Johan Santana topping out at 87mph in simulated game

[UMDTerrapins]

What is stupid is that people thinks he is going to come and be effective this year. He hasn't pitched effectively in the big leagues since 2010. He still hasn't even thrown a minor league inning this year. Just release him already.

I don't think anyone expected he would add anything until July at the earliest. There's no reason for him to opt out because he has a very good deal with the Orioles if he can make his comeback, a deal that he will not improve on elsewhere. There's no reason to release him because he's all upside with no downside for the Orioles. We only pay him his base if he makes the 25 man roster, correct? So why the drama? Give it time and see what he does on his MiL assignments.

Reports on his progress have been favorable. Everything has gone as planned when we signed him with no setbacks, so why would we cut and run or hope he opts out if he's progressed exactly as we had hoped? You can have the opinion that he'll never help the ML club, but that doesn't make it fact, even if there's a decent chance that ends up being correct. Why would we come this far with him and then dump him right before we see what he can do in real game situations? I'm missing the logic.

[blid]

What is stupid is that people thinks he is going to come and be effective this year. He hasn't pitched effectively in the big leagues since 2010. He still hasn't even thrown a minor league inning this year. Just release him already.

I don't think he's had any setbacks on his rehab, though. This is not unexpected, and yet the Orioles gave him a lot of money. I would assume they do something to keep him on the roster.

And don't forget that he threw a no-hitter in 2012, had another complete game shutout, and pitched 8 scoreless innings also right before the wheels came off. He had a 2.76 ERA in 2012 after 16 starts. I would assume after that is when the injury started affecting him, but he was still strong last time he was healthy.

[LA2]

What is stupid is that people thinks he is going to come and be effective this year. He hasn't pitched effectively in the big leagues since 2010. He still hasn't even thrown a minor league inning this year. Just release him already.

Look up the stats before saying stuff like this.

[atomic]

I don't think anyone expected he would add anything until July at the earliest. There's no reason for him to opt out because he has a very good deal with the Orioles if he can make his comeback, a deal that he will not improve on elsewhere. There's no reason to release him because he's all upside with no downside for the Orioles. We only pay him his base if he makes the 25 man roster, correct? So why the drama? Give it time and see what he does on his MiL assignments.

Reports on his progress have been favorable. Everything has gone as planned when we signed him with no setbacks, so why would we cut and run or hope he opts out if he's progressed exactly as we had hoped? You can have the opinion that he'll never help the ML club, but that doesn't make it fact, even if there's a decent chance that ends up being correct. Why would we come this far with him and then dump him right before we see what he can do in real game situations? I'm missing the logic.

If no one expected him to contribute until July why the June 1st opt out date?

[Ruzious]

I'm no doctor, but reading about his 2013 injury - re-tearing the shoulder capsule - I'm surprised he's even attempting a comeback. That injury often leads to chronic pain issues and could trouble him for the rest of his life. I respect the O's giving him this shot in the hope that a once legitimately great pitcher can make a comeback, but I don't come close to counting on him being successful.

[UMDTerrapins]

If no one expected him to contribute until July why the June 1st opt out date?

You're treating assumptions as absolutes. The opt out is contractually for Santana's benefit alone. It would be an assumption to believe that Santana expected to be pitching in Baltimore by June 1. When he signed in March he was only going to get one opt-out date in his contract. If he picked a realistic date for being in the majors as his opt-out date he may have tied his hands in the process. Picking June 1 gave him three months to asses how the Orioles are progressing his rehabilitation and what opportunity may or may not exist in the timeframe of his actual return to the majors. But none of us know what the logic was for picking that date for his opt-out, it is certainly not a concrete measure for when he was expected to be pitching or not pitching for the Orioles. In following all of Buck and Dan's comments during the past 2+ months, there have been no setbacks or negative reports. I don't recall anyone with the Orioles putting a timetable on his expected arrival in Baltimore when he signed. Most people who speculated said July or later, or just sometime in 2014. So again I just don't see any reason to bail on a signing that has so far appeared to be living up to expectations when there is no downside to seeing how he performs when he begins his rehab stint.

[atomic]

I'm no doctor, but reading about his 2013 injury - re-tearing the shoulder capsule - I'm surprised he's even attempting a comeback. That injury often leads to chronic pain issues and could trouble him for the rest of his life. I respect the O's giving him this shot in the hope that a once legitimately great pitcher can make a comeback, but I don't come close to counting on him being successful.

I don't get it either as he has already made 165 million in his career.

[terps19]

I don't get it either as he has already made 165 million in his career.

For love of the game...

[mdbdotcom]

I'm no doctor, but reading about his 2013 injury - re-tearing the shoulder capsule - I'm surprised he's even attempting a comeback. That injury often leads to chronic pain issues and could trouble him for the rest of his life. I respect the O's giving him this shot in the hope that a once legitimately great pitcher can make a comeback, but I don't come close to counting on him being successful.

He need 18 more wins to pass Freddi Garcia as the top-winning Venezuelan pitcher in MLB history.

[terps19]

He need 18 more wins to pass Freddi Garcia as the top-winning Venezuelan pitcher in MLB history.

Wow hard to believe that Freddi has more wins than Johan. Freddi has an ERA almost a full run higher than Johan.

[mcgraw238]

And this is why wins are dumb!

Johan is a cheap lottery ticket, the type of move every GM should look to invest in here and there. Are we really faulting a guy for wanting to come back from injury and compete at the highest level?

[VeveJones007]

I'm no doctor, but reading about his 2013 injury - re-tearing the shoulder capsule - I'm surprised he's even attempting a comeback. That injury often leads to chronic pain issues and could trouble him for the rest of his life. I respect the O's giving him this shot in the hope that a once legitimately great pitcher can make a comeback, but I don't come close to counting on him being successful.

I don't either, but it's worth keeping an eye on.

[Frobby]

And this is why wins are dumb!

Well, it also has to do with how many games they've pitched.

[LookinUp]

What is stupid is that people thinks he is going to come and be effective this year.

You either have poor comprehension, a poor ability to articulate yourself, or both. The above quote:

1. Misunderstands the vast majority of opinions on Johan in this organization.

2. Calls people stupid for their position, which you apparently don't understand.

Do you think before you type? Like, at all?

[xian4]

Now this is starting to look really promising, up to 90 mph and 4.1 innings

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Johan Santana threw 56 pitches in 4-plus innings today at extended. 1 run, 3 hits, 4 strikeouts. Fastball 86-90 mph <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23orioles&src=hash">#orioles</a></p>— Roch Kubatko (@masnRoch) <a href="

">May 22, 2014</a></blockquote>

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