First baseman Carlos Santana became the first of the off-season’s big-name free agents to find a new home, agreeing Friday to a $60 million, three-year contract with the Philadelphia Phillies, according to two people familiar with the deal. Santana became the first to reach a deal among the nine free agents who last month rejected $17.4 million qualifying offers from their former teams.
The 31-year-old Santana hit 23 home runs with 79 RBIs for Cleveland, where he spent all eight of his big league seasons. He started as a catcher in 2010 and shifted to first base in 2015.
Santana, who has a .249 career batting average and .445 slugging percentage, is expected to play first base in Philadelphia. Slugger Rhys Hoskins would stay in left field, giving the Phillies a surplus of outfielders to use as trade bait for starting pitching.
Philadelphia also traded shortstop Freddy Galvis to San Diego for minor league pitcher Enyel De Los Santos, and finalized two-year deals with relievers Tommy Hunter ($18 million) and Pat Neshek ($16.5 million).
Galvis was a finalist for a Gold Glove the past two seasons and hit a career-best 20 homers in 2016. He was the longest-tenured Phillies player. The 28-year-old switch hitter averaged 13 homers, 59 RBIs and 14 steals along with a .253 average over the past three years.
Philadelphia is looking to boost its offense after finishing last in the NL East at 66-96. Its top slugger last year was third baseman Maikel Franco, who had 24 home runs.
The switch-hitting Santana gives the team a disciplined power hitter to protect Hoskins. He averaged 98 walks in seven full seasons and has a .365 career on-base percentage. Maikel Franco led the Phillies with 24 homers last season and Hoskins hit 18 in only 50 games.
Santana’s departure is a big loss for Cleveland, which led the AL with 102 wins during the regular season but lost to the New York Yankees in a Division Series.
