Johan Santana got a call from one Hall of Fame on Friday. He's currently listed on another Hall of Fame's ballot. He hasn't pitched in a competitive game since 2012.
None of that may stop him from getting back on the mound.
The two-time Cy Young Award winner was elected to the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame Friday, and while accepting the honor, Santana not only hinted at the possibility of making another comeback attempt, but also insisted that his stellar career is not yet over.
"I'm not officially retired," the 38-year-old told reporters, including Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press. "I was still thinking about trying to come back but unfortunately things haven't worked out the way I would love them to. Only time will tell."
At his pre-injury peak with the Twins and then briefly with the New York Mets, Santana - armed with his outstanding changeup - was arguably the best pitcher in baseball. Over a six-year stretch from 2003-08, the former Rule 5 draft pick posted a 2.85 ERA, 156 ERA+, 1.031 WHIP, and 1,358 strikeouts while also winning two Cy Youngs (plus a pair of third-place finishes), a pitching triple crown, three ERA titles, and three strikeout crowns, plus five consecutive 200-K seasons.
But, the injury bug caught up with him in New York. After pitching through the stretch run of 2008 with a knee issue - one that didn't stop him from posting a 1.83 ERA for the Mets that September - shoulder woes sent him to the disabled list in both 2009 and 2010 before costing him all of 2011.
Santana briefly returned in 2012 to make 21 starts - one of which was a 134-pitch no-hitter, the first in Mets history - but then posted an 8.27 ERA in 10 starts thereafter and returned to the DL in August.
Since then, Santana lost his 2013 to another shoulder surgery and had a 2014 comeback attempt in Baltimore end in extended spring training due to a torn Achilles. He spent the first three months of 2015 on the DL of Toronto's Triple-A affiliate with shoulder and toe problems before abandoning that attempt.
He hasn't pitched since, save for some workouts in the Venezuelan Winter League.
"I'm getting to a point where I was trying to come back but everything I was doing, it didn't look like it was getting any better or at least not enough to compete at that level," Santana said. "I wanted to come back to retire on my own terms and not be remembered for injuries or any of that stuff, which is what people talk about all the time."
Although he may not be ready to pack it in, Santana is already starting to receive some post-career plaudits. In addition to being elected to the Twins Hall of Fame, he's currently on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot for the first time, though with only three votes as of Friday, he's likely to fall off the ballot.
If he did successfully come back, however, Santana's Hall of Fame eligibility would automatically reset and he'd be eligible again five years after the fact.
Santana will be officially inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame before their game against the Kansas City Royals on Aug. 4.