Royals Could Pursue Reunion With Former All-Star Predicted To Leave Twins
The Kansas City Royals are sorely missing a left-handed power bat.
Particularly in the absence of first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino, out six to eight weeks with a broken thumb, there aren't many Royals lefties striking fear in the hearts of opposing pitchers. MJ Melendez, Michael Massey, and Kyle Isbel are all useful players, but they don't provide much thump.
It's too late to do much about that this season, but the Royals are in this thing for the long haul. They know they have a solid core on their hands, but a veteran bat or two to lengthen the lineup for 2025 could go a long way.
In fact, instead of merely bringing in a lefty, how about a switch-hitter? How about one who has already played a ton of games at Kauffman Stadium, both as a Royal and an American League Central opponent?
On Thursday, Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter predicted that the Minnesota Twins would move on from free-agent-to-be Carlos Santanam who played with the Royals from 2021-2022. It's early, but the Royals should at least consider the possibility of a reunion.
"The Twins have Carlos Correa, Royce Lewis, Brooks Lee, Edouard Julien and José Miranda all vying for playing time on the infield and fast-rising prospect Luke Keaschall also potentially in the mix for playing time, so moving on (from Santana) makes sense," Reuter said.
At 38, Santana is enjoying a very productive season, showing so signs of slowing down despite being one of the oldest position players in Major League Baseball. With 20 home runs, 60 RBI, and a .756 OPS in 129 games, the switch-hitting first baseman still has a lot of tread on his tires.
Here's the catch: Santana had two of the worst seasons of his career to this point with the Royals, performing significantly better with each of the four teams he's played with since. He totaled a .667 OPS in 210 games in a Kansas City uniform, compared to his robust .785 career mark.
However, Santana appears to have rediscovered himself in Minnesota, with his best OPS+ mark (111) since 2019, when he was an All-Star. And veterans like Santana tend to play better in a playoff chase, which the Royals were nowhere near when he last played in K.C.
Sometimes, the best stories are about second chances. And if Santana were to return to the worst stop on his career journey and make things right, helping guide these Royals back to the promised land, what a story that would be.
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Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Kansas City Royals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org