Even in lockout, Carlos Santana eyes bounce-back second season with Kansas City Royals
Carlos Santana knows he wasn’t the same player in his first season with the Kansas City Royals that he’d been in the past. So he’s devoting his attention this winter to making the most of a clean slate next season.
The switch-hitting veteran first baseman joined the Royals last winter as one a two-year free-agent deal after having tormented them as a member of the AL Central Division rival Cleveland Indians (now Guardians).
Early last season, he showed all the elements the Royals had hoped he’d bring when they brought him aboard. He combined solid defense with a patient approach at the plate, home run hitting power and a knack for delivering in clutch moments.
Then leg and lower body ailments robbed him of much of his power in the second half and largely reduced him to a ground-ball machine as his offensive production slipped late in the season.
“For me, this is in the past ...” Santana said this week. “Right now, this is a new year.”
Santana, who has partnered with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) as part of a campaign to get KC families vaccinated against the COVID-19 coronavirus, spoke to The Star as part of the vaccination campaign.
A tale of two halves
Santana signed fairly early last offseason, and embraced the transition to Kansas City.
“It was great,” said of his first season with the Royals. “I like the people. The team, teammates, the staff, everybody. I like it and I feel comfortable there.”
Santana, who will turn 36 in April, went into this season with a career slash line of .248/.366/.446 with 240 home runs in 11 big-league seasons. He entered the year having averaged 23 home runs, 77 RBIs per season and slugged .445 since 2011.
This season in 89 games before the All-Star break, he blasted 15 homers, registered 50 RBIs and posted a .368 on-base percentage.
He provided several early-season highlight moments such as his game-tying ninth-inning homer in the first road series against his former club in Cleveland and his walk-off homer against the Detroit Tigers in May. This season, he slashed .276/.381/.571 in 118 high-leverage plate appearances.
Always mainstay in the lineup — he averaged 154 games per season from 2011-2019 and played all 60 in 2020 — Santana played through leg and lower body ailments in the second half saw his batting average slide to .176 and on-base percentage to .254 in 69 games after the break.
By the final months of the season, Santana’s leg issues had altered his swing. He couldn’t push off that left leg the way he normally would and it took away his ability to make consistent solid contact. That also caused him to change his approach.
He was basically hitting on one leg, and he batted 100 points lower against right-handed pitching than left-handers. For his career, that difference has been less than 50 points even with this season included.
Offseason fixes
Santana remained in KC for another month and a half after the season ended. In part, he stayed because his two daughters enjoyed the area and where they were going to school.
The other part was it allowed him to rehab and stay in contact with the Royals after he received platelet-rich plasma (PRP) treatment on his left quad. The method uses injections of the patient’s own platelets to help accelerate the healing.
“Now, I feel 100 percent,” Santana said. “I keep working on my body, but right now I feel 100 percent.”
MLB’s lockout restrictions have barred members of the Royals from having contact with any player on the 40-man roster since early December.
However, Santana said it hasn’t significantly affected his offseason at this point.
“Nothing changed,” Santana said. “I’m working on a couple things that I need to help me, my swing and my body. That’s the only thing I changed. I started early, working out, compared to the year before.”
The combination of the leg injury and him getting older has caused him to place greater emphasis on taking care of his body and fine-tuning his swing, particularly after the way it was altered late this season.
Santana/Missouri vaccine campaign
Santana explained why he has put his support behind a statewide vaccination campaign, saying, “It’s important to me because, obviously, we’re in a situation where worldwide there’s been a lot of death and a lot of people have been lost due to the virus. I want people to take care of themselves and be protected from this virus. That’s really the motivation behind it all.”
Through December 29, 53.7% of Missouri’s population was completely vaccinated according to statewide public health data.
MLB baseball did not mandate players or staffers get the vaccine, but it loosened its health and protocol restrictions if 85% or more of a team’s “Tier 1” individuals — players, coaches, traveling support staff and front office personnel — got vaccinated.
Twenty-three teams reached the threshold by June. The Royals did not.
Santana said he got both of his initial vaccination shots and is in line to get a booster soon.
“It was a little bit complicated because you’re in a clubhouse with everybody in close proximity to each other,” Santana said when asked about that dynamic. “I think it’s important to be vaccinated, and it’s not just about himself. It’s about the team, his teammates and making sure everybody has the best opportunity to be healthy. It was a little weird.
“Hopefully, the more people get vaccinated, the more comfortable things will get.”
Santana enjoys the interaction with fans and being able to provide the excitement, particularly for children, of being near a major-league player.
This year with the health protocols and restrictions, those interactions were limited and different than past years. He hopes with increased vaccination, things can return to the previous normal in that regard.
For more information on the partnership between Santana and the Missouri DHSS and a list of participating Hy-Vee locations visit https://covidvaccine.mo.gov/win/.
The campaign includes the chance to win a prize pack for those who get vaccinated at participating Hy-Vee locations through January 17, 2022.
Any Missouri resident age 5 and older who receives a first, second or third dose can enter for a chance to win the prize pack of: One baseball bat signed by Santana, Santana cleats and four tickets to a 2022 Royals home game.
