The Major League Baseball offseason proves to be one of the most entertaining time periods in professional sports on a yearly basis. With each of the 30 clubs looking to improve heading into the upcoming season, trade rumors and free agent news grabs hold of the baseball universe since fans of every team hope their respective franchise leaders make the proper moves before the start of spring training. Now that the 2013 Winter Meetings are officially underway in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, free agent and trade news continues to pick up steam, with some of the top players in the game potentially on the move.
Some of the biggest names in the game have already relocated and with the winter meetings running through Thursday, December 12, it is expected that other high profile players will don different jerseys before the spring. The Texas Rangers and Detroit Tigers completed a monster deal that sent second baseman Ian Kinsler to the Motor City in exchange for power hitting first baseman Prince Fielder. While those American League squads were busy completing the massive swap, the New York Yankees - no strangers to offseason action - went out to upgrade the catching and outfield positions.
Signing former Braves backstop Brian McCann to a five-year, $85 million deal, former Boston outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury to a seven-year, $153 million and St. Louis Cardinals star Carlos Beltran to a three-year, $45 million agreement, the Yankees are set on becoming contenders once again after a down 2013 season. Though the Bronx Bombers dropped a significant amount of money on the aforementioned players, multiple reports indicate the team is not done upgrading. After failing to re-sign second baseman Robinson Cano, New York is now in the market for starting pitching and are said to be highly interested in a former New York City star.
According to ESPN, the Yankees are among the eight teams interested in the services of free agent pitcher Johan Santana. Though he hasn't pitched in two of the past three seasons due to shoulder injury, the 34-year-old former All-Star and two-time Cy Young winner is highly interested in making a return to the professional ranks and will be willing to speak with any club interested.
In 2012 - his last full MLB season - the Venezuela native completed the first no-hitter in New York Mets history. Completing that campaign with a 6-9 record with a 4.85 ERA in 21 starts, the once dominant lefty showed signs of injury which ultimately led to him missing the 2013 season but despite battling soreness in his shoulder for the past three years, Santana continues to intrigue multiple teams. Along with the New York Yankees, the Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Royals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays serve as possible suitors.
Appearing in 12 full major league seasons with the Twins and Mets, Johan Santana owns a career record of 139-78 with a very respectable 3.20 ERA. Pitching in over 2,000 innings, the four-time All-Star has recorded 1,988 strikeouts while walking just 567 batters.
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