The Indians are reportedly closing in on a major league agreement with free-agent outfielder Domingo Santana, Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com relays. An announcement could take place sometime next week, but the deal’s pending a physical, according to Hoynes.
The Indians are in clear need of outfield help, but whether Santana will prove to be the solution is anyone’s guess. However, as recently as 2017 – a season he spent with the Brewers – Santana appeared to be a budding star. He slashed .278/.371/.505 with 30 home runs and 3.3 fWAR in 607 trips to the plate that year. Santana struggled the next season, though, and then the Brewers traded him to the Mariners in December 2018.
While Santana looked like an interesting pickup for rebuilding Seattle, he didn’t end up producing much in an M’s uniform. Although Santana’s season began well, a second-half elbow injury helped torpedo his numbers and limit him to an uninspiring .253/.329/.441 line with 21 homers in 507 PA. Worsening matters, Santana ranked as one of the game’s poorest outfielders, finishing with a minus-17 Defensive Runs Saved and a minus-16.1 Ultimate Zone Rating. His combination of so-so offense and disastrous defense held him to a replacement-level WAR output.
To Santana’s credit, he was a good defender as recently as 2018 (plus-6 DRS, plus-2.7 UZR). He’s also still just 27, and the Indians or any other team that signs Santana will be able to control him via arbitration through 2021. The Mariners could have done the same, but they elected to non-tender Santana in lieu of paying him a $4.4MM salary this year.
Should Santana join the Indians, he’d make for yet another flawed corner outfield possibility for the team. Aside from Jordan Luplow, whose solid production may have flown under the radar in 2019, there’s little in the way of clear answers for the club there. Franmil Reyes (perhaps like Santana) is probably better off as a designated hitter; Jake Bauers and Greg Allen offered subpar production last year; Tyler Naquin suffered a torn ACL in August and will miss some portion of 2020; and Bradley Zimmer barely played last season as a result of shoulder troubles.
Should’ve went with Puig.
Tito was not a big fan of Puig’s after he refused to run out a groundball.
I’d have to take your word for that. But Santana is another awful defensive corner player. Actually not even a corner OF’er just a RF option because he was one of the worst LF’s in baseball last year.
And you know the constant K problems.
DH.
Wheres Reyes go then?
Reyes has lost 15-20lbs, they want him to play RF more this year. It’ll be interesting to say the least. We’ll find out in Spring Training how that works out.
I tried to find the article where Tito made some cryptic comment about Puig when he was asked about a possible reunion. He said something like “Well, he’s an interesting cat” or something like that.
Obviously they couldn’t sign Castellanos. He wasn’t bad enough defensively to meet their criteria.
Cleveland’s commissioning the league to see if they can use 2 DH’s. Fingers crossed!
Did you see him at Tribe Fest? He looks in great shape. If he can provide a passable defense in right then that would solve a few things, and allow DS to DH.
Just have to wait to see how Naquin figures into the scheme when healthy again, because Daniel Johnson could throw a wrench into the whole setup.
Didn’t see him, no. However, do we have any reason to think Reyes is a good defender at 275 lbs instead of the 290 he was at least year?
@jbigz12
Should have GONE with Puig. {Listen, I’m not normally the grammar police, but this is simply too much to take.}
And we probably shouldn’t have gone with either. Upside’s better with Santana; floor’s higher with Puig, but neither is a positive with the glove, so I’m more meh than anything.
Bruh just stfu
Rude.
I’ll be sure to use gone next time so you don’t have an aneurysm.
wented.
Not sure I agree that Santana’s upside is higher. That’s not even remotely fair to say that Puig and Santana are both bad defenders. Puig is 10x the defender Santana is. Puig hit very well in Cleveland while Santana’s second half production cratered completely. Which is common for him and his free swinging ways.
@jbigz12
Fair comments. I have no doubt that Puig is the better fielder; neither is a positive, however. We can argue who has the higher upside; both have flaws, but in recent years Santana has had much higher highs and lower lows. Less risk in Puig as I said, but I vehemently disagree that Puig hit very well for Cleveland last year. He was given a prime opportunity to prove himself down the stretch in a pennant race. Night in and night out he batted cleanup and had critical AB’s that could have enhanced his standing with the Tribe and observers around the league. The results weren’t eye-popping: in 220 plate appearances, he hit 2 homers (TWO!) with an .800 OPS. He wasn’t bad, but he certainly didn’t lift the club when it needed him the most. I just don’t think the Tribe (or anyone else evidently) is as high on Puig as he is of himself.
They traded for Puig’s big bat last year and he brought the pop gun. Glad they passed on him.
I wonder if Puig could go to Japan for a year to try to have a big year and get a bounceback contract. He could probably get as much there as he could get here at this point (~$5m). Does anyone know how their off-season plays out, like would there still be teams with money to spend/ international slots open at this point.
My assumption is that the Indians were going with this layout:
Mercado in CF
A platoon of Allen (good against RHP, terrible agaisnt LHP) and Luplow in one corner
Either Bauers or Reyes in the other, with DeShields mixing in as a late game defensive replacement. The other is the DH
So if this is a major league deal, that’s probably bad news for Bauers who I would expect to be sent to AAA. If it’s a minor league deal, Santana would be a bat-first backup to any of Carlos Santana, Bauers or Reyes.
In any case, the team likely will mix in Naquin once he’s healthy and Daniel Johnson once he’s deemed “ready” (read: no longer Super 2 eligible). So even if Domingo gets to the majors he likely isn’t long for it unless he gets off to a blistering start.
It says it’s a major league deal. I have to imagine one of those OF’s finds himself DFA’d. They can’t have 10 on the 40 man.
Zimmer would probably be the logical choice. Or… they could just move Naquin to the 60. Might seem too early but there were teams putting guys on the 60 that early last season.
I dont think they would DFA Allen, DeShields or Bauers. Could be wrong. Bobby Bradley was pretty terrible in the majors and he isn’t safe either.
Alternatively, Hoyt or Wood out in the bullpen are probably expendable. Hoyt could elect free agency but he’s already cleared waivers once this offseason. Wood is out of options.
Alternatively, Sam Hentges was terrible in AA last year. He is tall, left handed, and throws hard – and has options. So he would likely be claimed.
Santana’s deal is a major league deal.
Bad news for Bauers, good news for Tribe fans.
Watching him have at bats in Cleveland was one of the worst experiences last year. He sucked. Especially early in the year when Yandy came out of the gate hot
Bauers has options, and with his plate discipline and age there’s always upside to dream on. I would not be surprised if he’s in Columbus to start but I don’t think he gets DFA’d.
It is going to be a good signing for Cleveland.
One of the worst clubhouse guys in baseball. So there’s that.
Really? I’ve never heard that… do you have any sources?
Puig must be licking his bat right now wishing for a lucrative offer.
Mercado every day player. Reyes basically everyday player mostly dh. Platoon Bauers or Allen vs R, Luplow vs L. Santana will have every opportunity to be an every day starter when healthy he’s pretty good. Deshields play sometimes vs L and late pinch run/defensive replacement. Either Allen or Bauers will get sent down to start the season if everyone’s healthy.
Now that’s putting Kluber’s salary savings to good use…
I’m not hating it.
too bad. I had hopes he’d end up in SF. I’ve felt like this was going to be a bounce back prove it year for the guy. hope he kills it for you guys.
Santana would be a nightmare in that outfield.
Why? The Giants,moves in the fences.
Santana is a nightmare in any outfield
Yeah man. I remember wanting the Indians to trade for him at one point. Hope he can have a bounce back year too.
Santana is probably the worst outfielder I’ve ever watched on a daily basis.
Kid- every time a ball was hit towards him I’d cringe. His OF defense was atrocious. He did however make an improvement when he switched from LF to RF after Haniger blew out one of his nut’s: his defense went from abysmal and shocking
Went from shocking to pish poor!
I think Santana can be a decent defensive player if healthy along with his offense. He has been maturing a lot over the years. Both Santanas, Reyes, Lindor, Ramirez, and Bauer should be able to give them plenty of power all of them could average 30 bombs on a nice year.
what have you seen that shows he is maturing?
his pubes
Don’t know why it took so long for someone to sign him
Because he had to learn cursive.
lol
He’s the cheaper man’s Puig. He fits the bill for what they need though.
Could be the playing time he needs to break out.
https://maxsportingstudio.com/breakout-candidates-for-2020-outfielders/
@redsfan48
Thanks for this great link. Interesting that the “honorable mention” for an outfielder breakout (i.e. he’s in the top five for consideration along with Domingo Santana) is none other than Franmil Reyes.
If they sign him and never let him play in the field, he could be a good pick up. He was worth 1.9 bWAR last year, but his defense was -1.9 bWAR, so theoretically, he could be about a 2 win player if he’s held to DH. Combining that with Reyes being down about 15 pounds and wanting to play in right, Luplow on a platoon in LF, and Mercado in CF, they have lots of potential there. Just very little history of production.
Cant believe the Indians didnt sign Corey Dickerson, Kole Calhoun or Nick Castellanos. They have a gaping hole in the corner OF and I do not think Santana is the answer. They should prob bring back Puig at this point or at least another RH compliment like Hunter Pence. Caesar Hernandez was a nice addition but this roster needed more.
Corey Dickerson, maybe, but a big fat no on Castellanos (lousy with the glove, too expensive) or Kole Calhoun (one year removed from an OPS+ of 79., SEVENTY-NINE!) who started cheating on fastballs in 2020 to run up his HR rate with a juiced ball while his K-rate skyrocketed. No thanks!
I’d like it more if he would DH but he or Reyes will have to play in the field. Ouch.
Maybe they could acquire Billy Hamilton to come in late for defense, with the starting CF shifting to one of the corners in games they are leading. That 26th man is a beautiful thing. The Indians are probably thinking, darn we have to pay an extra big leaguer.
No need for Billy Hamilton
The Tribe already has 2 late D replacements for its OF in Greg Allen AND Delino DeShields Jr. On top of those guys Bradley Zimmer is an option..
Does Bauers have options remaining?
Yes, one option year.
https://www.fangraphs.com/roster-resource/depth-charts/indians
Puig pulled too many knucklehead stunts in his stay with Cleveland (like waving at the rightfielder while going from first to third on a single) for Francona to want him back..
Santana was having a pretty good season until he hurt his elbow ,check out his first half second half splits..
The Tribe’s outfield will be fluid but to start it will be a Bauers/Luplow platoon in left,with Naquin taking over for Bauers when he comes back(Bauers is also the back up first baseman),Mercado will play center most of the time,Reyes will play right most of the time .Allen and DeShields or Zimmer will serve as defensive replacements and spot starters with Santana DHing most of the time.Anyone of the three caddies could be dealt since there are quite a few teams that need a good defensive center fielder.
If Santana gets a major league deal Arroyo is dropped from from the 40 man,he’s out of options.
Very good summary of what’s likely to happen with the outfield. I cringe thinking about Reyes in RF every day. Oh well, he’ll just be keeping it warm for the athletic Daniel Johnson and his 80-rated arm.
I think they want to get a good look at Arroyo though, so I don’t know if he’s the one to go.
Indians need offense plain and simple. Reyes and Santana may combine for a historically terrible RF duo but could have 70+ HR’s between them
Considering what is left out there Santana is a good signing for Cleveland. His defense is no worse that Reyes and he can hit.
I’m not a fan of this move. I don’t think Santana has enough upside to justify taking ABs away from young guys like Bradley, Bauers, Luplow, Zimmer, Allen, and Naquin (when he returns from the IL) If you’re not going with a major upgrade, you might as well play some of these kids and figure out if they can play at the major league level.
I tend to feel this way, too, although a main consideration in any view of the OF is Daniel Johnson and they aren’t willing to give him a job from the get-go (player control issues, which I endorse)..
I mean, there’s no way to find out if some of these kids can cut it except to play them, and I really don’t think it will hurt the big club to do so since they all can play defense.(with the exception of Bradley).
Naquin is 29 and made out of glass,Zimmer is 27.Allen is 27,Johnson is 25 and has large platoon splits.
Bradley and Bauers are the first baseman in line to play in 2021 or 22 so their playing time isn’t all that dependent on DHing this season
Domingo Santana is ……27 and already had a season in the majors where he hit 30 home runs.
I know which “kid” I would first give the at bats to succeed.
Nothing about what Naquin did to make that catch indicates he’s made of glass (and Domingo Santana isn’t?) Daniel Johnson has all the tools, not just one of them. Zimmer was an all-world defender with a great arm and power. Greg Allen is a switch hitter who can run and defend. There are some tools in this bunch, none of whom have had full shots. My problem with Domingo is that we have to find a place for two of them, as we already have Reyes. I’m not saying it can’t work, just that there weren’t other ways to go about this. I’m not critical of the signing, just that it’s not a slam dunk. Anyone who can completely erase his offensive WAR with his defensive WAR has issues, especially when we might have two of those guys.
Good note on the ages but Domingo Santana has had a fair amount of MLB experience. I would say he is probably a known commodity at this point. He has shown good power, he can hit OK, strikes out a lot, and is a below-average defender. To me, that just doesn’t seem like a big upgrade over the in-house alternatives .
But, hey, low-risk deal and maybe he will hit 40 dingers this year.. I’d be OK with that.
If we pick him up that is a plus. In our softball division he’ll hit .275 and knock in 75 batting 6th or 7th.
The Indians will have Bauers and Luplow playing LF. Bauers will also spell C. Santana at 1B occasionally. Mercado will roam CF with DeShields as his backup. DeShields will also be the late inning defensive replacement for Reyes/Santana. Reyes and Santana will probably split RF/DH duties with Domingo DH’ing more until he is deemed healthy enough to play in the field consistently. All of Zimmer/Allen/Johnson will have to wait for an injury of failure to perform for an opportunity.
At this point in time that ‘16 WS experiment with Carlos in LF may be worth discussing .
Let’s let it play out. In this group, someone will excel and someone will struggle. Bauers could still click. Luplow could fizzle. Domingo could be a monster again