Pirates Add Veteran Presence, Potential Trade Chip In Carlos Santana

Carlos Santana is coming off a league-average year with the Kansas City Royals and Seattle Mariners. The first baseman is looking to bounce back with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Pirates are adding a veteran presence to their young roster, as the team and 36-year-old first baseman Carlos Santana have agreed to a one-year contract worth $6.7 million, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.

The deal, which is still pending a physical, gives the Pirates some needed experience and leadership, as 31-year-old first baseman Ji-Man Choi, acquired via trade earlier this offseason, is the second-oldest position player on Pittsburgh’s 40-man roster. Santana, meanwhile, gets a chance to bounce back after a league-average season that saw him post a 100 OPS+ and 102 wRC+ for the Kansas City Royals and Seattle Mariners.

Santana slashed .202/.316/.376 with 19 home runs and 60 RBI.

However, Santana’s .253 expected average, .438 expected slugging, and .352 expected wOBA suggest his surface numbers should have been better, and Passan noted that no player was shifted against at a higher rate last year. With Major League Baseball restricting the shift next season, the switch-hitting Santana is a prime candidate for a bounce-back season.

Reuniting with Pirates manager Derek Shelton, Santana’s first big league hitting coach in Cleveland, could also benefit the 13-year veteran.

The Pirates could and should continue spending around their young nucleus this offseason, but it also wouldn’t be surprising if Santana became trade bait for the second straight summer.

Last offseason, the Pirates signed Daniel Vogelbach – albeit for much cheaper – after the designated hitter was non-tendered by Milwaukee. Vogelbach, coming off a hamstring injury in 2021, bounced back with the Pirates, who then flipped him to Mets once it was clear the team had no shot at contending.

If the Pirates, who lost 100 games in 2022, find themselves on the same trajectory, Santana could end up in a similar situation in 2023.

Santana is a lifetime .242/.359/.432 hitter with 278 home runs and 925 RBI. He has also spent time with the Phillies, in addition to Cleveland, Kansas City and Seattle.