Former Indians 1B Carlos Santana Inks Two-Year Deal with Royals

Former Tribe first basemen Carlos Santana is on the move, as Jon Heyman reports that Santana has inked a two-year deal with the AL Central rival Kansas City Royals.

The Indians brought Santana back in December of 2018, and he had a huge 2019, putting up numbers enough to make the American League All-Star team.

On the season Santana hit .281 with 34 homers and 93 runs batted in to go along with an even 108 walks and 108 strikeouts.

This past season though Santana struggled, and while he played in all 60 Tribe regular season games and the two postseason games against the New York Yankees, he hit just .199 with eight homers and 30 RBI.

He went into this offseason with a $17.5 million club option, and there wasn’t much question if the Indians were going to pick it up or not after his rough 2020 campaign.

Heyman tweets out that Santana’s deal with the Royals is for two years at $17 million, a huge deal for a player coming off a tough season.

Carlos Santana agrees with Royals: $17M, two years

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 8, 2020

With Santana gone, the Indians will have to find someone to play firstbase in 2021. Right now the options include youngsters Josh Naylor, Jake Bauers and Bobby Bradley.

In 10 seasons with the Indians, Santana has a career average of .251 with 216 homers and 710 runs batted in.