Wondering how Danny Santana can copy career year with Texas Rangers? He has an answer
Danny Santana came to Texas Rangers spring training last year as an afterthought and left it as a member of the Nashville Sounds.
He was at Triple A for about two weeks before being summoned to the Rangers’ roster in mid-April. He never left.
His career year has catapulted him into an everyday player in 2020, a key cog, the probable center fielder rather than a super utility player.
It might seem like too much too soon. It would seem that the Rangers might we weary of Santana being a one-year wonder, considering how badly he obliterated his previous career highs only a season after barely appearing in the major leagues.
But it wasn’t too much too soon for Santana, who was recognized on Friday night as the Rangers Player of the Year for 2019. That kind of season was a long time coming.
“For me, it was one of the best moments,” Santana said. “I took advantage of the opportunity. It was a moment I’ve been waiting for for years.”
To jump-start those dead baseball minds, Santana swatted 28 home runs, batted .283 and posted a .857 OPS. He did so at seven positions, all except pitcher and catcher.
He won’t need as many gloves in 2020 if all goes according to plan.
The trade of Delino DeShields in the Corey Kluber deal opened center field for Santana, who had played there the most in 2017 and 2018 while in the Atlanta Braves organization. He came up as a shortstop with the Minnesota Twins and was one of the American League’s top rookies in 2014.
His performance took a steady nose dive, leaving him to signing a minor-league deal with a spring invite last off-season. But he came to camp open to the coaching and started driving the ball rather than simply just trying to make contact.
His first Rangers hit was a pinch-hit triple on April 15 that helped beat the Oakland A’s. With Joey Gallo and Hunter Pence dealing with injuries over the summer, Santana emerged as the Rangers’ best player.
The question becomes: How does he repeat it?
A repeat might be asking too much. Then again, he could be looking at 100 more at-bats as a full-time player.
Maybe there’s more in him.
“Keep working,” Santana said. “I believe it’s a new season and I have to go out again and achieve what I did. It’s been something I want to do at this level and be consistent.”
Mike Minor was selected as Pitcher or the Year, Nick Solak as Rookie of the Year, Willie Calhoun as the Richard Durrett Hardest Working Man, and Shin-Soo Choo as the Good Guy.
The awards were voted on by members of the DFW chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America and other media who follow the club every day.
