PITTSBURGH, PA (SNN-TV) – The Pirates have agreed to a one-year deal with veteran first-baseman Carlos Santana pending a physical, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN. The deal will pay the Santana $6.725M. It’s the largest guarantee the Pirates have given to a free agent since inking Daniel Hudson to a two-year, $11M deal before the 2017 season.
Santana is the third first-base/DH option Pittsburgh has acquired this off-season, following their trade for Ji-Man Choi and claim of Lewin Diaz.
Santana spent last year with the Royals and Mariners, hitting .202 with 19 home runs over 506 plate appearances. Santana could also be one of the biggest benefactors of the shift restrictions that’ll come into play next season, as no one faced a shift more often than he did (98.3% of the time).
It’ll be the fifth major league team Santana has suited up for. He debuted for Cleveland back in 2010, the first of eight seasons he’d initially spend with the franchise. Santana regularly posted 20+ home run totals, combining power with strong on-base skills. His best year was 2013, when Santana finished 15th in AL MVP voting on the back of .268/.377/.455 line.