Pittsburgh Pirates: Looking at Carlos Santana’s Career So Far

The Pittsburgh Pirates made a splashy move on Friday by acquiring a proven first baseman.  So what has he done up until this point of his career?

The Pittsburgh Pirates have been one of the more active teams this off-season.  The Front Office is clearly trying to put a better product on the field for 2023.  After another 100-loss season, this is very refreshing to see.

In 2023 the biggest hole in the lineup was at the first base position.  This obviously is not ideal for a lineup, as the first base position is traditionally known for offense. According to Baseball Reference, the Bucs ranked dead last at the first base position in terms of WAR at -4.0.

So the team has been aggressive to make the position better.  The first move was a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays.  The Pittsburgh Pirates acquired Ji-Man Choi, a left-handed hitter, in exchange for minor league pitcher Jack Hartman.  The next move the Bucs made was claiming Lewin Diaz off of wavers.

Diaz, a right-handed first baseman, was claimed from the Miami Marlins.  Diaz has always produced good numbers with the bat in the minors, but that has not translated to the Big Leagues.  His defensive abilities have, however.  He accounted for an above-average UZR/150 and also for 5 defensive runs saved.  At the very least he will be a defensive upgrade at the position.

Now the Bucs have signed another first-base candidate in Carlos Santana.  Santana represents the biggest free agent contract that the current Front Office has handed out. The Bucs gave the 36-year-old $6.7 million on a 1-year deal.  Let’s take a look at what the veteran has done so far in his career:

Philadelphia Phillies 2018

The Philadelphia Phillies were looking to deepen their lineup during the 2017-2018 offseason.  The team signed former Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen to a contract.  They also would negotiate a large contract with Carlos Santana.

Santana would sign with the Phillies on a 3-year deal worth 20 million per season.  There was also a team option for the 2021 season, which would be eventually declined. So the overall contract was a 3-year deal worth 60 million and a 4-year team option. A relatively big contract for an aging player.  The deal did not look good at the time and he did not live up to that deal in his time in Philly.

The Philadelphia Phillies were able to immediately give up that contract and traded Santana after just 1 season. For the Phillies to get out of his contract was important for their payroll.  They simply could not spend 20 million a year and not get better production from the player.

Overall, Santana had an odd year with the Phillies, he hit just .229 but had an OBP of over .350, hit 24 home runs, and had over 80 runs batted in.  So why did the Phillies get rid of him after just 1 season? The home run numbers were there and while his average was down, many others were seeing similar results.  Of course, this can be traced back to the use of Spider Tack by pitchers, and the shift becoming a normal part of the game. So what did the Phillies acquire by trading away the veteran slugger?

Cleveland Guardians 2019-2020

Well, his former team in Cleveland wanted to bring Santana back.  However, he would be traded to Seattle before that would happen.  Seattle acquired Santana along with JP Crawford and parted with Juan Nicasio and another pitcher.  The biggest piece going back to Philly was Jean Segura.  So the Phillies moved on due to wanting to acquire a very good player in Segura.

Santana would not last very long with the Mariners and would be traded before even playing a game for the Mariners.  In fact, just 10 days later Santana would be traded once again, this time part of a three-team trade.  This deal was between Seattle, Cleveland, and Tampa Bay.  A lot of pieces were moved around in the deal between the three sides.  However, Cleveland would get their longtime first baseman back in the trade.

He would have a career resurgence in 2019, batting .281 with 34 home runs.  The move looked good for Cleveland as Santana looked like the player of old.  However, Santana would have his option declined after a miserable 2020 season.  Santana would bat just .199 in 60 games played.  Of course, a lot of players struggled during the 2020 season, including veterans who have since bounced back.

Kansas City Royals and Seattle Mariners 2021-2022

With Santana coming off a tough season, a small market team decided to take a chance on him.  The Kansas City Royals would give Santana a 2-year deal worth $17.5 million.  Of course, the Royals were in the midst of a rebuild when they signed him, so it was obvious they were looking to get him to bounce back and flip him.

That is exactly what would happen, sort of.  Santana stayed with Kansas City for the entirety of the 2021 season.  He posted a .214 batting average with 19 home runs on the year.  Obviously not the bounce back that the Royals had hoped for.  Still, the Royals were able to hold onto him into the 2022 season.  After 52 games with the Royals, Santana would be traded back to Seattle. Seattle would send a couple of pitchers back in the deal.

The Mariners kept Santana around this time as he would appear in 79 total games with the M’s.  They also had him on their post-season roster this past fall.  For the 2022 season, Santana still only batted .202 but did put up 19 home runs.

Now Santana is a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates.  It will be interesting to see if he bounces back this year with the extreme shift being banned.  Also, having a short porch in left field and a platoon mate in Ji-Man Choi could lead to better overall numbers.  At the very least, the Bucs should have better production from first base and the designated hitter spot thus far.