Seattle Mariners President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto announced today the Mariners have acquired INF Carlos Santana and cash considerations from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for RHP Wyatt Mills and Minor League RHP William Fleming.
The Mariners Major League, 40-man, roster remains at 39 players.
Santana, 36, has appeared in 52 games with the Kansas City Royals this season. During the month of June, he is batting, .357 (20×56) with 8 runs scored, 5 doubles, 2 home runs, 11 RBI, and 13 walks, while getting on base at a .478 clip and slugging .554 (1.032 OPS). Overall this season, he is slashing .216/.349/.341 with 4 home runs and 21 RBI, while appearing defensively at first base (42 G) and designated hitter (10 G).
Santana was previously acquired by Seattle along with J.P. Crawford from Philadelphia in exchange for Jean Segura (inf), Juan Nicasio (rhp) and James Pazos (lhp) on Dec. 3, 2018, but he did not appear in a game for the Mariners. He was traded by Seattle 10 days later on Dec. 13, 2018 as part of a 3-team deal with Cleveland and Tampa Bay.
A native of the Dominican Republic, Santana was originally signed as an amateur free agent by the Los Angeles Dodgers in August of 2004 before being traded to Cleveland in July of 2008. In 1,705 Major League games with the Guardians (2010–17, 2019–20) and Phillies (2018) and Royals (2021–22), Santana has batted .244 (1484×6074) with 326 doubles, 263 home runs, 886 RBI and 1186 walks.
Mills, 27, appeared in 8 games for the Mariners in the 2022 season with a 4.15 ERA (4 ER, 8.2 IP). In 6 games with Triple-A Tacoma this season, he is 1–0 with a 1.83 ERA (4 ER, 19.2 IP). The 6-foot-4, 214-pound right-hander made his Major League debut with the Mariners on May 1, 2021 vs. Los Angeles-AL. Overall, he appeared in 19 career games with the Mariners, going 0–0 with a 7.59 ERA (18 ER, 21.1 IP) with 10 walks and 17 strikeouts.
Mills was originally selected by the Mariners in the 3rd round of the 2017 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of Gonzaga University. He has appeared in parts of 5 minor league seasons in the Mariners organization (2017–19, 2021–22), going 15–8 with a 3.40 ERA (62 ER, 164.0 IP) with 48 walks and 209 strikeouts in 132 minor league games (1 start).
Fleming, 23, has pitched this season with Low-A Modesto in the Cal League, making 14 starts and compiling a 6–6 mark with a 4.92 ERA. In 67.2 innings pitched, he’s allowed 40 runs (37 ER) on 64 hits while walking 24 and striking out 59. Fleming was the Mariners 11th round selection in the 2021 MLB First Year Player draft out of Wake Forest University. After signing, he began his pro career with the Mariners Arizona League club, appearing in 2 games in relief (1–1, 6.00 ERA, allowing 2 ER in 3.0 IP) before being promoted to Modesto, where he pitched in 7 games (2 starts) and posted a 3–0 mark with a 2.84 ERA (19.0 IP, 6 ER).