CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) - Carlos Santana’s influence on the Philadelphia Phillies goes beyond stats.
The team agreed to a $60 million, three-year deal with the slugger in December to bolster the lineup and provide leadership in the clubhouse. Santana knows what it takes to be a winner and has been mentoring his new teammates in spring training.
“I try to help them mentally,” Santana said. “The younger players are asking me a lot of questions. Every player is different but I try to help them be patient, pick the right pitch to hit. I tell them my approach. I think in the future, you’ll see it from them.”
Many of the younger players already gravitate toward Santana.
“Carlos’s influence has spread throughout this clubhouse but it’s also spread to the coaches’ room,” new manager Gabe Kapler said. “We can depend on him as a leader to send messages to our players, especially with our Spanish-speakers.”
Santana spent his first eight seasons in Cleveland. He batted .259 with 23 home runs, 79 RBIs and a .363 on-base percentage last year.
The switch-hitting first baseman has batted .249 with a .365 on-base percentage and has averaged 24 homers, 81 RBIs and 98 walks in his big league career. His patience at the plate was an attractive quality for Philadelphia. His versatility is also a nice fit. Santana has batted leadoff 122 times in his career while mainly hitting fourth or fifth in the lineup. He hit second in Philadelphia’s final spring-training game Tuesday and is likely to start the season in the two-hole.
“He can hit anywhere and we can move him around,” Kapler said. “When you have a guy right in the middle of the lineup grinding down the opposing pitcher, you get exhausted. An exhausted starting pitcher or even an exhausted reliever is a really good thing for the Phillies.”
Santana said he doesn’t care where he bats.
“I just want to be in the lineup every day and I’ll do whatever they want,” he said. “I love to play, it’s my passion, my job and I try to enjoy it.”
Santana’s locker in spring training was next to that of Maikel Franco, a player who can benefit from a more selective approach. Franco has only 108 walks in 1,646 plate appearances and had a .281 on-base percentage in 2017.
“I have Carlos by my side, and I think that’s going to help me a lot,” he said.
Santana sees similarities between the Phillies and his former team. The Indians went from 68 wins in 2012 to 92 victories and a postseason berth in Terry Francona’s first year as manager in 2013. They lost to the Cubs in the World Series in seven games in 2016 and won 102 games last year only to lose in the Division Series.
“I remember when Tito came to the Indians and they had a lot of young players and they added a couple players and had a special group,” Santana said. “It’s the same thing here. We have a lot of young talent and couple veteran players who can help.”
The latest addition was ace Jake Arrieta, the 2015 NL Cy Young Award winner who beat Santana and the Indians twice in the World Series two years ago.
“Inside the clubhouse here, we believe,” Santana said. “In Cleveland, we played hard every day and if we lost, we came back stronger the next day. I see a lot of energy here. Everybody is happy. Everybody works hard.”
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