Ervin Santana

3.1. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Santana signed with the Anaheim Angels as an amateur free agent on September 2, 2000. In early 2005, he was a starting pitcher for the Angels' Double-A affiliate, the Arkansas Travelers, where he posted a 5-1 record with a 2.31 ERA in seven starts. Due to an injury to Angels starting pitcher Kelvim Escobar, Santana earned a promotion to the major leagues. He made his MLB debut on May 17, 2005, against the Cleveland Indians. In this debut, he struggled, giving up hits to the first four batters he faced. However, in his very next start on May 27, against Jon Garland of the Chicago White Sox, Santana delivered a dominant complete game shutout, allowing only five hits and striking out seven, earning his first career victory.

After this strong performance, he was briefly sent down to the Triple-A affiliate, the Salt Lake Bees, but was recalled on June 13 when Escobar's elbow issues resurfaced. Santana pitched well enough to secure a spot on the Angels' playoff roster. In the pivotal Game 5 of the 2005 American League Division Series against the New York Yankees, Santana made his first playoff appearance, relieving Bartolo Colón in the second inning due to a shoulder injury. He pitched 5⅓ innings in long relief, earning his first playoff win. His rookie season concluded with 12 regular season wins.

In 2006, Santana completed his first full season, pitching over 200 innings and leading the team with 16 wins. However, 2007 proved to be a challenging year; he struggled with inconsistent mechanics and was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake Bees on July 18. He worked to improve his pitching delivery and was recalled on August 17, regaining his rotation spot. In September 2007, his performance significantly improved, recording a 2.96 ERA with 29 strikeouts in 27.1 innings.

The 2008 season marked a significant turning point for Santana. He began the season with a 5-0 record, equaling an Angels franchise record previously held by Frank Tanana and Joe Saunders. By the All-Star break, he held an 11-3 record with a 3.34 ERA, earning his first All-Star selection. He finished the season with a career-high 214 strikeouts, placing second in the American League behind A. J. Burnett. He also posted a 3.49 ERA in 219 innings across 32 starts, tying his career-high 16 wins. He finished tied for sixth in the voting for the American League Cy Young Award. On February 14, 2009, Santana signed a four-year contract with the Angels worth 30.00 M USD, which included a team option for 2015 at 13.00 M USD (with a 1.00 M USD buyout). The 2009 season saw him affected by a right elbow injury, limiting him to 24 appearances and resulting in an 8-8 record with a 5.03 ERA. Despite this, on September 28, 2009, Santana pitched a complete-game shutout to clinch the Western Division for the Angels, becoming the first pitcher in franchise history to achieve this feat.

In 2010, Santana started 33 games, achieving a career-best 17 wins against 10 losses, with a 3.92 ERA and 169 strikeouts over 222⅔ innings. On July 27, 2011, Ervin Santana pitched a notable no-hitter against the Cleveland Indians. This was his first career no-hitter and the Angels' first since 1990. He struck out 10 batters, walked one, and allowed one unearned run, achieving a "no-hit one-run" victory. He finished the 2011 season with a career-best 3.38 ERA and an 11-12 record over 228⅔ innings. The 2012 season proved challenging, as Santana posted a 5.16 ERA in 30 starts. Despite his high ERA, his WHIP remained relatively low at 1.27 WHIP, allowing 165 hits in 178 innings. However, he surrendered a career-high 39 home runs, leading the majors in that category for the 2012 season.

3.2. Kansas City Royals (First Stint)

On October 31, 2012, Santana was traded to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for left-handed minor league reliever Brandon Sisk. The Angels had exercised their 13.00 M USD option on Santana before the trade and agreed to cover an undisclosed portion of that amount for the Royals. On June 8, 2013, Santana earned his 100th career win against the Houston Astros. In 32 starts with the Royals, he finished with a 9-10 record and a career-best 3.24 ERA, along with 161 strikeouts in 211 innings. After the season, the Royals made him a qualifying offer of 14.10 M USD, but he declined it and became a free agent.

3.3. Atlanta Braves

Santana's rejection of the Royals' qualifying offer meant that any team signing him for the 2014 season would have to forfeit a draft pick. This, coupled with some concerns about his long-term health and his reported contract demands, led to him remaining unsigned as spring training began. As spring training progressed, Santana changed his agent and adjusted his contract demands to a one-year deal, similar to his rejected qualifying offer.

He subsequently negotiated with the Toronto Blue Jays and verbally agreed to a contract but delayed signing it for several days. Following an injury to Kris Medlen of the Atlanta Braves, Santana quickly agreed to terms identical to the Blue Jays' reported offer: 14.10 M USD for one season. His first year in the National League with the Braves yielded mixed results; he posted a 3.94 ERA in 31 starts. He surrendered a career-low 16 home runs in 196 innings while going 14-10 and striking out 179 batters.

3.4. Minnesota Twins

On December 12, 2014, Santana signed a four-year, 54.00 M USD deal with the Minnesota Twins, which included a fifth-year option for 14.00 M USD. However, on April 3, 2015, MLB announced that Santana would be suspended for 80 games after testing positive for Stanozolol, a performance-enhancing drug (PED). He was activated from his suspension on July 5, 2015, making his season debut against his former team, the Kansas City Royals. Santana concluded the 2015 season with a 7-5 record and a 4.00 ERA. In 2016, Santana served as the ace of the Twins' rotation. Despite a disappointing team performance that led to a 7-11 record for him (largely due to poor run support), he finished with a strong 3.38 ERA in 181 innings pitched over 30 starts.

On April 3, 2017, Santana was the starting pitcher on Opening Day against the Kansas City Royals, pitching seven innings and earning the win while allowing only one run and two hits. On April 15, Santana pitched a complete game one-hit shutout against the White Sox, striking out eight and walking one batter. He followed this with another shutout against the Baltimore Orioles on May 23, and a third complete-game shutout against the San Francisco Giants on June 28, throwing only 91 pitches. Santana became the first pitcher in the American League to record three complete-game shutouts in a season since Rick Porcello in 2014, and the first to do so prior to the All-Star break since Justin Masterson in 2013. On July 2, he was named to his second All-Star team, his first since 2008. At that time, Santana held a 10-5 record with a 3.07 ERA in 111⅓ innings, limiting opponents to a .204 batting average, second in the American League. On August 29, Santana became the 90th pitcher in history to hit 100 career batters. He finished the season with a 16-8 record, a 3.28 ERA, and a 1.13 WHIP in 211⅓ innings, notching 167 strikeouts against 61 walks. He led Major League Baseball with five complete games (including three shutouts) and also recorded the lowest line drive percentage allowed (16.3%) among all major league pitchers. On November 15, Santana finished seventh in the voting for the Cy Young Award, receiving three fifth-place votes, marking his first Cy Young votes since 2008.

On February 6, 2018, Santana underwent surgery on his middle finger (a capsular release/debridement procedure to his MCP joint), which delayed his season by 10 to 12 weeks. He had experienced discomfort in the finger since the previous season, though there was no serious damage. Due to this and other injuries, Santana was limited to only five starts during the season. On October 30, 2018, the Twins declined his contract option, making him a free agent.

3.5. Chicago White Sox

On February 22, 2019, Santana signed a minor league deal with the Chicago White Sox, which included a salary of 4.30 M USD if he made the major league team. After starting the season with the Triple-A Charlotte Knights, his contract was selected by the White Sox on April 9, and he made his team debut that day. However, on April 26, 2019, Santana was designated for assignment. He elected free agency on April 29.

3.6. New York Mets Minor League System

On May 24, 2019, Santana signed a minor league contract with the New York Mets organization. He made 18 starts split between the Triple-A Syracuse Mets and High-A St. Lucie Mets. During this period, he accumulated a 5-5 record with a 5.31 ERA and 65 strikeouts across 95 innings pitched. Santana elected free agency following the season on November 4.

3.7. Kansas City Royals (Second Stint)

After spending the 2020 season unsigned, Santana signed a minor league contract with the Kansas City Royals organization on December 29, 2020, which included an invitation to spring training for the 2021 season. On April 13, 2021, Santana was selected to the Royals' active roster. In 38 appearances for Kansas City, including two starts, he compiled a 2-2 record and a 4.68 ERA with 52 strikeouts over 65⅓ innings pitched. Santana became a free agent following the season on November 3, 2021.