Have you ever wondered where the Indians might be if Santana’s walks were base hits? If he could beat the shift a bit more and get guys into scoring or home more often? If he would just make that small adjustment, that we have all seen glimpses of over the last few years and commit to it? I am not saying that the fate of a season comes down to a single player, but let us be honest. In all the times fans have cringed at Carlos Santana swinging big with men in scoring it only hurts more to know how great of an eye he has. The power is there, he is a smart base runner and all that seems to be missing is synchronizing the swing to the eye. Changing that alone could put an entirely new product on the field and give the Indians a completely new way to look at their future.
Over the years, Santana has pretty much done the same thing every season. When July shows up, so does his bat; with a career average of .268 in July for the past five seasons, it seems like everything begins to click for him. It’s safe to wonder if it could be a routine he’s fallen into just as much as it could be him showing off with the deadline not far in the future. The best way to explain it is that the month of July is a “sample sized contract year” for him, where he can be locked in to prove his worth not just for his own team but to other teams who might be interested. If his name stays out of any talks, Santana will ride the heat into the end of the season enough to help his team finish well but not enough to push the limit. Personally, I feel that also needs to be a change this season, and with a chance that this could be his actual contract year (the Indians have a $12M option for 2017), I expect the heat to be turned up sooner and hotter than previous years.
This year needs to be different. If the Indians want to have the best chance at the playoffs they need to either commit to getting rid of him early or commit to him and hold him to a higher standard that the past. The adjustments at the plate NEED to be made in order for anything to work, where he can turn his ground outs into gappers and pop flies into off-the-wall doubles. It can be done, and we have seen him do it before, but after a time it almost seems like there is a bit of laziness and that is when it begins to break down. In 2016, that cannot happen. He is a fan favorite for many people, but he needs to be more than just a lovable the player to want to see him in the game.
His potential for being the power bat we have all dreamed of is realistic, but it does not seem like something he can just fall into, he needs to want it. Santana can be a solid backbone, which is what the Indians are lacking more and more of as the years go on. He is someone who can step up and take charge of things if he wants to do it, and with all the angst and nervous excitement building already around the Indians, it would be the perfect time for him to come out of spring training with a no mercy kind of attitude on the field. A teddy bear with a score to settle.
That is the path we all hope for but there is also the trade route. If he is not traded this off-season, I do not believe they are going to act on moving him at all. Being his last season before the team option comes up, there is not a point in getting rid of him during the season (of course, unless the right deal is struck). We all can assume, though with baseball you never really know, that even if he has a slow start, it will pick up as it has before and you cannot just give that bat away. That is why they either have to do it now, or not at all. His value is high even though there are plenty who will disagree and I have no doubt that his name will come up with teams who can see his bat is more powerful than he has made it look. Carlos can be a fit to many batting orders, and even a solid first baseman or at the very least a backup catcher/DH. Of course, if letting him go is the way the Indians choose, then the biggest question is what the team would get in return for him. Will they get a prospect from triple A? Or an arm for the bullpen? Would it be someone who can help them get the wins they need right now? This decision can spell out that how serious the franchise takes this window of opportunity for a World Series title.
Carlos Santana is someone who is both fun and frustrating to watch on the field. He holds a lot of power towards what this season could look like, and the choice to trust if he can figure out that power or not is up to the Indians. I am torn on what they should do, but I want to believe that Carlos has the determination to finish his contract strong, with a World Series title at the end.
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