Royals sign two-time All-Star P Ervin Santana to minor league contract

Right-hander Ervin Santana is working toward a potential return to Major League Baseball. 

The Kansas City Royals confirmed on Tuesday that they signed the 38-year-old to a minor league contract ahead of the start of the new year. A two-time All-Star, Santana hasn't made an MLB appearance since April 2019 when he was with the Chicago White Sox. 

As Andrew Simon explained for the league's official website, Santana caught on with the New York Mets following his brief stay with Chicago but remained in New York's minor league system through the end of 2019. Santana didn't pitch in 2020. 

Santana spent the 2013 season with the Royals and tallied a 9-10 record with a 3.24 ERA across 211 innings of work. He earned his second All-Star nod in 2017 while with the Minnesota Twins, and he finished that season tied for league leads with five complete games and three shutouts. Santana won 16 games that year but has since made only eight starts. 

Santana remains a name familiar to passionate baseball fans, but he hasn't resembled a big-league starter in over two years. That harsh reality makes this acquisition a low-risk bargain deal for a Royals team that re-signed veteran Greg Holland earlier this month but is still looking to add depth to its bullpen.