The Kansas City Royals have very quietly been among the most active teams in baseball this offseason, and they just added a veteran bat to their lineup. The Royals have signed Carlos Santana to a two-year contract, the team announced. The deal is worth $17.5 million, per ESPN's Jeff Passan.
Santana is the third player Kansas City has signed to a major-league contract this winter, joining lefty Mike Minor (two years) and outfielder Michael Taylor (one year). Santana, 34, hit .199/.349/.350 with eight home runs and a league-leading 47 walks in 2020. He's spent all but one year of his 11-year career in the AL Central with Cleveland, so the Royals are certainly familiar with him.
Although 2020 was Santana's worst MLB season, there are indications he ran into some bad luck and has more in the tank. His exit velocity and hard-hit rates were in line with his career norms, and his 29 outs on hard-hit balls (i.e. 95-mph exit velocity or higher) were among the most in baseball. Santana's .212 batting average on balls in play was well below his .266 career average.
The Royals were an OBP starved team in 2020 -- their team .309 on-base percentage was fourth lowest in baseball -- and Santana will help in that department considerably. He owns a career .366 on-base percentage is always ranks among the league leaders in walks. Kansas City's lineup could now look something like this:
- RF Whit Merrifield
- 1B Carlos Santana
- C Salvador Perez
- DH Jorge Soler
- 3B Hunter Dozier
- LF Franchy Cordero
- CF Michael Taylor
- SS Adalberto Mondesi
- 2B Nicky Lopez
Kansas City platooned Ryan O'Hearn and Ryan McBroom at first base most of 2020 and their first basemen combined to hit .249/.316/.398 with only six home runs. Even the current version of Santana, who is likely better than he showed in 2020 but probably no longer as good as he was at his peak, figures to be a significant upgrade for the Royals.
The Royals went 26-34 in 2020 but the makings of their next contending roster are starting to come together. Starters Brady Singer and Kris Bubic impressed in their MLB debuts this summer, and there's more young pitching on the way in Asa Lacy and Daniel Lynch. Santana is a respected veteran who will help lead a young clubhouse.
Our R.J. Anderson ranked Santana as the 45th-best free agent on the market. Nine of our top 60 free agents have signed.
