What the signing of Santana means for the Phillies?

The Philadelphia Phillies made a contract with the former Cleveland Indians star Carlos Santana for 60 million dollars for a period of three years. The Phillies included the no trade clause in order to have additional flexibility in the future.

The deal had come as a surprise, becasue throughout the whole offseason; the team was reiterating that they wanted to give more opportunities for their young players. However, the Philadelphia Phillies would be more than happy with the signing of such a talent as Carlos Santana. The team could get a big boost with the arrival of Santana who along with Rhys Hoskins, Cesar Hernandez, Odubel Herrera and J.P. Crawford could pose a formidable threat for the other teams.

Santana started his professional career by playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the minor leagues. He was traded by the Dodgers to the Cleveland Indians in 2008, where in 2010 he made his major league debut.

If we look at his stats, we can see that he has been impressive throughout his whole career. He has never had an on base percentage lesser than .350. He was the one who ended the streak of 49 successive strikeouts by Matt Shoemaker, the pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels. He has the record of walking more than 100 times twice in a season. He was the Gold Glove finalist for the year 2017. Last season, Santana batted with an average of .259 with 23 home runs. In the eight seasons he played for Cleveland, he maintained a batting average of .249 along with 174 homers.

Therefore, big things are expected from Santana at the Phillies. The spring training will start in Febuary of this year while the April will see the beginning of the regular season of the MLB. It will be an exciting time for both the fans and punters around the world. Therefore, if you are into betting, then you can avail from the top online betting offers from the UK. You will know about all the best free bets, betting offers and welcome bonuses.

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Although the entry of Santana will be a big boost for the team, however it also means that some players will have to lose playing time or at least will have to go through some shuffling. Hoskins was expected to come back this season with the position of first base will now have to contend with leftfielder now. Even Hoskins admitted that he was a bit surprised.

“Honestly, I was a little bit surprised,” Hoskins said. “But it means a whole lot that this guy was keeping me in the loop and wanted my opinion on it.” Although the previous coaches of Phillies think that Hoskins will be better at left fielder than first baseman.

While the move of Hoskins to the outfield creates a difficult situation with Nick Williams, Herrera and Aaron Altherr already present. It is difficult to say what the Phillies might want to do regarding the future of these players.  If they keep these outfielders in the team, then they might get more flexibility. After all, it is unusual for 4 or 5 outfielders to remain healthy over the period of a whole season. However, a lucrative deal for the Phillies could get Williams, Altherr and Herrera out of the team through an exchange, so that they can get starting pitching, a top priority for the club now.

Rightnow the Phillies would be eyeing for a young starter like Danny Duffy, Gerrit Cole or Chris Archer. However, the asking prices are a little too high in the market now. Therefore, the Phillies would be waiting for the market to lessen the prices. And if the prices are right even Jake Arrieta could join the phillies.