*Photo from News 5 Cleveland*
The Cleveland Indians have signed 1B Carlos Santana to a two year deal, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan. Santana will earn $17.5 million in the deal, with $7 million of it for the 2021 season and the other $10.5 in 2022. There is also an extra $1 million in bonuses for Santana. The Royals officially confirmed the deal in an announcement.
Santana had a slightly underwhelming season in 2020, hitting just .199 with 8 homers and 30 RBI, playing in all 60 games for the Cleveland Indians. In his 11 year major league career, Santana is a .248 hitter with 240 homers and 796 RBI in 1,495 games played across his 11 major league seasons. Santana has spent 10 of his 11 seasons with the Indians, with one season with the Phillies in 2018.
Royals GM Dayton Moore said in Santana's introductory zoom meeting that "One of our goals was to add to the middle of our lineup, and Carlos does that, he is an all around terrific person. Rene Francisco signed him when he was with the Dodgers. We have a previous relationship with him. That made the startup of the conversation go extremely well. We have admired Carlos for a long time within this division. We have watched him develop and mature into a productive hitter, a winning-type player. Very grateful he can be part of our organization. He fits in extremely well with our lineup and our players."
Moore also addressed how the signing will affect current first baseman Hunter Dozier, one of their best hitters, saying that "Right now, Hunter is obviously going to play some third and outfield, there will be times when Hunter plays some first base as well. We’ll continue to utilize Hunter’s versatility. He is such a team player, and he's extremely athletic and willing to move around the diamond."
Santana is another veteran signing of a so far busy offseason for the Royals. Besides signing Santana, veteran LHP Mike Minor was brought in for the starting rotation, and OF Michael A Taylor was signed for some outfield depth behind Dozier and Whit Merrifield.
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