And you thought the Phillies trading Freddy Galvis would be their biggest move of the day.
Jon Heyman reports -- and Ken Rosenthal confirms -- that the Philadelphia Phillies have signed free agent first baseman Carlos Santana to a three-year, $60 million deal. There is a $17.5 million team option for a fourth year as well.
This is a surprising move in that (a) no one really saw it coming; and (b) Rhys Hoskins was thought to be the first baseman of the future for the Phillies. He’ll either continue to play left field, where he played 30 games for Philly last year, or else he’s going to be on the trading block soon.
In Santana, the Phillies get a guy who hit .259/.363/.455 with 23 homers and 79 driven in in 2017. Santana walks a good deal and is one of the tougher power hitters to strike out in all of baseball.
The eight-year veteran has played exclusively with the Indians since making his big league debut, hitting .249/.365/.445 with 174 homers in his career. He came up as a catcher and has played some third base and outfield over the course of his career.
