BALTIMORE -- Johan Santanas comeback bid with the Baltimore Orioles ended Friday when the two-time Cy Young Award winner tore his Achilles tendon.Authentic Mario Williams Jersey . The injury occurred in Florida while Santana was pitching in extended spring training. He was struck by a line drive before stumbling in pursuit of the ball. An MRI revealed a torn tendon. "The tendon is severed, and it will in effect end his season," Orioles vice-president of baseball operations Dan Duquette said. "I know the rehab is significant for these tendon injuries. Well have to get with him and speak to him. But he wont be able to pitch for the Orioles this season." The 35-year-old Santana has not pitched in the majors since 2012 with the New York Mets. The left-hander missed last season after undergoing his second major shoulder surgery, then signed a minor league contract with Baltimore in March. Santanas return appeared on course when the Orioles purchased his contract from Triple-A Norfolk on Monday and placed him on the major league disabled list. "He was pitching well," Duquette said. "The last time out he had his velocity and he was able to back-door his slider. I think he had eight strikeouts and no walks, so he was right on schedule. After (Friday), he was going to come up and join the major league team, and we were going to continue the rehab in (Double-A) Bowie." Now, however, Santanas future is up in the air. "The skills are there," Duquette said. "Hes been able to rehab his arm, but now hes got another challenge." Santana broke into the majors with Minnesota in 2000. He won both his Cy Young Awards with the Twins, going 20-6 in 2004 and 19-6 in 2006. He was traded to New York before the 2008 season and signed a $137.5 million, six-year contract. But injuries limited him to less than four full seasons on the mound with the Mets, and his record got progressively worse -- 16-7, 13-9, 11-9, 6-9. It was uncertain if Santana could return after his second shoulder surgery, but Duquette thought it was worth taking a chance. Now he and the Orioles are left looking for a Plan B. "Its unfortunate," Duquette said. "We were looking for Johans leadership and also his pedigree from being a winning pitcher. Now well have to look for that capability somewhere else. "I was looking at it like a midseason acquisition or trade. We invested in the rehab and we invested in the salary, and of course we wouldnt have had to trade a player. Unfortunately it didnt work. Sometimes you can plan and do things right, and they just dont work out." Kyle Williams Buffalo Bills . Blake Griffin had 27 points and eight rebounds, Chris Paul added 19 points -- including a go-ahead layup in the final minute -- and the Clippers beat the Hawks 109-108 on Saturday night for their season-high seventh straight win. "In the locker room, I almost felt like we lost the game, because we expect a lot from themselves," Paul said. Nickell Robey Buffalo Bills . Forte was injured on a run deep in Chicago territory midway through the first quarter, when Kansas Citys Derrick Johnson hit him in the knee.With one week to go until the March 5 NHL trade deadline, our TSN Hockey Insiders discuss some of the names that have been making waves with some insight on their situations and chances of being dealt. There are certain names that our Hockey Insiders have been talking about for months, Ryan Miller, Thomas Vanek, Matt Moulson. But the most intriguing names as we head towards TradeCentre are the most recent ones - Martin St. Louis and Ryan Kesler. Lets start with the latter. What are the real chances that Kesler gets dealt by the Canucks? Bob McKenzie: Well its by no means guaranteed but it is a possibility. The buzz on Kesler is increasing by the day. Now, we should get the disclaimers out of the way. The Vancouver Canucks are not aggressively shopping and trying to trade Ryan Kesler, but I do believe that theyre aggressively listening. Keep in mind though that Kesler has got a no-move, no-trade clause, so hes not going anywhere he doesnt want to go. Keep in mind also that hes technically injured right now, hes got a finger injury that might be broken, were only guessing. The Canucks say hes day-to-day so hopefully that wont come into play. But the question then becomes what would the Canucks have to get back in order to consider trading Kesler? It would obviously be a lot. What theyre going to be looking for is to pick up a young centre between the ages of 20-25 who can grow into the role that Kesler is in right now. Somebody that gives you a fighting chance at a reload if not necessarily a rebuild. So for example, would Kesler be prepared to go back to Ohio - he played at Ohio State University - for the Columbus Blue Jackets? And if he was prepared to do that, would the Blue Jackets give up a young centre like Ryan Johansen? Would the New York Rangers give up Derek Stepan, or someone along those lines? Again, someone who is between 20 and 25 who the Canucks can put in their lineup. If they can find the absolute right fit, and they would have to take some money back on Kesler because in order to make these trades, theres a lot of teams that are capped out and would have a tough time taking his salary - although when you look at his contract its an awesome contract for that guy. So yeah, its being considered. Darren Dreger: Well, theres no shortage of interest in Kesler. When hes healthy and competing with the edge that his reputation has been built on, what not to like about him? But when you talk to general managers who might be nibbling at the edges and might have interest in a player like Kesler, there is some concern. When hes healthy, he does have a history of health issues and hes not as intense and productive as hes been in recent years, so hes not entirely without risk. Martin St. Louis...when he refuses to deny that he has asked for a trade, saying there have been conversations, hes essentially saying "Ive asked for trade". Could this happen? Dreger:: It absolutely could happen between now and March 5, and it could also drag into the off-season. Authentic Dan Carpenter Jersey. What we know is that the Tampa Bay Lightning did reach out to the New York Rangers prior to the Olympics to gauge interest in the possibility of trading such a dynamic and an impactful player within their organization. Now, it wasnt a fit at that point, and its going to be a complicated process to make it fit again now between now and March 5. Thats because Steve Yzerman isnt going to give St. Louis away. This is going to be a difficult negotiation and the Rangers, as much as they love St. Louis and what he might bring to their team, hes also 38 years of age and thats going to be difficult to give prime assets for. McKenzie: For sure. I would kind of be shocked if St. Louis got traded by the deadline, and if he really does wants out of Tampa Bay - and the indication seems to be that he does - then its much more likely to be resolved in the off-season then right now, but I guess you never say never. The thing if I were Yzerman I would look at is, St. Louis, if he was unhappy before, hes playing really well. And the Lightning are a good team and I dont know how you get immediate true value for St. Louis right now that doesnt interrupt the Tampa Bays progress toward making the playoffs and being a contender in the East. Andrei Markov has gone from injury-prone defenceman to a mini-iron man. He hasnt missed a game now in two seasons, and that presents a contract quandary to Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin. How much of a risk is he in terms of giving him term when hes 35 years old with a bunch of knee surgeries behind him? McKenzie: Well I guess the question is what is the term? I mean, lets make one thing perfectly clear - the Canadiens like Markov and want to re-sign him. Its been reported on Montreal radio that the Canadiens have offered one year at $6 million, which is a raise of salary, but only one year on the extension because hes 35 and over. My understanding is the Canadiens are not absolutely locked into "were only offering you a one-year deal, thats it, take it or leave it". But there is some flexibility on the part of the Canadiens to do a one-year, or maybe a two-year deal. Keep in mind, because youre an over-35 player, you can use games played bonuses and you can really jack up the salary based on those bonuses that you cant do with other contracts. That said, the question is how flexible is Markov? The word Im getting is that he may be looking for as much as a four-year deal, which seems really long for a guy of his age and injury history. Now is he flexible? Maybe it means four years, maybe it means three. So there is an issue with term. The issue then becomes, do they trade him before the deadline? I would be surprised, unless they got an offer that absolutely blew them away, but I think their goal is to try to get it signed, and I think this is a negotiation. ' ' '
