Ervin Santana to make first start of the year for the Twins on Wednesday

Last February, former Twins All-Star Ervin Santana revealed he had some kind of finger/hand problem that required surgery, and he’d be out until at least the beginning of May. Well, it’s (looks at calendar) July 22nd and Santana is still out — but not for long! News is Santana will make his first start of 2018 next Wednesday, July 25th, in Toronto against the Blue Jays.

Ervin Santana has an All-Star for the Twins last year, tossing 211.1 innings with a 3.28 ERA on the year. Santana also finished 7th in Cy Young voting, and threw a league-high five complete games (eat your heart out, Bert Blyleven).

Santana has a $14 million team option for 2019 left on his contract, with a $1 million buyout. Unless he performs spectacularly for the rest of the year, I can’t imagine the Twins will pick up the option — but heck, I’m hoping he performs spectacularly. It could be a huge boon for the Twins.