© Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY SportsFormer Texas Rangers second baseman Danny Santana (38) grounds out in the first inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Tempe Diablo Stadium.
Veteran infielder/outfielder Danny Santana has been working out for teams over the past week and is expected to sign a deal in the coming days, reports MLB Network's Jon Heyman (via Twitter). Santana had originally planned to host an open showcase for interested clubs on Thursday, per Heyman, but he's had enough interest after displaying his health in recent one-on-one workouts that he's canceled that audition and expects to choose an offer in the near future.
The Athletic's Dan Hayes tweets that the Twins are among the clubs with interest, although their preference would be on a minor-league deal. It's at least possible that Santana, who played in just 15 games last year before undergoing elbow surgery, could command a big-league deal elsewhere. But as an original product of the Twins system, a reunion with his first organization could hold some appeal.
Wherever Santana signs, he'll give his next club a versatile bench option who has some power, some speed and experience both in the outfield and the infield. The 30-year-old switch-hitter managed just a .145/.238/.278 output in 63 trips to the plate while playing through that elbow injury last year, but as recently as 2019 he gave the Rangers a .283/.324/.534 slash with 28 homers in 511 plate appearances. The composition of the ball in 2019 has been widely questioned, and that might have played a role in Santana's out-of-the-blue power spike; he did homer seven times in 430 plate appearances as a rookie with the 2014 Twins but had never reached double-digit homers otherwise in a big-league season.
On the whole, Santana is a career .260/.299/.418 batter with 42 homers, 87 doubles, 22 triples and a 71-for-95 showing in stolen base attempts. Santana has played all four infield positions and all three outfield slots in his MLB career, with the bulk of his time coming at shortstop (918 innings) and in center field (1143 innings). Assuming he's healthy, Santana would make a nice late addition to any club's bench or perhaps even as a competitor for a larger role on a club whose starting nine is not yet fully defined.
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