Dodgers Close to Signing Sergio Santos to Minor League Deal

Things have been relatively quiet during the holiday season for the Dodgers after the flurry of trades during the MLB winter meetings. An additional acquisition is close to being inked according to Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times who reported on Monday that the Dodgers are close to signing right-handed pitcher Sergio Santos to a Minor League deal.

A fallen closer, Santos battled numerous injuries to his shoulder and elbow during his time with the Toronto Blue Jays last season. The 31-year old So Cal native,

Dodgers take a shot on Sergio Santos regaining his form. Photo: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

hailing from Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, was originally drafted by the Arizona D-backs in 2002 as an infielder. He debuted with the Chicago White Sox in 2010 after being converted to a pitcher. In 2011, Santos saved 30 games for the White Sox over 63 games, and he struck out 92 batters in 63 1/3 innings pitched. Unfortunately his right shoulder flared up in 2012, and he was only able to pitch in 6 games for the Blue Jays after he was traded by the White Sox for minor leaguer Nestor Molina in December of 2011. Santos pitched in 29 games for the Jays in 2013 after missing many months due to a right triceps strain.

In 2014, Santos was terrible for the Blue Jays and was completely wild. Over 26 games, he went 0-3 with a disastrous 8.57 ERA and 18 walks over 21 innings pitched. The Blue Jays bought out his contract for $750,000 last month instead of picking up his $6 million club option for 2015.

The Dodgers have been notorious for scraping up fallen and washed up closers in recent years. We have seen Ned Colletti sign Brandon League, Brian Wilson and Chris Perez who have all had less than successful stints with the Dodgers. These reclamation projects have yet to yield results which have benefited the team other than Wilson’s short-lived 18-game showing in 2013 and a semi-sweet Brandon League last season who induced groundballs yet never truly impressed. Rick Honeycutt may have been able to turn around Brandon League’s mechanically flawed Dodger career a bit, but Chris Perez and Brian Wilson were all-around terrible throughout much of 2014. There’s just so much that Honeycutt can do.

Ben Nicholson-Smith of SportsNet tweeted that Santos’ deal includes incentives presumably because he has been riddled with injuries throughout his career.

With the Dodgers working to revamp their shaky and unreliable bullpen from last season, they are also adding relief depth just in case. Remember, the Dodgers were essentially forced to rely on Scott Elbert, Pedro Baez and Carlos Frias when October rolled around last season.

Santa…Santos…it sounds all very merry to me. If Santos regains his 2011 form and avoids the injury bug, then perhaps I’ll even toast a cup of eggnog in celebration.