Mariners Acquire Carlos Santana From Royals

In desperate need of help with Ty France ailing, the Mariners have struck a trade with the Royals for veteran first baseman/designated hitter Carlos Santana.

Inside the Mariners | Jun 27, 2022

Mariners Acquire Carlos Santana From Royals /

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Seattle Mariners

SEATTLE — With Ty France (arm) on the 10-day injured list, the Mariners have addressed first base by acquiring Carlos Santana in a trade with the Royals.

Man, it’s a hot one.

We’ve acquired INF Carlos Santana and cash considerations from the Royals in exchange for RHP Wyatt Mills and minor league RHP William Fleming.

🔗 https://t.co/psuyT5Ojsn pic.twitter.com/QFfWP2VC3a
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) June 27, 2022

Santana, 36, is hitting .216/.349/.341 with four home runs, 21 RBI and more walks (17 percent) than strikeouts (13.2 percent) this season. Those numbers have been boosted by a fantastic month of June in which he's posted a .357/.478/.554 slash line with a wRC+ of 198 in 69 plate appearances.

As part of the deal, Kansas City will also send cash to Seattle to help pay for Santana's remaining salary, which sits somewhere in the $5 million range. He will be a free agent at the end of the year.

The Royals are receiving right-handed reliever Wyatt Mills and right-handed pitching prospect William Fleming in return. Mills carries a 7.59 ERA in 21.1 career innings of relief and has bounced between the Triple-A and major league levels over the past two seasons.

Fleming, meanwhile, was an 11th-round pick out of Wake Forest in last year's draft and was considered by many to be one of the Mariners' 30 best prospects. In 67.2 innings with Low-A Modesto this season, he's averaged 7.85 strikeouts per nine innings pitched with an ERA of 4.92.