KC Royals: Five reasons why signing Carlos Santana was a good move

The KC Royals agreed on a two-year deal with first baseman Carlos Santana.

Dayton Moore has been one of the more active general managers so far, making three signings for the Kansas City Royals so far. The latest was Carlos Santana, known for his 11-year stint spent in Cleveland, who agreed on a two-year deal worth $17 million.

The move is a solid one by Moore, but some fans are worried about Santana’s poor stats from this past season (he hit just .199 in 255 plate appearances. He’s also turning 35 in April and definitely nearing the end of his career. Can the Royals get much out of him these final two years?

I like this signing and I’ll explain why. Here are five reasons why bringing Santana to Kansas City was a good move.

He draws walks

Something the Royals have struggled with is drawing walks and that’s something that Carlos Santana has excelled at throughout the course of his career. In four of the last seven seasons, Santana has walked over 100 times. Even in the shortened 2020 season, he was able to get on base via the walk 47 times, which was second in the league behind Bryce Harper who had 49 walks.

This is hopefully going to help the Royals offense get on base more, as Santana himself will draw walks and will mentor his younger teammates in the best way to do so as well. If the Royals can walk more, their offense can get on base more often and that opens up a world of opportunities for a young offense.