Free agent starting pitcher Ervin Santana is seeking a $112 million dollar contract for five years, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. That's up from the $100 million he had previously been reported as seeking.
Ervin Santana free agency: SP seeking $112 million over 5 years
Santana had previously been reported to be seeking $100 million, but that number has risen.
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In addition to Santana's durability and consistency over his career, his agents are comparing him to Dodgers' starter Zack Greinke, who received $146 million over six years last offseason. According to his representation, the three years before the two players became a free agent are remarkably similar. From 2011-13, Santana posted a 3.85 ERA and 1.21 WHIP, along with 472 strikeouts. From 2010-12, Greinke had a 3.83 ERA and 1.22 WHIP, but struck out 582 batters--over 100 more than Santana.
Of course, those numbers leave out Greinke’s Cy Young award winning year in 2009. Santana was better the year immediately preceding his free agency, however, with a 3.24 ERA compared to Greinke’s 3.48 ERA.
Greinke also performs much better than Santana by advanced metrics. In the three years preceding free agency, Greinke posted FIPs of 3.34, 2.98 and 3.10. For Santana, those numbers are 4.00, 5.63, 3.93. Furthermore, Greinke was worth 13.2 wins above replacement in those years according to Fangraphs. Santana was worth 4.6 fWAR.
Santana is one of the top pitchers on the market this season. However, that might not guarantee him the price tag for which he is hoping.
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