CLEVELAND, Ohio — Free agent outfielder Domingo Santana has agreed to a $1.5 million one-year contract with the Cleveland Indians that includes a $5 million club option for a second year. The team confirmed a report early Friday by MLB Network insider Ken Rosenthall that the deal was complete.
According to Rosenthal, Santana’s deal includes $500K in roster bonuses for 2020 and a $250K buyout for 2021. Roster bonuses could bump the contract to a total of $7.5M over two years. Santana becomes the Tribe’s second free-agent signee of the winter after Cesar Hernandez agreed to a $6.25M one-year contract in December.
Santana, who arrived earlier this week at the team’s training facility in Goodyear, Arizona, needed only to pass his physical on Wednesday before the deal became official. The 27-year-old Domincan righty hit .253 with 21 home runs and 69 RBI and a .770 OPS in 121 games for Seattle last season. His 30 RBI in March/April were the most in the American League and equaled a Mariners club record set by Ken Griffey, Jr. in 1997.
He will wear jersey No. 24 for the Indians, according to Mandy Bell of MLB.com.
Santana joins a crowded outfield mix that has swollen to 10 players, including Franmil Reyes, whom the Indians acquired at the July trade deadline last year in the Trevor Bauer deal. Reyes and Santana project similarly as hulking 6-foot-5 corner outfield power hitters with limited defensive range. Santana led all American League outfielders last season with 12 errors while splitting time between left and right field for the Mariners.
Santana struck out 164 times in 121 games last year. Kansas City’s Jorge Soler and Rougned Odor of Texas led the AL with 178 strikeouts each. He’s played in the big leagues with Houston, Milwaukee and Seattle. His best year to date came in 2017 with the Brewers when he hit .278 with 30 homers and 85 RBI. He posted an .875 OPS, while appearing in 144 games in right field.
In a corresponding move, Cleveland designated utility infielder Andrew Velazquez for assignment. Velazquez joined the Indians in July from Tampa Bay in exchange for international bonus pool allotments. The 25-year-old Bronx native appeared in five games for the Tribe, collecting a double in 11 at-bats with a steal, a walk and a run scored.
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