Notes: Ervin Santana Makes His Demands, Family of Buck Buchanan to Sue NFL, Lorenzo Cain, Royals Win Defensive Award

Sep 14, 2013; Detroit, MI, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Ervin Santana (54) walks off the field after being relieved in the seventh inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

ERVIN SANTANA’S DEMANDS

Sources are telling Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports that Ervin Santana is seeking a five-year contract worth $100 million. Assuming these demands are true, Kansas City is off the table as a potential landing place for Santana if it is the Royals intention to stick in the $85 million payroll range.

There is good reason to think Santana may get something close to his asking price. Santana is arguably the best pitcher in a market starved of pitching. The sheer demand for pitching along with the flood of new cash coming in from national television deals could mean a big paycheck for Santana.

While the Royals benefit from the new money as well, they do not seem to be sending the signals that they intend to pump payroll up enough to absorb the cost of Santana. Part of their unwillingness to pay that kind of cash could be because they have a lot of faith in young pitchers Danny Duffy and Yordano Ventura to fill Santana’s spot in the rotation. They may also be trying to save that cash in order to extend Eric Hosmer‘s contract a few years from now.

Whatever the reasoning, paying $100 million to Santana would not be worth it for the Royals. Expect a smaller move – Tim Hudson has been mentioned – from KC this winter.

BUCK BUCHANAN’S FAMILY SUES NFL

According to a tweet from attorney and advocate for brain injury awareness Paul Anderson, the family of Buck Buchanan has filed suit against the NFL.

There is no confirmation of the lawsuit by any of the major media outlets as of this writing, but Anderson is considered a leader in the field of concussion litigation.

Buchanan, who played for the Chiefs for 13 seasons and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1990, died in 1992 at the age of 51 due to lung cancer. His family’s decision to sue the NFL is unknown, but there has been a great deal of discussion about how the NFL has handled former players and their handling of concussions, so it is not a surprise they would file a lawsuit.

Nearly 300 former Chiefs have filed suit against the NFL related to head injuries, including Neil Smith, Willie Roaf, Curley Culp, Bobby Bell, Christian Okoye, and Dale Carter.

ROYALS DEFENSE RECOGNIZED

Lorenzo Cain was named Royals Defensive Player of the Year and the Royals named co-American League Defensive Team of the Year by Wilson Sporting Goods. Cain was nominated for a Gold Glove, but was not one of the three Royals to win one.

The selection of Cain is a good one by Wilson as Cain was team’s best defender even though he did not win a Gold Glove. Cain was among the best in all of baseball with a 12.8 Ultimate Zone Rating, 23.9 UZR/150, +18 plus/minus, and 17 runs saved in centerfield.

Kansas City led all of baseball with 93 runs saved according to the Fielding Bible. Their 59 runs saved in the outfield would have been good enough to keep the Royals at number one in the American League by 20 runs of the rest off the team was eliminated from the equation.