Santana Eyeing Return to Major League Baseball for the 2015 Season

Johan Santana may be getting back in the game soon…

The 35-year-old Venezuelan Major League Baseball starting pitcher, whose career appeared to be in serious jeopardy after he tore his left Achilles tendon in June, is making a comeback in the Venezuelan Winter League and expects to return to MLB play in 2015, his agent said Friday.

Johan Santana

Santana has a 139-78 career record with two Cy Young Awards and four All-Star appearances over 12 seasons with the Minnesota Twins and New York Mets. He was one of the most dominant starters in baseball during an eight-year stretch from 2003 to ’10, and the Mets rewarded him with a six-year, $137.5 million contract in February 2008.

Shoulder injuries have limited Santana to 21 big league appearances since 2010. He was on the verge of joining the Baltimore Orioles’ roster last summer when he tore his Achilles during an extended spring training start, casting a cloud over his future.

But Santana reportedly threw his fastball between 86 and 89 mph in a simulated game this week, and he is scheduled to make his Venezuelan winter ball debut Tuesday for Magallanes against the Tigres de Aragua. His agent, Peter Greenberg of the Legacy Agency, said Santana expects to sign with a team before spring training.

“Johan wants to go out on his own terms,” Greenberg said. “He doesn’t want to go out because an injury put him out. He’s worked very hard and kept himself in shape, and he’s never thought about retiring.

“It’s not about the money or anything like that. He’s said he wants to draw his own ending. He wants to go out on his own terms. He’s told me, ‘I want to add to my legacy.’ I think anybody who knows him is going to bet on him.”

Although it’s unclear which MLB teams have been scouting Santana, the Toronto Blue Jays, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees and Minnesota Twins reportedly were among the clubs that expressed interest in him before Baltimore signed him to a minor league contract last March.

Santana is expected to throw three innings or 40 pitches in his first start Tuesday, then gradually ramp up his workload as the winter league progresses. Greenberg said he plans to compare notes with interested MLB teams as the pitcher’s comeback progresses.

“Johan is not in a rush,” Greenberg said. “He’s not anxious or anything. We’re just going to let the teams that have expressed interest scout him, and we’ll take it a step at a time.”

Cuellar Named the Minnesota Twins’ Bullpen Coach

Bobby Cuellar is heading to the Minnesota Twins’ bullpen…

The 60-year-old Mexican American former professional player has been hired as the bullpen coach to assist the team’s manager Ron Gardenhire, the team announced Monday.

Bobby Cuellar

The Twins earlier let go of Gardenhire’s long-time bullpen coach Rick Stelmaszek, a reaction to a second straight season of close to 100 losses.

Cuellar, who was born in Alice, Texas, served in the minor leagues as the pitching coach for the Rochester Red Wings for last four years, his second stint in that role. He was previously New Britain‘s manager in 2008 and the bullpen coach for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2006 and 2007. Before that, he spent four seasons as the Twins’ Triple-A pitching coach. In 2002, he was credited with helping a young Johan Santana develop the trademark changeup he used to become a two-time AL Cy Young Award winner.

Cuellar also is fluent in Spanish, fulfilling the Twins’ desire to add a coach who could better communicate with their players born in Latin countries.

“He’s got a lot of knowledge, a lot of familiarity, and he knows Gardy and (Anderson) well,” said Twins’ general manager Terry Ryan. “Chemistry is important on every major league staff.”

Cuellar played briefly with the Texas Rangers in 1977 as a relief pitcher. He’s a graduate of the University of Texas.

Santana Pitches the First No-Hitter in New York Mets’ History

It’s hard to believe that in more than 8,000 games, the New York Mets had never pitched a no-hitter… But that all changed in game 8,020, thanks to Johan Santana.

The 33-year-old Venezuelan pitched the first no-hitter in New York Mets’ history on Friday in the Mets’ 8-0 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Johan Santana

Aided by an umpire’s missed call and an incredible catch by a left fielder who grew up in Queens as a Mets fan, Santana’s start is also the first no-hitter of his career.

In the victory over the reigning World Series champions, Santana, who missed last season because of shoulder surgery, walked five and struck out eight, while testing the limits of his comeback.

Mets manager Terry Collins said before the game that he wanted to limit Santana to a maximum of 110-115 pitches. Santana finished with a career-high 134.

Johan Santana

Afterward, an emotional Collins expressed his trepidation about going after history instead of preserving Santana’s long-term health.

“I just couldn’t take him out,” Collins said.

In the ninth inning with 27,609 fans all standing, Santana’s final pitch, a 3-2 change-up, resulted in David Freese swinging and missing. Santana’s teammates all stormed the mound to celebrate.

Johan Santana

“I don’t think I’ve ever even thrown a no-hitter in video games,” Santana said of his feat.

But that’s not all… Santana became just the eighth player in MLB history to throw a no-hitter against the defending World Series champions and the first since former Texas Rangers pitcher Nolan Ryan completed the feat against the Oakland Athletics in 1990.

After the final out, Santana did interviews with the Mets’ TV and radio station before he walked into the clubhouse.

“We did this together,” Santana said. “It is not just about me. We had a great, great game tonight. Everyone participated. We did the little things the way we were supposed to do it. And it worked out good. I thanked them because we as a team made history tonight.”