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Omar 382
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Carlos Santana to the Phillies on a 3 year/$60 million dollar contract, with a $17.5 million option for a 4th year. I honestly did not expect a move like this in the slightest. This really caught me by surprise.
At first glance, it's an interesting move, although kind of confusing. 3 years and $60 million isn't that bad, and you knew the Phillies were going to have to overpay to bring talent to their team via free agency. Most people had Santana pegged for around 3 years/$45 million, so an extra 5 million a year isn't bad (it doesn't shape out exactly like that because the contract is front-loaded, but that's the general point).
There could be concerns about signing a 32 year old (in early April 2018) power hitting first baseman for a lot of money (reading about Retro and lard-ass for nearly 4 seasons was bad enough the first time). Obviously this is very different, because 3 years is very reasonable. I'm actually glad that Santana took a higher AAV than a longer contract. Also, Santana looks to age gracefully. He obviously doesn't rely on speed, which is the biggest thing for players when they fall off. What's most important is that he walks a ton. From 2011-2017 (the first year Santana received regular playing time), Santana is 3rd in all of baseball in BB% among qualified hitters, at 15.0%. Only Jose Bautista (15.6%) and Joey Votto (18.1%) walk more. From 2015-2017, among qualified hitters, he's 4th in all of baseball in pitches seen. Goldschmidt, Votto, and Dozier are the only guys ahead of him.
The obvious issue is that Hoskins is going to have to go back to left field. I'm fine with that- defense in LF isn't a paramount concern to me, except that that means that Altherr must be the odd man out. Odubel will be in center field, and I would imagine that RF will be Nick Williams' to lose. I also would be ok with this- but I would want to trade Altherr (or Nick Williams, or hell, even Herrera). I (personally) think that any of those three are too talented to be a 4th outfielder, but more importantly; I think the league values them all too much to have them sit on the bench. Williams and Altherr are still young and under club control for a long time, and Odubel has a pretty friendly contract, especially if you are looking for a comfortably above average CF for the future.
I did not expect this at all, but my initial reaction is that it's a good deal. Our offense is looking better and better, though I expect our pitching to still really suck, which is ok for this year.
At first glance, it's an interesting move, although kind of confusing. 3 years and $60 million isn't that bad, and you knew the Phillies were going to have to overpay to bring talent to their team via free agency. Most people had Santana pegged for around 3 years/$45 million, so an extra 5 million a year isn't bad (it doesn't shape out exactly like that because the contract is front-loaded, but that's the general point).
There could be concerns about signing a 32 year old (in early April 2018) power hitting first baseman for a lot of money (reading about Retro and lard-ass for nearly 4 seasons was bad enough the first time). Obviously this is very different, because 3 years is very reasonable. I'm actually glad that Santana took a higher AAV than a longer contract. Also, Santana looks to age gracefully. He obviously doesn't rely on speed, which is the biggest thing for players when they fall off. What's most important is that he walks a ton. From 2011-2017 (the first year Santana received regular playing time), Santana is 3rd in all of baseball in BB% among qualified hitters, at 15.0%. Only Jose Bautista (15.6%) and Joey Votto (18.1%) walk more. From 2015-2017, among qualified hitters, he's 4th in all of baseball in pitches seen. Goldschmidt, Votto, and Dozier are the only guys ahead of him.
The obvious issue is that Hoskins is going to have to go back to left field. I'm fine with that- defense in LF isn't a paramount concern to me, except that that means that Altherr must be the odd man out. Odubel will be in center field, and I would imagine that RF will be Nick Williams' to lose. I also would be ok with this- but I would want to trade Altherr (or Nick Williams, or hell, even Herrera). I (personally) think that any of those three are too talented to be a 4th outfielder, but more importantly; I think the league values them all too much to have them sit on the bench. Williams and Altherr are still young and under club control for a long time, and Odubel has a pretty friendly contract, especially if you are looking for a comfortably above average CF for the future.
I did not expect this at all, but my initial reaction is that it's a good deal. Our offense is looking better and better, though I expect our pitching to still really suck, which is ok for this year.