MLB Hot Stove: Brewers' Domingo Santana reportedly drawing trade interest
But should the Brewers consider dealing him?
Here's a nugget regarding the Brewers, who emerged as surprise contenders in 2017 ...
Make that four years of control on Santana; he has one season to go before he becomes eligible for salary arbitration… https://t.co/lDUZ4jJ1qY
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 8, 2017
That would be right fielder Domingo Santana. Last season, Santana enjoyed a breakout campaign, as he slashed .278/.371/.505 (126 OPS+) with 30 home runs and 15 stolen bases in 151 games. Santana's just 25 years of age, and as Rosenthal implies he's not eligible for free agency until after the 2021 season. Coming up through the minors for the Phillies and then Astros, Santana showed up on occasional top-100 prospect lists, so that breakout didn't come from nowhere.
The question is why the Brewers would consider moving a fairly young and controlled player who figures to be a big part of their efforts to keep contending. The likely answer is that they have a lot of outfield depth on the roster and on the way. To wit, they've got prospects like Lewis Brinson, Corey Ray, Brett Phillips, and Trent Grisham in addition to Santana, Ryan Braun, and Keon Broxton. So maybe GM David Stearns is looking to ease that bottleneck.
The other approach would be to move one or more of those aforementioned prospects in order to improve the 2018 roster. After all, the resurgent Brewers won 86 games a season ago and finished only one game out of playoff position. Santana would figure to be a big part of maintaining that momentum going forward. Also, there's this ...
So, #Brewers now don't have to worry about Ohtani playing for Cubs or Stanton playing for Cards. Two biggest fish out there won't be swimming in NL Central waters. https://t.co/Frdh6dg0r1
— Tom (@Haudricourt) December 8, 2017
It's probably not the time for Milwaukee to do anything that would compromise their hopes in 2018. The Brewers know all this, of course, and that's probably why the price for Santana would be quite high.
















