The Phillies have agreed to terms with free agent first baseman Carlos Santana, Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reports.For his career, he owns an OPS+ of 121 with 174 home runs in 1,116 games. This addition of course means the switch-hitting Santana will take over as the Phillies' primary first baseman in 2018. That means Rhys Hoskins will likely take over left field duties on a permanent basis.
Santana, 31, had spent all eight seasons of his big-league career with the Indians. Last season, he batted .259/.363/.455 (112 OPS+) with 23 home runs and 37 doubles in 154 games with Cleveland. The Phillies' outfield mix now includes Hoskins, Aaron Altherr, Odubel Herrera, and Nick Williams. So a trade of one of those outfielders may be in the offing.The Santana addition comes soon after the Phillies traded shortstop Freddy Galvis to the Padres, so it's been an active Friday in Philly. The end of Santana's run in Cleveland means the Indians are likely in search of another bat. Shifting Michael Brantley to first has been floated, and of course DH Edwin Encarnacion can man first, as well. As such, the Indians can look to add a bat to the outfield, first base, or DH, which gives them some flexibility in their forthcoming search.
Santana's reported deal is the largest of the 2017-18 offseason in terms of total value, but that won't last for long with names like J.D. Martinez, Yu Darvish, Eric Hosmer, and Lorenzo Cain still on the market.
Dan Perry/CBS Sports
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