Replacing Santana in Cleveland

Just days after the Indians lost power-hitting 1st baseman Carlos Santana to the Phillies, the Tribe signed Yonder Alonso to take his spot. The players had comparable 2017 numbers -- the difference is that it was the first year the Miami product played at that level, while Santana has been a model of consistency in terms of power and on base percentage for seven years. Alonso is also a year younger.
Oh, one big difference that the smaller-market Indians will benefit from: Alonso's two-year, $16 million deal in Cleveland is roughly one-quarter the cost of Santana's Philadelphia contract. That will give GM Mike Chernoff more money to either make up for the loss of reliever Bryan Shaw or set aside budget space for rising stars such as Jose Ramirez and Francisco Lindor.
We'll see over the next year or two if this was smart economics or the case of a player having a career year at the most economically opportune moment.
(This image of Yonder Alonso is from an A's/Yankees game in April 2016)

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