Phillies: What went wrong during the Carlos Santana era?
By John Town
Throughout the 2018 season, Carlos Santana became a lightning rod for anger towards the Phillies. What led to so much disdain towards him?
Carlos Santana’s short-lived tenure as a Phillie came to an end this week as he and J.P. Crawford were traded to the Mariners for Jean Segura, Juan Nicasio, and James Pazos. Santana bid farewell to the Phillies and fans in a classy message through the team.
Throughout his time as a Phillie, Santana became one of the main scapegoats whenever things turned awry. Once the team’s collapse began in August, roasting Santana on Twitter became a pastime. His career in Philadelphia will not be remembered fondly by many.
What ultimately led to all the disdain towards Santana? Why did he become the lightning rod for everything negative about the team? To figure that out, you have to start from the moment he was signed.
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Santana was one of the first high-profile free agents to sign last offseason, agreeing to a three-year, $60 million contract with Philadelphia. Anytime a player is making eight figures a season, they are going to receive extra scrutiny. Given the fact Santana was the first relatively big signing since the early 2010s, the pressure on him was even greater.
In a vacuum, signing Santana was not bad. He was worth three wins above replacement in 2016 and 2017 for the Indians. From 2011 to 2017, he had a .249/.363/.445 line and 120 OPS+. Philadelphia was looking to boost their offense, and he would do just that.
The issues really started to build up after Santana signed. The most immediate impact was forcing Rhys Hoskins to spend almost the entire season in left field despite being a career first baseman. This experiment had a Hindenburg level of failure as he finished the year with the worst defensive wins above replacement total (-3.6) and third-worst defensive runs saved total (-24) of all players.
Things only got worse for Santana after a slow start to the season. He had a .153/.295/.276 line through April, only adding fuel to the fire for those looking to rip into him. Santana performed significantly better from May on, but that poor start kept his overall numbers down all season long.
Santana drew the most criticism for one number and one number only: batting average. Throughout the year, and even after the season ended, Santana was always scrutinized for it:
After #phillies 9-3 loss to #Padres Gabe Kapler when asked about maybe moving Carlos Santana in lineup. In Kapler fashion “Carlos Santana has had a very good year”. What! He’s hitting .215. I don’t care about OBP. At 20M a year he’s paid to drive in runs. @SportsRadioWIP
— Howard Eskin (@howardeskin) August 12, 2018
Very classy Carlos! That being said I am tired of hearing how he was a "great player" last season for the Phils, he hit .229, I do not care how many times he walks if you are paid $20 mil a season .229 is not great! Save the word "great" for someone that at least hits .250 🤣
— John DeStefano (@jd9teen) December 5, 2018
Santana drew criticism for not being the player he never really was. In eight seasons with the Indians, he had a career average of .249 and never hit .260 in a full season. It didn’t matter that Santana had the fourth-highest walk rate among qualifiers in the league, had an OPS still above the league-average, or hit the second-most home runs and drove in the second-most runs on the team. The fact that he was hitting under .230 proves he is a terrible player.
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Ultimately, Santana became a victim of circumstance. It wasn’t his fault that Hoskins had to play left field, the team made that decision as soon as they signed Santana. While he did have a down year compared to his career average, he still provided some offensive value to a team which had far larger issues than him.
In a season plagued by frustration, it was far easier to criticize Santana for one number.
That way there was no need to dive into the bigger issues surrounding his signing and the team as a whole. Fans tired of hearing about on-base percentage, launch angle, and exit velocity fell back on the one flawed number to base their opinion on. Santana wasn’t a bad player; just a bad signing. This whole issue goes away if the National League had a designated hitter.
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Regardless, Santana’s time as a Phillie is over and Hoskins is back at first base. The Phils were able to find another team where Santana will be a better fit. Now Howard Eskin and Angelo Cataldi will have to find another baseless argument to criticize the team for.