The Pirates’ continued search for first base depth has resulted in the largest free agent contract of the Ben Cherington era, as the Pirates signed veteran first baseman Carlos Santana on Friday.
The deal, which is pending a physical, is for one-year and is worth $6.725 million.
Santana, 36, slashed .202/.316/.376 with 19 home runs and 60 RBIs, and was valued at 1.2 WAR last season.
While his numbers were down last year, his peripherals were quite good. According to Baseball Savant, he had a .253 expected batting average and .438 expected slugging percentage, due to him posting a strong average exit velocity (90.7 mph), walk rate (14%), and strikeout rate (17.4%).
Santana also stands to be one of the main beneficiaries of the league banning aggressive infield shifts next season. Starting in 2023, there must be two infielders on each side of second base. No hitter in baseball was shifted more than Santana when he batted left-handed (98.3%).
A switch-hitter, Santana posted a .655 OPS batting left-handed pitching last year and a .789 OPS against right-handers.
Santana was a key midseason addition for the Mariners this past season. After starting the campaign with the Royals, he was flipped to Seattle for prospects and hit 15 home runs in 79 regular season games for the playoff club.
In his 13-year career with Cleveland, Philadelphia, Kansas City, and Seattle, Santana has amassed 1,533 hits, 278 home runs, a 115 OPS+, a Silver Slugger and an All-Star nod.
For a young club that is set to promote many top prospects in 2023, Santana offers a much-needed veteran voice to the clubhouse
The Pirates came into this offseason with a clear need at first base after Pirate first basemen finished last in baseball in batting average (.206), on-base percentage (.264), slugging percentage (.337), hits (119), runs scored (51) and WAR (-3.0, according to FanGraphs) in 2022. Most of their offseason moves have focused at the position, trading for Ji-Man Choi from the Rays and claiming Lewin Díaz off waivers from the Marlins.
The Pirates will need to open up a roster spot for Santana when the signing becomes official.
