Free-agent first baseman Carlos Santana isn’t short of suitors as Major League Baseball’s offseason descends toward winter.
As first reported by Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports, there are around 10 teams in the running for the 31-year-old including the New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Red Sox.
The Los Angeles Angels, Seattle Mariners and the Cleveland Indians are also believed to be interested, per Heyman.
Santana has spent the first eight years of his MLB career with the Indians and has provided solid, yet sometimes inconsistent power.
He’s had three seasons of 27 home runs or more, including a 34 home-run campaign in 2016 when the Indians won their first American League pennant since 1997. But he had just 23 in 2017 even with the addition of Edwin Encarnacion to add some protection within the lineup.
But he is consistent when it comes to getting on base, possessing an OBP of .350 or better in each of his seven full MLB seasons.
With Mitch Moreland on his way out, the Red Sox could see Santana as a serious upgrade at the position.
The Mets and Phillies’ interest is a bit more puzzling.
Philadelphia has the young Rhys Hoskins, who is more of a natural first baseman despite playing a majority of the games during his rookie season in left field. He is attempting to build off an impressive 2017 in which he smacked 18 home runs in just 50 games.
The Mets are in the same boat considering Dominic Smith, one of their top prospects who made his MLB debut last season, is a first baseman. A .198 batting though in 49 games could have New York looking for another option in case Smith has to tweak his game in the minors for a little while longer.
