Johan Santana – Pitcher – New York Mets
Santana, returning from shoulder surgery that sidelined him the entire 2011 season, brings much-needed hope. Besides its well-chronicled financial calamities, the Mets barely tried to retain their best player Jose Reyes – now a Marlin. At his best Santana, a two-time Cy Young award winner in 2004 and 2006, was viewed as the finest of the American League, if not all of baseball. The Venezuelan lefty joined the Mets as a free agent in 2008 after signing a six-year deal for $137.5 million, the largest for a pitcher at that time. With a methodical and cautious pitching regimen, Santana and the Mets have reason to be optimistic. Early spring training results, while not dazzling in numbers, are pointing in the right direction.
