Headlines

  • Giants Acquire Rafael Devers
  • Shohei Ohtani To Make Dodgers Pitching Debut On Monday
  • Roki Sasaki No Longer Throwing; No Timetable For Return
  • Nationals To Promote Brady House
  • White Sox, Brewers Swap Aaron Civale, Andrew Vaughn
  • Justin Martínez To Undergo Tommy John Surgery
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

Remove Ads
  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2024-25 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2024-25 Top 50 MLB Free Agents With Predictions
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2025
    • Free Agent Contest Leaderboard
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Indians Plan To Explore Extension With Carlos Santana

By Steve Adams | April 6, 2017 at 4:50pm CDT

The Indians have been active in extension talks of late, reaching multi-year agreements with infielder Jose Ramirez (five years, $26MM) and catcher Roberto Perez (four years, $9MM) in addition to making an effort to hammer out a deal with star shortstop Francisco Lindor. They may not be done just yet, either, as Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reports that the Indians will explore an extension with first baseman/designated hitter Carlos Santana in attempt to prevent him from reaching free agency following the 2017 season.

Santana, 31 this weekend, has long been one of the most productive and durable hitters in the Cleveland lineup. Dating back to the 2011 campaign, he’s been on the disabled list just once: an 11-day absence on the 7-day DL in 2014 due to concussion symptoms. Since Opening Day 2011, Santana has averaged 153 games and 654 plate appearances per season. In that time, his bat has been above the league average in each year, and his collective .247/.363/.443 batting line in that time has translated to a 121 OPS+ and a 124 wRC+ (meaning, essentially, that he’s been 21 percent to 24 percent better than the league-average hitter after accounting for league and park).

While Santana was a catcher for much of his early career and had a brief experiment as a third baseman in 2014, he’s largely limited to first base and designated hitter duties at this stage of his career. He played only those two positions during the regular season in 2015-16 (plus two left field appearances in the World Series), and it doesn’t seem especially likely that a team would feel comfortable playing him elsewhere with any sort of regularity.

It’s certainly possible to envision Santana preferring to remain with the only team he’s ever known and one that looks to be very well-positioned for the near future. However, a significant discount on an extension may not be likely with free agency just six months away. His initial contract — a five-year, $21MM extension — already looks to be a feather in Cleveland’s cap, after all, even with his 2017 option elevating his total earnings to $31.8MM over six years.

Then again, Santana will hit the open market heading into his age-32 season and with the memory of a free-agent market that was not kind to defensively limited sluggers fresh in his mind. From my vantage point, he’s a definite qualifying offer candidate at season’s end, which wouldn’t do any favors for his market. (Although Santana may not face the same hurdles as others have in recent years now that the new collective bargaining agreement has lowered the penalty for signing a player that rejected a QO.)

Cleveland entered the 2017 season with a club-record $128MM payroll, but the Indians only have about $77MM committed to the 2018 payroll. That sum could rise depending on the fate of outfielder Michael Brantley ($11MM club option), left-hander Boone Logan ($7MM club option) and Josh Tomlin ($3MM club option). There will also be arbitration raises on the horizon for Cody Allen, Danny Salazar, Trevor Bauer, Lonnie Chisenhall, Zach McAllister and Dan Otero, further complicating the financial outlook. That said, if ownership is comfortable with a payroll in this range once again in 2018, the Indians could probably fit a Santana extension into the payroll — especially were it to be backloaded in nature.

Share 0 Retweet 1 Send via email0

Cleveland Guardians Carlos Santana

MLBTR Chat Transcript: 4/6/17
Main
Orioles Acquire Andrew Faulkner, Release Dariel Alvarez
View Comments (19)
Post a Comment

19 Comments

  1. CLEvsWORLD

    8 years ago

    He might take it too the way things went in free agency last off season

    Reply
  2. crazy4cleveland

    8 years ago

    please make it happen

    Reply
  3. Polish Hammer

    8 years ago

    Also hoping they re-sign him and he sticks around a few more years.

    Reply
    • layventsky

      8 years ago

      Yes. At least until Bobby Bradley is ready for the majors, if for no other reason than Encarnación’s defense (which does not draw rave reviews).

      Reply
  4. sufferforsnakes

    8 years ago

    So you don’t remember Santana playing LF during the World Series?

    Reply
    • Mattimeo09

      8 years ago

      Not quite sure what your point is. He played in Left Field for 12 innings and didn’t make a single error.
      There’s not enough data to credit or discredit him

      Reply
      • sufferforsnakes

        8 years ago

        No point. My comment was in response to the line in the article that says…..”He played only those two positions in 2015 and 2016″…..as in catcher and first base.

        Is that okay with you?

        Reply
        • Mattimeo09

          8 years ago

          Before you decide to talk down to other fans, make sure you read the entire paragraph. Steve was clearly talking about First Base and Designated Hitter, not catcher. Santana hasn’t played behind home plate since 2014.
          It’s also clear Steve was referring to the positions Santana played in the regular season for 2015

          Reply
        • sufferforsnakes

          8 years ago

          So…….what say you about the FACT he played left field?

          Reply
        • Steve Adams

          8 years ago

          I double-checked his regular season defensive log — not his postseason. The point remains the same: a team’s not going to play him at third, catcher or in the outfield on any type of regular basis. Wherever he signs, it’ll be as a 1B/DH.

          But, yes, I did omit the left field appearance, which I’ve added to the post. I’m not sure exactly why that elicits such a sour tone from you, but hey, to each his own. Cheers.

          Reply
        • sufferforsnakes

          8 years ago

          Oh, I don’t have a sour tone about it, or with you. Was just trying to make something known. Plus, add in that Chewy has said he’s gonna play him in RF this year, and his “value” in the field is expanding.
          Now, when it comes to another particular poster and sour tones………

          Reply
        • Mattimeo09

          8 years ago

          Literally every other person who has commented on this conversation has agreed that you’re the poster with the problem.
          It’s just really sad how oblivious some people can be. I’m going to stop replying on this post because frankly, there isn’t much point.
          You should spend some time examining your attitude though.
          See ya

          Reply
        • sufferforsnakes

          8 years ago

          Ooh, okay—-you win! Happy?

          Reply
    • Polish Hammer

      8 years ago

      And this season it will be RF, actually this weekend. I have no problems with a team player grabbing a mitt and offering to play anywhere just to contribute whether it’s C, 3B, 1B, LF or now RF. I hope they keep him around, this team really has a good chemistry and some nice interchangeable pieces.

      Reply
  5. jd396

    8 years ago

    Why did I think he had a ton of DL time? I guess I didn’t realize he had played so much.

    Reply
    • layventsky

      8 years ago

      The only year he missed a significant amount of time was 2010, when he suffered a season-ending knee injury not long after he made his MLB debut.

      Reply
  6. Mattimeo09

    8 years ago

    Santana has also finished the last 6 seasons (2011-2016) with over 90 walks each time (One time he even led the league). He’s got great plate discipline in addition to hitting prowess

    Reply
  7. chive

    8 years ago

    They tried him at 3B for a bit in ST a few years ago too. Although he is limited, at least he’s proven to be willing to play anywhere. I still think the Indians should go after a younger 1B option.

    Reply
  8. chive

    8 years ago

    I don’t think that was “clear” at all.

    The statement is that the team only feels comfortable with him playing 1B and DH. And that’s not true, he played LF in the world series, and is set to play RF this weekend… plus we’re not too far removed from experimenting with him at 3B

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.

Log in Register

    Top Stories

    Giants Acquire Rafael Devers

    Shohei Ohtani To Make Dodgers Pitching Debut On Monday

    Roki Sasaki No Longer Throwing; No Timetable For Return

    Nationals To Promote Brady House

    White Sox, Brewers Swap Aaron Civale, Andrew Vaughn

    Justin Martínez To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Brewers’ Aaron Civale Requests Trade

    Angels To Promote Christian Moore

    Brewers Promote Jacob Misiorowski

    Red Sox Acquire Jorge Alcala

    Jackson Jobe To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Shane McClanahan Pauses Rehab, Seeking Further Opinions On Nerve Issue

    Royals Place Cole Ragans On IL With Rotator Cuff Strain

    Red Sox Promote Roman Anthony

    Craig Kimbrel Elects Free Agency

    Marlins Place Ryan Weathers On 60-Day IL With Lat Strain

    White Sox To Promote Grant Taylor

    Mariners Designate Leody Taveras For Assignment, Outright Casey Lawrence

    Angels Acquire LaMonte Wade Jr.

    Corbin Burnes To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Recent

    Jake Cousins To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Astros Place Lance McCullers Jr. On IL With Foot Sprain

    Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript

    Yankees Designate Pablo Reyes For Assignment

    Pirates Designate Brett Sullivan For Assignment

    Tigers Claim Carlos Hernández

    Nationals Designate Juan Yepez For Assignment

    Rays Acquire Forrest Whitley

    Yankees To Reinstate Giancarlo Stanton

    Rockies Designate Keston Hiura For Assignment

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • 2024-25 Top 50 MLB Free Agents With Predictions
    • Nolan Arenado Rumors
    • Dylan Cease Rumors
    • Luis Robert Rumors
    • Marcus Stroman Rumors

     

    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Remove Ads, Support Our Writers
    • Front Office Originals
    • Front Office Fantasy Baseball
    • MLBTR Podcast
    • 2024-25 Offseason Outlook Series
    • 2025 Arbitration Projections
    • 2024-25 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • RSS/Twitter Feeds By Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    hide arrows scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version