Cleveland Indians: Carlos Santana ranked high among free agent hitters

Cleveland Indians fans are awaiting free agency news about Carlos Santana, who stands out as one of the best available free agents this offseason.

Cleveland Indians fans are thankful that Carlos Santana has not signed elsewhere, but his stock remains high in this year’s free agent market.

Call to the Pen ranked the best available free agent hitters this offseason, and Santana came in at No. 4 overall.

From the article:

"Santana will be wanted back strong by his own team, but don’t be surprised if he gets into a bidding war more than what the predictions say he’ll make due to his skills being underrated by much of the media."

Even if the media doesn’t build up Santana as a top free agent, Indians fans know how great he can be. Being a Gold Glove finalist at first base only makes Santana’s stock rise for the 2018 season.

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He has been the model of consistency throughout his entire career, which makes him so valuable for an Indians team looking to repeat its recent success.

Honestly, an Indians team without Carlos Santana would just feel weird at this point.

Santana joins Jay Bruce and Austin Jackson, both of whom appear on Call to the Pen’s list, as free agent hitters from the 2017 Indians. It is possible Jackson or Bruce do return, but Santana should be the team’s top priority right now.

A move could come soon or it may take some time, as was the case last year with Edwin Encarnacion. Teams want to take some time to survey the market and search for the best possible deals.

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This will surely lead to continued stress until a decision is made by Santana, but fans should know there is still a great chance he re-signs with this Indians team. Ownership has shown a commitment to spend in order to win a championship, and falling short of that goal once again in 2017 should only increase the urgency.