The Baltimore Orioles continued to collect veteran hurlers this offseason after signing former Cy Yong winner Johan Santana to a minor league deal, a source close to the situation reported on Wednesday.

ESPN.com reported that 34-year-old Santana made his first step towards returning to competitive baseball after tearing his shoulder capsule in his final year with the New York Mets, who traded four young players and inked him to a six-year, $137.5 million contract. 

After reaching a buyout with the Mets, the two-time Cy Young winner is planning to make his comeback, and the Orioles never hesitated to give him a shot at redemption.

Santana is coming off a second major surgery on his left shoulder, but he can pocket around $5 million, if he meets the milestones placed on the contract.

"Santana would get a one-year, $3 million contract if added to the 40-man roster and would have the chance to earn bonuses based on days on the active 25-man roster and starts. Santana can earn a total of $5.05 million in incentives," a source told ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick.

The hurler could further pad his bonuses if he's able to perform at All-Star level, netting him the Gold Glove Award or perhaps his third Cy Young Award of his career.

Baltimore manager Buck Showalter believes signing Santana was a risky, but exciting move. Santana is scheduled to report to practice on Wednesday, as the Orioles hope he will be ready to start pitching again by June 1.

"I think it's great," Showalter said before Tuesday night's game against the New York Yankees via ESPN. "I'm not going to say no risk, as far as, I'm not the owner, but it's another thing that Peter [Angelos] allowed us to do that puts us in position to get kind of lucky. I'm not going to say it's a no lose proposition. There are things you lose, but it makes a risk worth taking. I think it's exciting, the possibility down the road."