Danny Santana


Daniel Ernesto Santana is a Dominican professional baseball infielder and outfielder for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball. He has played in MLB for the Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves.

Career

Minnesota Twins

The Minnesota Twins signed Santana as an undrafted free agent in December 2007. In November 2012, the Twins added him to the 40-man roster in order to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.
Santana was called up to the major leagues for the first time on May 2, 2014. After a solid start to his career, Santana was placed on the 15-day disabled list on June 27. He spent the season splitting time between center field and shortstop, and he accumulated a.319 batting average, 7 home runs, 20 stolen bases in 101 games, leading all rookies. He finished seventh in American League Rookie of the Year Award voting. Additionally, Santana's rookie year batting average of.319 is a Twins franchise record.
Santana began the 2015 season as the Twins' shortstop. He regressed throughout the season, being demoted to the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings. He finished the major league season hitting just.215 with no home runs. Santana continued to see his playing time decrease in 2016 due to other players on the team performing better. Despite this, Santana continued to see playing time at shortstop, but an injury cost him half the season. He was designated for assignment on May 5, 2017.

Atlanta Braves

On May 8, 2017, Santana was traded to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for Kevin Chapman. He elected free agency on December 1, 2017, but was resigned to a minor league deal later that month. Santana was assigned to the Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers to begin the 2018 season, and was called up to Atlanta on June 22. He was designated for assignment on July 19, and was outrighted on July 22. He elected free agency after the season.

Texas Rangers

On January 9, 2019, Santana signed a minor league contract, which included an invitation to major league spring training, with the Texas Rangers. He was assigned to the Triple-A Nashville Sounds to open the 2019 season. His contract was purchased on April 13, and he was added to the major league roster.