.”
Details and timelines are fluid for now, as much will depend on how Santana’s throwing program goes. While the April 28 opt out in the minor-league deal he signed with the Blue Jays suggests he feels he could be close by then, he insisted there are no target dates in his mind.
“That’s not the mindset,” said Santana. “The mindset here is to make sure I’m good, I feel strong and we go from there on a day-to-day basis.”
At his best, Santana’s fastball averaged 92-93 MPH with a 10-12 MPH drop to his devastating changeup. During that 2012 season, when he was 6-9 with a 4.85 ERA over 21 starts but struck out 111 batters in 117 innings, his fastball averaged 88.4 MPH with his changeup at 77.2, both the slowest of his career.
“When I came back from my surgeries, I thought everything was there as far as command,” said Santana. “I was throwing my changeup and everything was there. The speed was the biggest question mark. Once you make that adjustment, you go from there. That’s what this game is all about and that’s what I will do. I don’t know how I’m going to be as far as speed or anything, but I’m going to continue doing what I do. Once I get on the mound it’s about competing and giving my team a chance to win, that’s my mindset the whole time, regardless of if I have command or not. You always compete and you always want to do good. That’s a big part of how I do my thing.”
The Blue Jays, obviously, are hoping that is still good enough to get outs in the big leagues. GM Alex Anthopoulos said the team is looking at him as a starter and they have a spot in the rotation that’s unsettled.
“We’re in a situation with a lot to gain,” Santana said, “and nothing to lose.”