Domingo Alberto Santana (born August 5, 1992) is a Dominican

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

for the

Tokyo Yakult Swallows The Tokyo Yakult Swallows () are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Yom ...

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB). He has played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

, and

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

Career

Philadelphia Phillies

Santana signed as an international

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

with the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

in March 2009, receiving a $330,000

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

. He made his professional debut with the

GCL Phillies The Florida Complex League Phillies are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Phillies. The team plays ...

, slashing .288/.388/.508 in 37 games. The next year, he split the season between the Low-A

Williamsport Crosscutters The Williamsport Crosscutters are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and play their home games at Muncy Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field. From 1994 to 2020, they were a ...

and the Single-A

Lakewood BlueClaws The Jersey Shore BlueClaws (formerly Lakewood BlueClaws) are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Lakewood, New Jersey, and are named for their locat ...

, batting a cumulative .211/.329/.333 with 8 home runs and 36 RBI. In 2011, Santana was assigned to Lakewood to begin the year, and hit .269/.345/.434 with 7 home runs and 32 RBI in 96 games for the club.

Houston Astros

The Phillies traded Santana to the

on July 31, 2011, with Jon Singleton,

Jarred Cosart Jarred Lynn Cosart (born May 25, 1990) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Miami Marlins and San Diego Padres. Career Cosart attended Clear Creek High School (Leagu ...

, and

Josh Zeid Joshua Alexander Zeid ( ; born March 24, 1987) is an American-Israeli former professional baseball pitcher. He plays for Team Israel. He formerly played for the Houston Astros of MLB. Zeid played for the gold-medal-winning Team USA Youth Natio ...

, in exchange for

Hunter Pence Hunter Andrew Pence (born April 13, 1983), nicknamed "The Reverend", is an American former professional baseball right fielder and designated hitter. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, San Fra ...

. He finished the year with the Single-A

Lexington Legends The Lexington Legends are an American professional baseball team based in Lexington, Kentucky. They are a member of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a "partner league" of Major League Baseball. The Legends have ...

, hitting .382/.447/.662 with 5 home runs and 21 RBI in 17 contests. In 2012, Santana played for the High-A

Lancaster JetHawks The Lancaster JetHawks were a baseball team located in Lancaster, California. They were named for the city's association with the aerospace industry and played their home games at The Hangar. From 1996 to 2020, they were members of Minor League ...

, batting .302/.385/.536 with career-highs in home runs (23) and RBI (97). He spent the 2013 season with the Double-A

Corpus Christi Hooks The Corpus Christi Hooks are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. They are located in Corpus Christi, Texas, and are named for the city's association with fishing. The team is owned by ...

, posting a .252/.345/.498 slash line with a career-high 25 home runs and 64 RBI. He was added to the 40-man roster on November 20, 2013. He was assigned to Triple-A to begin the 2014 season. Domingo Santana on June 5, 2014

The Astros promoted Santana to the major leagues from the

Oklahoma City RedHawks Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

of the

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL ...

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

(PCL) on July 1, 2014. He debuted the same day, going 0-for-4 with three

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s. After batting 0-for-13 with 11 strikeouts, the Astros demoted Santana to Oklahoma City on July 6. Domingo Santana Houston Astros July 2014

On March 13, 2015, Santana was optioned to the

Fresno Grizzlies The Fresno Grizzlies are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They are located in Fresno, California, and play their home games at Chukchansi Park, which was opened in 2002 in do ...

of the PCL. He was recalled on June 16. That same day, he collected his first major league hit on an RBI single to right that scored

Evan Gattis James Evan Gattis (born August 18, 1986) is an American former professional baseball designated hitter and catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros. Gattis has also earned the nickname of "El Os ...

Milwaukee Brewers

On July 30, 2015, the Astros traded Santana,

Brett Phillips Brett Maverick Phillips (born May 30, 1994) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Milwaukee Brewers, Kansas City Royals, Tampa Bay Rays ...

Josh Hader Joshua Ronald Hader (born April 7, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Milwaukee Brewers. Hader is a four-time All-Star and three-t ...

, and

Adrian Houser Adrian David Houser (born February 2, 1993) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2015. Career Houston Astros The Houston Astros of Major League Basebal ...

to the

for

Carlos Gómez Carlos Argelis Gómez Peña, nicknamed Go-Go, (born December 4, 1985) is a Dominican former professional baseball outfielder. He played for the New York Mets, Minnesota Twins, Milwaukee Brewers, Houston Astros, Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays ...

and

Mike Fiers Michael Bruce Fiers (; born June 15, 1985) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers, Houston Astros, Detroit Tigers and Oakland Athletics. Fiers has ...

. The Brewers assigned Santana to the

Colorado Springs Sky Sox The Colorado Springs Sky Sox were a Minor League Baseball team in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The team played in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and was the Triple-A affiliate of the major league Milwaukee Brewers (2015–2018), Colorado Rockie ...

of the PCL, and promoted him to the major leagues on August 21. He missed most of the 2016 season with a shoulder and an elbow injury. In spring training of 2017, Santana competed for the starting right field job, ultimately winning the job. On July 26, 2017, Santana hit the longest home run in the history of

Nationals Park Nationals Park is a baseball stadium A ballpark, or baseball park, is a type of sports venue where baseball is played. The playing field is divided into the infield, an area whose dimensions are rigidly defined, and the outfield, where dimen ...

, a shot which landed on the concourse behind the left field stands. Santana continued as the starting right fielder for the remainder of the season, finishing with 30 home runs and 85 RBIs in 151 games. Before the 2018 season, the Brewers acquired

Christian Yelich Christian Stephen Yelich (born December 5, 1991) is an American professional baseball left fielder for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Miami Marlins. The Marlins selected Yelich in the first r ...

and

Lorenzo Cain Lorenzo Lamar Cain (born April 13, 1986) is an American professional baseball center fielder who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers and the Kansas City Royals. The Brewers drafted him in the ...

, leaving Santana to serve as a bench player for the beginning of the season. Through 189 at bats, he was hitting .249 with three home runs and 17 RBIs off the bench before being demoted to Colorado Springs on June 23. He batted .283 with eight home runs in 55 games for the Sky Sox. The Brewers recalled Santana on September 1. As a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute Batting (baseball), batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the dead ball (baseball), ball is dead (not in active play); the manager (baseball), manager may use any player who has not yet ...

, Santana batted 9-for-22 (.409) in the final month of the season.

Seattle Mariners

On December 21, 2018, the Brewers traded Santana to the

for

Ben Gamel Benjamin Joseph Gamel (born May 17, 1992) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners, Milwaukee Brewers, Clev ...

and Noah Zavolas. In the Mariners season opener in Japan on March 20, Santana hit a grand slam to help lift the Mariners to the win over the Athletics. In 2019 he batted .253/.329/.441. He had the highest strikeout percentage in the major leagues (32.3%). In 2019, on defense he led all major league outfielders in errors, with 9. On December 2, 2019, Santana was non-tendered by Seattle and became a free agent.

Cleveland Indians

On February 14, 2020, Santana was signed to a one-year contract with the

, with a club option for the 2021 season. The Indians designated Santana for assignment on August 31, 2020 after he struggled to a .157/.298/.286 slash line with 2 home runs and 12 RBI in 24 games. After clearing waivers, Santana was outrighted to the Indians' alternate training site on September 4, 2020. The Indians declined their club option on Santana's contract for the 2021 season on October 30, 2020, making Santana a free agent.

Tokyo Yakult Swallows

On December 2, 2020, Santana signed with the

. On April 24, 2021, Santana made his NPB debut. Santana re-signed for the 2023 season.

Personal life

Santana's father played for the Astros' organization.

References

External links

Career statistics - NPB.jp
{{DEFAULTSORT:Santana, Domingo 1992 births Living people Tokyo Yakult Swallows players Cleveland Indians players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Corpus Christi Hooks players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Florida Complex League Phillies players Houston Astros players Lakewood BlueClaws players Lancaster JetHawks players Lexington Legends players Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Milwaukee Brewers players Oklahoma City RedHawks players Seattle Mariners players Sportspeople from Santo Domingo Tigres del Licey players Williamsport Crosscutters players