White Sox sign veteran right-hander Ervin Santana to minor-league deal

Ervin Santana

The White Sox on Friday agreed to terms with veteran right-hander Ervin Santana on a minor-league contract.

If Santana makes the club -- a good bet if he's healthy -- his salary will be $4.3 million, according to reports.

There is good news and bad news about the 36-year-old Santana. First, the good news:

He's only two years removed from the best season of his 14-year MLB career. In 2017, Santana went 16-8 with a 3.28 ERA in 33 starts for the Minnesota Twins. He led the American League in both complete games (5) and shutouts (3), and was selected to the All-Star team for the second time in his career and for the first time since 2008.

Now, the bad news:

Santana was hurt last season. Surgery on his right middle finger limited him to five starts and 24.1 innings in 2018, and he went 0-1 with an 8.03 ERA.

Yes, that's the reason he's available on a minor-league deal.

That being said, I don't object to this signing. At SoxFest, I asked general manager Rick Hahn about getting another starter for the rotation, and he gave me a line of bull about how Manny Banuelos is capable of helping this team.

Not sold on Banuelos, and looking at the remaining free agent starting pitchers, I felt like either Santana or Gio Gonzalez would fit the bill as a one-year stopgap. Turns out Santana is the choice.

The Sox's 2020 rotation projects to be Carlos Rodon, Michael Kopech, Reynaldo Lopez, Lucas Giolito and Dylan Cease.

But right now, Kopech is recovering from elbow surgery and will miss all of 2019. Cease needs another half-season or so of experience in the minor leagues before he gets called up.

The Sox need a couple of veterans to fill those two spots in the short run, so let's hope Santana and Ivan Nova can do the job.

Based upon the young pitching that is in place, and the young pitching that is on the way, I don't have a problem with the Sox declining to make a longer-term investment in the rotation at this time.

The lineup, however, is another matter. Looking at all the weak bats on this roster, I would like to see some money spent on position players. There remains money to be spent, but there is no indication that it will be spent before the season begins March 28.