Carlos Santana signs with Royals

The former Cleveland Baseball Club first baseman has agreed to a two-year deal with the Kansas City Royals.

There was a chance that Carlos Santana would have remained in Cleveland this season, but once the Cleveland Baseball Club declined the club option it ended. Santana has signed a two-year deal with the Kansas City Royals paying him $17.5 million in guaranteed money with the possibility to earn another $1 million through incentives.

This is what Carlos Santana would have made if he would have remained in Cleveland on his previous deal.

It was an obvious match for the two parties as pointed out by Zack Meisel of The Athletic. Carlos Santana has excellent numbers when playing in Kauffman Stadium and that could be why the deal was made. Santana will have the opportunity to bounce back from what was a disappointing 2020 campaign.

Meisel also points out the rather bleak options at first base in Cleveland. Those options include Josh Naylor, Bobby Bradley, and Jake Bauers. Bradley is strictly a first base option while Naylor and Bauers both have the ability to play in the outfield. The departure of Carlos Santana means that Cleveland is going to have to turn to a new face at first base and hopefully their internal options can step up to the challenge.