CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Indians had plenty of notable departures from the organization following the 2018 season, but through one deal, they acquired someone very familiar with the franchise, infielder Carlos Santana.
One year after leaving Cleveland in free agency, Santana was traded twice during the offseason, and in the second deal, returned to the Indians, with whom he played his entire career in Major League Baseball before signing with the Philadelphia Phillies last offseason.
“Happy, happy to come back to my sweet home,” Santana told WKYC at Goodyear Ballpark in Goodyear, Arizona earlier this week. “It’s so exciting. I’ll be excited when the season starts, and I’m really happy to be back.
“I could not believe it. Me and my family, they were happy. I’m just excited that Cleveland would bring me back.”
At first, Santana was caught off-guard by the deal, but it did not take him long to realize the opportunity he was given.
“I was surprised,” Santana said. “Now, it’s exciting. I’m happy and thankful for the organization for bringing me back.”
With the Indians in 2016, Santana hit .259 with 151 hits in 582 at-bats with 89 runs scored, 87 RBI, 31 doubles, three triples and 34 home runs with 99 walks against 99 strikeouts. Additionally, Santana had .366 on-base and .498 slugging percentages.
During the 2017 season, Santana hit .259 with 23 home runs, 37 doubles, 79 runs batted in, another 90 scored and 148 hits over 154 games. Additionally, Santana struck out 94 times, but worked his way to 88 walks.
In his eight years with the Indians, Santana had a .249 batting average with 995 hits in 3,994 at-bats over 1,116 regular-season games. He belted 236 doubles, 13 triples and 174 home runs, drove in 587 runs, scored another 573 and drew 726 walks against 812 strikeouts.
In 21 playoff games with the Indians, Santana had two doubles, four home runs, eight RBI, eight runs scored and 11 walks against 16 strikeouts.
“I love the teammates, the fans, everybody,” Santana said with a smile. “Everybody is great, and I see everybody in the clubhouse all together. With the fans, they support me and they’re happy I came back to their home.
“In the clubhouse, there’s a lot of new players, but nothing’s changed. Nothing’s changed. Nothing is different. Everything is fine, and we’ll see.”
Even after the departures of catcher Yan Gomes (Washington Nationals), DH Edwin Encarnacion (Seattle Mariners), infielders Yonder Alonso (Chicago White Sox) and Yandy Diaz (Tampa Bay Rays) in trades, as well as outfielder Michael Brantley (Houston) and pitchers Cody Allen (L.A. Angels) and Andrew Miller (St. Louis Cardinals) in free agency, Santana believes in the talent in the locker room and sees a chance for postseason success.
“We lost Cody Allen, Miller and Michael Brantley, but we have very good talent, and we’re fighting,” Santana said. “We’re fighting to win the division and in the playoffs and we’ll try to make it to the World Series again.”