KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – The Royals traded slugger Carlos Santana and nearly $4.3 million to the Seattle Mariners for right-handers Wyatt Mills and William Fleming on Monday, paving the way for Kansas City to bring forward the promising Vinnie Pasquantino.
The Royals chose Mills, a 27-year veteran, for Triple-A Omaha, while designating righthander Ronald Bolaños for the assignment. Fleming was assigned to Class-A Quad Cities.
Kansas City agreed to send $4,269,231 to Seattle, leaving the Mariners to pay only $1.5 million of the rest of Santana’s salary in the second year of a $17.5 million two-year contract.
After hitting 19 home runs in 158 games for Kansas City last season and giving some experienced leadership to a team going through a long and difficult rebuilding, the 36-year-old first baseman hits just .216 this season with four home runs in 52 games. this season .
This is Santana’s second time at Seattle, although the first stint lasted only 10 days. He was acquired along with JP Crawford of Philadelphia for infielder Jean Segura, right-hander Juan Nicasio and left-hander James Pazos on December 3, 2018; the Mariners then traded him away as part of a three-team deal with Cleveland and Tampa Bay.
This time it should be different, as the 36-year old gives Seattle a handy medley and a first base option with leading batter Ty France on the injured list with an elbow injury. Santana was the first baseman for the Royals and was better at the plate last month with a batting average of .357 and an OPS of 1.032 in June. Seattle will also receive $4,269,231 from Kansas City to offset Santana’s remaining contract, with $1.5 million paid by the Mariners.
With the Royals last in the AL Central at 26-45 en route to Monday night’s game against Texas, and Santana nearing the end of his contract, it made sense for Kansas City to clear the way for Pasquantino to advance to his big league. to start a career.
The 24-year-old was selected from Old Dominion in the 11th round of the 2019 freshman, and has been one of the most overlooked prospects for the Royals until recent seasons. He hit .280 with 18 home runs in Omaha, and was among the Triple-A leaders in extra-base hits, runs, homers and slugging percentage.
The fact that they got some promising pitchers in Mills and Fleming was a bonus.
Mills had a 4.15 ERA in eight games for Seattle this season and also went 1-0 with an 1.83 ERA in 19 2/3 innings for Triple-A Tacoma. Fleming was selected in the 11th round as last year’s freshman from Wake Forest and was 6-6 with a 4.92 ERA in 14 starts for Class-A Modesto this season.
Bolaños had a 4.42 ERA in eight games for Kansas City this season.
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AP Sports Writer Tim Booth in Seattle contributed.
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