Cleveland Indians: A farewell to Carlos Santana

Carlos Santana has signed with the Philadelphia Phillies after eight years with the Cleveland Indians, adding to the frustrating start to the offseason.

Saying goodbye is the worst.

Cleveland Indians fans were hopeful the team would find a way to bring back Carlos Santana in 2018, but it became clear that it would be tough to match a deal that was out of the team’s price range.

That deal came today, offered up by the Philadelphia Phillies.

The deal matches what the Indians gave Edwin Encarnacion a year ago, perhaps signaling that Santana would not be paid as well when it came to this season.

This is interesting because the Indians may now try to keep Jay Bruce, but if he gets a similar deal, fans will be wondering why the money wasn’t offered to Santana, considering the Indians were able to match offers given to him.

Fans may be wondering just what exactly the plan is, but it is hard to believe the front office doesn’t have something in mind. Or so I hope.

For now we can all take a second to remember how much fun it was to watch Santana in Cleveland. From his debut in 2010 to the end of the 2017 ALDS, Santana was one of the most consistent and reliable players on the Indians.

He could play anywhere on the field and bat anywhere in the lineup, and his career slash line of .249/.365/.445 shows he is not a superstar, but still a player that is valuable to have on a roster.

Santana has never been an All-Star, but he did appear in at least 152 games in six of his seven full seasons with the Indians. He sure wouldn’t have been out there so often if he wasn’t solid, and he should arguably have been an All-Star during his time here. At least once.

The important thing right now is not to panic. It is easy to see Santana, Bryan Shaw and Joe Smith leave and immediately prepare for doom in 2018, but hopefully the front office has some additions in mind after these subtractions. Doing it in this order is scary for fans who are seeing key players leave on a daily basis, but a top team like the Indians should be able to make it work and bring in some talent.

Next: Jason Kipnis linked to the New York Mets

All I know is that it will be incredibly weird to see Santana in a Phillies uniform, but I’m happy that he is getting paid his market value after so many years of great play in Cleveland. It’s just a shame he couldn’t earn that paycheck here.