Carlos Santana: 23 HR, .259/.363/.455, 5 SB, 117 wRC+, 3.0 fWAR
Three Years, $60 million, $17.5 million club option for 2021
The Phillies' signing of slugger Carlos Santana is an interesting one as they gear up for a potential run of contention in the next few years. Young stars Rhys Hoskins, J.P. Crawford, Aaron Nola, Odubel Herrera, Maikel Franco, and more are ready to or already have come into their own, and with the Marlins and Mets trending in the wrong direction, the door is as open as it ever will be for Philadelphia. The Nationals aren't going anywhere, and the Braves are on their way up, but with the young core the Phillies have, there is no reason they can't join them in the next few seasons. Veteran Carlos Santana will be right in the middle of that, drawing walks and crushing home runs with regularity. In each of his past seven seasons, Santana has hit at least 18 home runs and walked at least 88 times, reaching 20 home runs five times and 100 walks twice. This past season, he slashed .259/.363/.455 with 23 home runs in 154 games, good for a 117 wRC+ and 3.0 fWAR, his seventh straight season with more than 2.0 fWAR. Meanwhile, he also set a career low with his 14.1% strikeout rate, and he'll no doubt be a big presence in the middle of the lineup. Defensively, though, he's more of a question mark. It looks like, as of now, he'll play first base with defensive question mark Rhys Hoskins moving to the outfield. Hoskins is not a butcher, but he's also not great out there, so Odubel Herrera and Aaron Altherr/Nick Williams (whoever ends up starting) will need to step up to make up for Hosksins. However, that's a small problem to have considering Santana's bat. For his career, the Dominican has 174 home runs, a .249/.365/.445 slash line, and 23.0 fWAR over 1116 games.
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