Mets starting pitcher Johan Santana made his second rehab start for the St. Lucie Mets today. He pitched two innings, facing 9 batters, and gave up 1 run on 3 hits. He had 2 strikeouts and no walks in the game. He was scheduled to pitch 2 innings or 40 pitches.
Time will tell if it was a successful rehab start. If you remember, he made a start for St. Lucie on July 28 and hasn’t pitched again in more than a month now. Coming back from shoulder surgery is tricky and the Mets have to be careful. Not only because he’s coming back from an injury, but also because he’s the most costly resource in the entire Mets system making $22.5 million without even throwing a pitch.
His salary escalates to $24 million in 2012 and $25.5 million in 2013 with an option for 2014 at $25 million. If the Mets can’t get Santana healthy enough to pitch in 2012, they’ll be in big trouble combined with a decreasing payroll. The simple fact is that they just can’t have a guy on the disabled list taking up nearly 25% of the team’s payroll. It’s impossible to win that way.
The Mets Report 