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KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- The Atlanta Braves agreed Wednesday on a $14.1 million, one-year contract with Ervin Santana, bolstering their injury plagued starting rotation. The 33-year-old right-hander went 9-10 with a 3.24 ERA in 32 starts for the Kansas City Royals last season and should make a huge impact with the battered Braves, who are facing the prospect of losing Kris Medlen for the season and opening with Brandon Beachy and Mike Minor on the disabled list. Medlen, who had been announced as Atlantas opening-day starter, left a spring training outing Sunday after grabbing his right elbow. Initial tests showed ligament damage, and he will undergo further examination to determine if he needs surgery for the second time in less than four years. Medlen said hes already preparing himself to miss the entire season. Beachy left a start Monday because of continuing problems with his right elbow, and Minor has yet to pitch this spring because of a sore shoulder. "In light of what has happened over the past few days with our pitching staff, we felt it was incumbent on us to do everything we could to strengthen our starting pitching," Braves general manager Frank Wren told reporters before a game against Washington. Santana will be pitching in the NL for the first time in his 10-year career. He spent eight seasons with the Los Angeles Angels before being traded to the Royals in 2013, helping Kansas City post an 86-76 record, their best since 1989. But Santana, who made $13 million in the final year of his contract, turned down a $14.1 million qualifying offer from the Royals and became a free agent. Given his hefty contract demands, he remained unsigned as spring training began, despite putting up some impressive career numbers. "This guy makes our rotation a lot better than where we are at now," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said, praising Wren. "We lost Medlen and Beachy in a matter of 2 1/2 days and he went out there and got the best pitcher available for us." Santana threw a bullpen at the Braves spring training complex on Wednesday, which Gonzalez said went well. Despite his late entrance to camp, Santana could be ready for the start of the season. "It will be close," Gonzalez said. "We are kind of keeping our fingers crossed that we can get him enough innings where he can start for us." Santana was an AL All-Star in 2008, tossed a no-hitter in 2011, and has reached double-figure wins five times, going a career-best 17-10 in 2010 and twice winning 16 games. Overall, he is 105-90 with a 4.19 ERA. Santanas agent, Jay Alou, said he initially received a text from Wren on Sunday, then got another call Tuesday night while negotiating with other clubs. It didnt take long to reach an agreement with Atlanta, a deal that includes award bonuses. Its easy to see why the Braves felt a sense of desperation. Medlen went a team-leading 15-12 with a 3.11 ERA last season, while Minor was 13-9 with a 3.21 ERA. The team also was counting on a full recovery for Beachy, who was one of the NLs most effective pitchers in 2012 before he underwent season-ending elbow surgery. Beachy has been limited to a total of 18 starts over the past two seasons, enduring several setbacks in his attempt to come back. After his latest problem, he will miss his next scheduled spring start and faces another trip to the DL. Minor, who underwent urinary tract surgery on Dec. 31, hopes to pitch within the next week but also seems likely to start the season on the DL while he builds his arm strength. Given all the health issues, the Braves got to the go-ahead from corporate owner Liberty Media to bump the payroll well above the projected $100 million limit. Wren called it "an incredible decision by the organization." With opening day less than three weeks away, the only healthy members of the Braves possible rotation are second-year pitchers Julio Teheran (14-8 last season) and Alex Wood, rookie David Hale and non-roster invitee Freddy Garcia. Hale and Garcia have both struggled this spring. Atlanta also signed veteran Gavin Floyd, but he is coming off Tommy John surgery and wont be ready to pitch until at least May. Now, add Santana to the list, though it will likely be mid-April before he is prepared to join the rotation. He has been throwing on the side and could make his spring training debut next week. "We want to take the right amount of caution to get him ready right, and be ready for the long haul," Wren said. By signing Santana, the Braves forfeited their first-round pick in Junes amateur draft, No. 26 overall, and the Royals will receive a compensation-round selection, the 28th overall. Atlantas first pick is now 32nd overall, as compensation for losing free agent catcher Brian McCann, who signed with the New York Yankees. Santanas signing leaves only two free agents -- Stephen Drew and Kendrys Morales -- available from the 13 players who turned down qualifying offers. If they agree to one-year contracts after opening day, they wouldnt be subject to qualifying offers this November. If they wait until after the draft to reach agreements, clubs that sign them wont lose selections. Among the 22 qualifying offers in the two years of the new labour contract, none have been accepted. "Frankly, the players havent adjusted to the change," New York Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said. "To blame the system versus the marketplace and blame the system versus a misunderstanding of the marketplace I think is a little one-sided. From a management standpoint, Id say, Hey, Im surprised if you guys havent taken a qualifying offer. Maybe they should have." Martin Brodeur Jersey . Forsman closed with a 3-under 69 in windy conditions Sunday for his third Champions Tour title. He beat Jay Don Blake by two shots. Jesper Bratt Jersey . Off-Season Game Plan examines a team facing some challenging times as GM Bryan Murray tries to put together a roster for next season. Perhaps the first challenge facing Murray is that its expected he will be moving out Jason Spezza, a premier point producer who is about to enter the final year of his contract. http://www.authenticdevilspro.com/Customized/ . This is not some token job for a prominent, popular former player. All of those areas need a lot of work, so Molitor is going to be busy. "Hes certainly got a history and knowledge and a high baseball IQ," general manager Terry Ryan said. Jamie Langenbrunner Jersey . The 33-year-old defender has spent his entire career at Chelsea, scoring 57 goals in 621 appearances. He regained his regular starting place under Jose Mourinho in the season that ended at the weekend without Chelsea winning a trophy. Cory Schneider Jersey .Y. -- That hangover from the Big East tournament is gone for Villanova.Despite a stunning late-season collapse that cost the Toronto Maple Leafs a playoff spot, general manager Dave Nonis believes Randy Carlyle is still the right man to lead the club. The Maple Leafs handed their embattled head coach a two-year contract extension on Thursday, while at the same time announcing that assistants Dave Farrish, Greg Cronin and Scott Gordon will not be back. "It was important for us to make it clear that Randy has the support needed to move forward," Nonis said on a conference call. "He has done a lot of good things for us and we expect him to continue that with some new assistants." There had been rampant speculation that Carlyle would pay with his job after a disastrous end to the most recent campaign saw Toronto tumble out of post-season contention thanks to an embarrassing 2-12-0 finish. Instead, Nonis and new Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan gassed Carlyles staff in hopes that some new voices can help the 58-year-old get the most out of Torontos underachieving roster. "If youve seen it being done before with most of the same players, or a lot of the same players, and with that coach leading that group, I know it can happen," said Nonis. "I know it has happened with this group before. I know that (Carlyle) has reached them before, reached them at times this year. "For me its not that were guessing whether or not he can have success or he can get through to them. Weve seen it. I know that its there and we feel he is the guy that can get through to this group." Carlyle -- who led the Maple Leafs to their first playoff appearance since 2004 in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season -- had Toronto sitting second in the Atlantic Division this year before the wheels fell off in mid-March. "We feel that this group can continue to grow into a higher level of a hockey club," said Carlyle. "We just have to find and continue to push for a little bit more from the individuals and we are going to do everything we possibly can to change some of the things that are happening with our group." Despite calls from fans and media alike in Toronto for Carlyles dismissal, Nonis said he wasnt swayed by how the decision might play in the hockey-mad city. "If youre worried about optics in this market, its going to be a disaster," said Nonis. "I think you have to make a decision based on what you think is the best decision for the organization, and this in our minds was clearly the best option. "He was a guy we believe can get the job done for us. Whether optics are that its the wrong thing to do or not doesnt really matter to us. If youre looking at trying to please people, youre probably going to make some poor decisions." The Maple Leafs started the 2013-14 season on a 10-4-0 run, but Carlyle worried at the time that his team was getting away with sloppy play in the defensive zone. Going into and coming out of the Olympic break, the Leafs were rolling despitte being badly outshot on most nights.dddddddddddd When they beat the Kings in Los Angeles on March 13, they were in second place in the division. But starting goaltender Jonathan Bernier aggravated a groin injury that night, and though it was not considered serious at the time it proved to be devastating. James Reimer lost five straight and was pulled March 23 against the New Jersey Devils before Bernier returned and lost three more. The final night of that losing streak, March 29 against the Detroit Red Wings, was effectively the death knell for Torontos playoff hopes. "This hockey club has proven at times to be able to compete to a higher level," said Carlyle. "The consistency of our compete in our defensive zone coverage was the area of concern right from the opening month of the season. We harped on it, harped on it, harped on it, yet we were winning with it." Nonis made it clear that it was managements decision to clean out the assistant coaches. Carlyle had worked with Farrish since their days with the Anaheim Ducks, winning a Stanley Cup together in 2007. "Its a tough day and those are tough ones," said Carlyle, who also played junior hockey with Farrish. "The game of hockey is a great game, but the business side of hockey is an awful one. This is an awful day in our life, for our relationship between Dave Farrish and myself." Nonis said that Carlyle would be consulted on the new assistant coaches, but added the decisions will be a collaborative effort. Carlyle led Toronto to the playoffs last spring, but that run ended in disaster when the Leafs lost to the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference quarter-finals after blowing a three-goal, third-period lead in Game 7. "I think that we showed for periods as a group last year and the year before that what the team is capable of it -- that we have the ability to compete with top teams," said Nonis. "Why we got away from that at times, I think thats something were going to focus on over the course of the summer to put some answers there." Carlyle replaced the fired Ron Wilson in March of 2012, months after the Leafs previous coach signed a new contract extension. He went 6-9-3 to finish out that season and then 26-17-5 in 2013 season. In parts of three seasons with Toronto, the Sudbury, Ont., native has a combined record of 70-62-16. Nonis said its easy to blame a coaching staff and management when things go south, but added that the players also have to take a lot of the responsibility for a season that went off the rails so dramatically. "Our players have to be committed to do the things we did the year before that made us successful. The blame has to be spread around all of us," he said. "I think that were going to come back in the fall and the players are going to know that this coaching staff is committed to doing the things that we need done to be successful and they are going to have to perform." ' ' '