MINNEAPOLIS — The Twins reportedly agreed to a one-year contract with veteran Carlos Santana on Friday night, saving money saved from the Jorge Polanco trade, according to sources.
MLB Network insider Jon Heyman said the club has not confirmed the deal, but the deal is worth $5.25 million plus incentives.
Santana, who will turn 38 shortly after Opening Day, posted a slash line of .240/.318/.429 with 23 home runs in 146 games last season, giving the Pirates and Brewers 2.7 bWAR value. . He fell one long ball short of the Twins’ team lead. His switch-hitter bat and long-established plate discipline will be especially important to manager Rocco Baldelli’s lineup after Polanco’s departure.
Santana, a longtime first baseman and designated hitter, has shown remarkable health, defensive ability and productivity over the years. He’s a very good, budget-friendly fit for the Twins’ needs.
Most importantly, Santana has excelled at hitting from the right side throughout his career, hitting .266/.354/453 (and .807 OPS) against southpaws last season. The Twins needed a right-hander to balance out their platoon-heavy lineup, and Santana could make an impact on them in that role, or at least give them some very professional at-bats.
The switch-hitter aspect is also important, as the Twins didn’t even have a clear designated hitter against right-handed pitchers before Santana’s arrival. Similar to Baldelli’s preference, they look to play matchups and rotate their roles to keep players fresh, but Santana’s left-handed ability gives him the ability to occupy that important niche. It will be done.
The move also made a lot of sense in that the Twins ideally needed stability at first base, which would initially rely on a platoon of left-hander Alex Kirillov and right-hander Jose Miranda. There is. Both involve significant uncertainties. Kirillov has had a lot of wrist and shoulder issues and will never stay healthy in the majors, and Miranda will be coming off rotator cuff surgery and a completely missed 2023.
According to FanGraphs, it’s unlikely the Twins would play Santana in the position field, as he is a National League Gold Glove Award finalist as a first baseman and leads the position defensively with 11 runs saved. Not a problem at all. He is a consistently aggressive defender; ranked above average According to Statcast, his defensive run value (62nd percentile) and distance (76th percentile) were well above average last season.
Santana also has durability, as he has averaged 152 games per season since 2011 (excluding the pandemic-shortened 2020 season) and has never played fewer than 131 games in a full season during that time. It is also necessary to mention that it was a model for That’s especially important for this roster construction considering the injury history of many key players in this Twins lineup.
The Twins may still be a little short on right-handed pitching options in the outfield, but a healthier Byron Buxton could go a long way in that regard. They still have to count on Willi Castro’s performance as a platoon hitter and the emergence of prospect Austin Martin, ranked No. 20 in MLB Pipeline, unless they add another move to their recent run. Maybe.