Carlos Santana joins Royals with intentions to help them return to playoff contention
Carlos Santana knows the American League Central Division like the back of his hand. He knows Kauffman Stadium arguably as well as any hitter who has stepped into the batter’s box. He has known at least one familiar face in the Kansas City Royals’ front office since he was a teenager. He also thinks his new club is ready to make a playoff push.
Santana, the 34-year-old slugging first baseman with a discerning eye at the plate and track record built primarily on battering AL pitching as a member of the Cleveland Indians, spoke with reporters via video conference on Wednesday afternoon for the first time since signing a two-year contract worth up to $18.5 million with the Royals earlier this week.
“I love the team, the team chemistry, the way I see the team grow little by little” Santana said in Spanish with Royals assistant general manager Rene Francisco translating. “There’s a lot of youth. There’s a lot of players that are hungry.
“Then you have people like (Salvador Perez) and (Whit) Merrifield that can bring the team together. I’m just here to help, to continue. I believe that this team can be a contender to be in the playoffs.”
Francisco, who oversees the Royals international operations, was the head of international scouting for the Los Angeles Dodgers when they signed Santana as an amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2004.
The two have remained in contact over the years, and Francisco’s relationship with Santana played a role in his recruitment and signing this offseason.
“They’d seen me a lot,” Santana said. “I played for Cleveland for a long time, and they know what kind of player I am. I’m not surprised (they showed interest) because Rene knows me and how I can help the team. I’m not surprised, but I’m very happy.”
A former All-Star and Silver Slugger Award winner (both in 2019), Santana feasted on Royals pitching in the past including in the notoriously pitcher-friendly Kauffman Stadium. The 5-foot-11, 210-pound switch-hitter has batted .288 with a .416 on-base percentage and a .537 slugging percentage to go along with 31 home runs and 93 RBI in his career against the Royals.
The Royals’ home park is not only one of the biggest in the majors, but has ranked statistically as one of the toughest places to hit home runs. That is unless you’re Santana. He belted 18 home runs as in 74 career games as a visiting player at Kauffman Stadium, a venue where he posted a 1.077 career OPS. That OPS tied with Tim Salmon for the best all-time among visiting players.
“I love to hit there because I see the ball well,” Santana said. “I know that a lot of people are afraid to hit in Kauffman because of how big it is, but I feel comfortable because I see the ball so well and I’ve had a lot of success there.”
Santana spent 10 of his 11 MLB seasons with the Indians in two different stints. He leaves that franchise among the organization’s career leaders in walks (second, 881), home runs (216, tied for fifth) and doubles (273, 10th).
While he’ll undoubtedly benefit from staying in the division, Santana also hopes his familiarity with the opponents and ballparks will help his younger teammates.
He also acknowledged that he’ll have a little extra motivation to play against the Indians. He even described himself as “indebted to Kansas City” in a conversation with Francisco earlier in the day.
Royals general manager Dayton Moore described the signings of starting pitcher Mike Minor and Santana, each on two-year deals, as a “building from the top down” approach. The Royals view those two as “impact” additions as they try to make a clear statement that they’re past the rebuilding phase and their recent consecutive 100-loss seasons.
“The only way that you’re ultimately going to win a championship is to start being really aggressive, change the mindset to it’s important to win now,” Moore said. “... We’ve got a lot of young players on the horizon. I think it’s important to set the tone that we expect to win.”
