Cleveland Indians Top 25 in 2016: No. 6, Carlos Santana

Our look at the Top 25 Cleveland Indians in 2016 continues with a look at Carlos Santana, who was a major part of the team’s success all season.

While certain players pass through Cleveland for a year or two, others become staples of the Cleveland Indians for a generation of fans. Carlos Santana is part of the latter group.

Santana has been in Cleveland since 2010, and has played in at least 143 games in every season since 2011. But 2016 was a career year for the man no one in Cleveland confuses with the musician of the same name.

Among his eligible seasons, so since 2011, 2016 saw Santana reach new career-highs in several categories. His 34 home runs, 87 RBI, .865 OPS, 99 strikeouts and 151 hits were all new bests for Santana, with the home run/strikeout ratio arguably being the most impressive mark. His 158 games played were also not only a career-high, but tied him with Francisco Lindor for the most games played by an Indians player in 2016.

He played well enough for the Indians to pick up his $12 million option for 2017, which is a well-deserved figure for all his hard work since 2010.

Santana did not have a spectacular postseason, but he played well enough to make it clear the Indians would be foolish to not pick up his option. With the return of Mike Napoli still in question, Santana provides a durable, switch-hitting option available at 1B/DH.

Offering Santana an extension during the season may be a discussion that comes up if he has another great year, but it is going to be hard to keep him if his value rises into the $12-15 million range per year. Putting up similar numbers with a $12 million salary could lead him to make that his asking price in free agency. And if the Indians do tie up money in a multi-year deal with either Mike Napoli or Edwin Encarnacion, it would make it that much harder to pay Santana what he could be asking for.

But for now, fans should be happy Santana is continuing his career in Cleveland. He gives the Indians some much-needed power in the lineup, while he also has some of the best plate discipline on the entire roster.

He has come a long way from being a piece in the trade that sent Casey Blake to Los Angeles.