Ervin Santana once wanted $100 million, but didn't get it. By coincidence, signing Santana means the Twins have to contemplate that round number, too.

But both sides seemed delighted, or at least satisfied, by the terms they signed their names to Saturday.

"It was just negotiations. I ended up with a good contract for a good team," Santana said after pulling on a Twins jersey, No. 54, at an introductory news conference at Target Field. Santana entered baseball's free-agent marketplace 13 months ago with a target price of $100 million over five years but ended up agreeing, after an interim season in Atlanta, to General Manager Terry Ryan's offer of a four-year, $55 million deal. "I hope it's fair for both sides," Santana added.

So do the Twins, whose return on the first year of Ricky Nolasco's four-year, $49 million pact didn't live up to the price, and whose $11 million, two-year investment in Mike Pelfrey last winter bought mostly time on the disabled list. And now, with Santana becoming the fourth free-agent starting pitcher signed by Minnesota in the past two winters (along with Nolasco, Phil Hughes and Pelfrey), Minnesota's payroll projects to eclipse $100 million for the first time since 2011.

"It's not going to go to $150 million or anything like that, but it's headed north of [$100 million]," owner Jim Pohlad acknowledged. The rise in payroll from last season's $85 million — the exact number won't be known until arbitration-eligible players agree to contracts next month — was triggered by the signings of Santana and Torii Hunter, transactions that happened because he became convinced the price was worth it, Pohlad said. "It's being able to sign when the players are available. They can add to it if we feel good about the risk when we sign them," Pohlad said. "It's not like we made a concerted effort to get the payroll up. You know Terry — Terry doesn't spend money for the sake of spending money."

That's true, though Ryan sounded enthusiastic over adding the durable Santana, who has averaged roughly 207 innings over the past five seasons. The signing will cost the Twins their second-round pick, currently No. 44, in next June's draft, but Ryan said it's worth it to add a stabilizer to the starting rotation.

"He's got enough velocity. He's got a slider, which is probably his best pitch. He is the type of guy who doesn't want to come out of games," Ryan said. The former Angels and Royals righthander "is not afraid of the American League, which is another good thing."

And like Hunter, the 32-year-old Santana might serve, Ryan believes, as a veteran example for the young roster the Twins are assembling. "This guy's makeup is pretty solid, Torii Hunter's makeup is pretty solid," Ryan said. "We've got a couple veterans here to help show the way."

For Santana — who went by his given first name, Johan, while in the minor leagues a decade ago but changed it to avoid confusion with the Twins' former Cy Young winner — the signing is a way to settle in after playing for three different teams the past three seasons. He said ex-Twins Francisco Liriano and Alexi Casilla both recommended the organization, and "I like the city. I like the fans. I like the [ballpark]." Santana has a 3.10 ERA in three career starts in Target Field.

His contract is guaranteed for four years, which seems to be the limit to the Twins' comfort level. "It's a big gamble when you sign a player to a long-term contract. ... I've said all along, the term is the big wild card in any of these [contracts]. Not the annual amount, but the term," Pohlad said. "Terry told us, this guy has been durable and performed well. That's what you worry about, of course — a contract where they can't give you the innings."

Ryan worries about it, too, and he's no fan of the free-agent market. "This isn't exactly the blueprint we had in mind, going out and signing a guy for $55 million," Ryan said. "Jim Pohlad gave us the ability to do that, and hopefully it'll pay off, but the ideal is to keep [prospects] coming through the system, through player development."