The Red Sox yesterday agreed to a Minor League deal with free-agent infielder/outfielder Danny Santana. The agreement includes an invitation to Spring Training for the 30-year-old veteran of seven major league seasons.
At first glance, this is a rather ho-hum signing. After all, it's just a minor-league deal. Furthermore, Santana has compiled a rather pedestrian .260/.299/.418/.717 slash line over more than 1,700 career plate appearances.
However, a look below the surface reveals a player with an interesting skill set and the potential to help the Red Sox this season.
Firstly, Santana in 2019 batted .283 with 28 homers, 81 RBI, 81 runs scored, 21 steals, and an .857 OPS over 130 games. That, alone, is eye-popping.
Secondly, Santana is a switch-hitter, which provides versatility at the plate, allowing manager Alex Cora to manipulate the batting order.
Lastly, Santana can play every position except catcher. Remarkably, like Kiké Hernández and Marwin González, Santana can play all four infield positions and all three outfield positions.
Santana's career defensive starts have been broken down like this: 132 games in center field; 104 at shortstop; 47 in left field; 51 at first base; 20 in right field; 16 at second base; and 12 at third base.
This could end up being a sneaky-good signing by Chaim Bloom; an under-the-radar move that we look back upon with amazement.
One way or another, it's certainly a low-cost deal for Boston. Santana will earn a $1.75 million base salary if he makes it to the majors and up to $1 million in incentives. There’s a $100,000 bonus if he starts the season in Triple-A, which means that he won't opt out in the spring. Having that kind of minor-league depth could prove to be invaluable to the Sox this season.
It remains unknown when Santana will be ready for action. He suffered an elbow injury last year that limited his 2020 season to just 15 games, and ultimately led to a right UCL repair on Sept. 9; the surgery required an internal brace. So, he may need some minor league prepping in advance of a big league promotion.
One thing is for sure: Santana's signing puts a lot of pressure on both Michael Chavis, who has minor league options, and Christian Arroyo, who doesn't. The latter will need to come out of the gate on fire or he risks losing his roster spot to the versatile Santana early in the season.
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