Milwaukee Brewers: Domingo Santana called up

Now that it is September 1st, Major League clubs can now expand their 25-man rosters to 40 players. The Milwaukee Brewers have called up sluggish slugger Domingo Santana.

Robert Murray of the Athletic was first to report that Domingo Santana is indeed back with the big league club.  After the Milwaukee Brewers acquired Curtis Granderson, they’ve also brought back one of their best hitters from 2017.

What is Santana’s role?

That’s a good question. The starting outfield is already covered with Christian Yelich, Lorenzo Cain, and Ryan Braun. On occasion, you could see Eric Thames as well. Along with Hernan Perez.  Oh and let’s not forget Granderson. The Milwaukee  Brewers have a lot of outfielders, but manager Craig Counsell has done well when it comes to juggling a lineup and finding at-bats for everyone.

Santana’s main role will probably be off the bench. A 26-year-old slugger who is coming off a 30-homer season in 2017 is not a bad bench option.

Will he be effective?

The answer to that question is “wait and see” as of right now. Before being optioned to Triple-A, Santana was struggling hard at the Major League level. He appeared to lose his power stroke.

In 62 games and 189 at-bats, Santana hit only three home runs and drove in 17. His slash line of .249/.313/.354 was enough for the MIlwaukee Brewers to option him and give him a chance to figure things out in Colorado Springs

How did Santana do at Triple-A?

After being sent down Santana found new life at Colorado Springs. He took a while to find his power down there as well, but his line of .283/.401/.487 with eight home-runs and 35 RBIs showed much improvement. So much, that he is back with the Milwaukee Brewers and is getting the chance to prove himself once again during the most crucial time of the year.

If Santana can come up and put together solid at-bats and maybe a few dingers, he could get back in the everyday lineup as soon as 2019. He may very well become trade bait in the off-season. Either way, him being called up will help this team in the present.