Carlos Santana is already on the move again.
Santana was traded to Seattle with J.P. Crawford 10 days ago for Jean Segura, Juan Nicasio and James Pazos. On Thursday, at the conclusion of the winter meetings in Las Vegas, Santana was dealt from the Mariners to the Indians in exchange for Edwin Encarnacion and a compensatory Round B draft pick.
Santana returns to Cleveland, where he spent his first eight seasons before signing with the Phillies. Santana has two years and $35 million remaining on the three-year, $60 million contract he received from the Phillies last offseason.
So far this offseason, the Phillies have swapped out Santana and Crawford for Andrew McCutchen and Segura. Those moves alone project to add three to five wins to the 2019 Phillies' total, though keep in mind they overachieved and outperformed their run expectancy to reach 80 victories this past season.
While Segura is very good and McCutchen is still a solid player at 32, the Phillies still need to add at least one high-end piece to realistically push for 90-plus wins this season.
One thing looks clear, though: If the Phillies want to add a high-end starting pitcher, it has to come through the trade market. With J.A. Happ headed back to the Yankees, six of the top seven starting pitchers in this year's free-agent class are off the board. Dallas Keuchel is the lone exception.
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