Understandably, there has been a lot of talk recently about Johan Santana - arguably the majors top pitcher who was just fleeced from the Twins by the Mets, where he will now fleece the Mets into the largest financial deal ever for a pitcher.  But hey, where did this guy come from anyway?  Strangely, the answer is that Johan Santana’s major league career was actually born out of two other fleeces that, combined, form A Great Moment in Fleece History.

Fleece #1:  On December 13th, 1999, the Florida Marlins selected Johan Santana away from the Houston Astros with the second pick in that year’s Rule 5 major league draft.  You can read up on the Rule 5 Draft rules here, but basically two things had to occur for Santana to be plucked away from the ‘Stros so easily.

First, Astros GM Gerry Hunsicker had to decide not to protect Johan Santana from the Rule 5 Draft.  Santana was eligible for this draft because it was the fourth year since the Astros acquired him (he was signed by the ‘Stros in 1995), and he was not protected.  To protect Santana, all Houston had to do was put him on their Major League roster.  But they didn’t, and so the Marlins fleeced them.  Hey, let’s take a look at some of the pitchers who actually made that 2000 opening day roster for the Astros: Jose Lima (6.65 ERA), Chris Holt (5.35 ERA), Brian Powell (5.74 ERA), Marc Valdes (5.08 ERA), Jose Cabrera (5.92 ERA).  Okay, that’s enough.  I’m getting sick.  And I think you get the point.  (Santana, by the way, only posted a 4.66 ERA in A ball in 1999 so in fairness to Hunsicker, it wasn’t like Johan was lighting it up down there.  However, Santana did have a power lefty arm and an 8.42 K/9, so the signs were there.)

Second, the team selecting the player in the Rule 5 draft - in this case, the Marlins - had to pay the team from which the player is coming from - in this case, the Astros - a sum of $50,000 and agree to keep the acquired player on their major league roster for the whole season, or else trade him or offer him back to the original team for $25,000.  That’s it.  $50,000 and a promise, and the Marlins got to pluck Johan Santana from the Astros - a HUGE fleece.  But wait….

Fleece #2:  It turns out the Marlins only drafted Santana to spin him off in a trade.  Enter the Minnesota Twins, and crafty GM Terry Ryan.  The Twins had the first pick in that Rule 5 Draft, right before Florida.  Florida GM Dave Dombrowski wanted a pitcher named Jared Camp and didn’t want to take any chances that Minnesota would take Camp at #1.  So the Marlins made a deal with the Twins.  In the deal, the Twins would take Camp 1st overall in the Rule 5 Draft, and the Marlins would take whoever the Twins wanted.  Then, the two clubs would trade the two players, and the Marlins would send over a check for $50,000 to the Twins to cover the acquisition fee.  And guess who Terry Ryan and the Twins asked Florida to take in this deal?  You got it - Johan Santana.

Poor Jared Camp never pitched in the Major Leagues.  As for Santana, well…….

The Twins kept him in the majors for the full year in 2000, as per the Rule 5 Draft rules.  Predictably, he struggled that year.  But the Twins were patient and continued to develop his skills over the next year and a half.  By 2002 (just two short years removed from being left unprotected by the Astros), Santana had arrived, pitching to the tune of a 2.99 ERA in 108 innings.   By 2003, he was a top 7 finalist for the Cy Young.  And in the 4 years between then and now, he has been absolutely tremendous - the best pitcher in the league over that span.  His ERA has been a completely ridiculous 2.61, 2.87, 2.77 and 3.33 over those four years.  He’s struck out at least 235 batters in each of those four seasons, leading to a career strikeout ratio of 9.5 K’s per 9 innings.  Plus, he’s durable.  Santana has started at least 33 games in each of the last 4 seasons.   Oh, and he’s won two Cy Young awards and finished in the top 5 in all four years.

So there you have it.  Two teams passed on a pitcher as good as Johan Santana.  But he made them pay significantly as the Marlins and Astros “Twin” fleece is now one of the Great Moments in Fleece History.  The question now is this: Will Johan Santana be involved in another fleece via this new deal/contract?  Only time will tell.

Filed under: Florida Marlins, Houston Astros, Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, _Great Moments in Fleece History