Introduction
Daniel Ernesto Santana (born November 7, 1990) is a Dominican professional baseball shortstop and center fielder for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Minnesota Twins.
Career
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins signed Santana as an undrafted free agent in December 2007. In November 2012, the Twins added Santana 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, 2014. Santana spent the season splitting time between center field and shortstop. He finished the season with a .319 batting average and seven home runs and 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 (minimum 130 ABs).
Santana began the 2015 season as the Twins' shortstop. He regressed throughout the season, being demoted to the 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 a season. Santana was designated for assignment by the Twins on May 5, 2017.
Atlanta Braves
On May 8, 2017, Santana was traded to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for Kevin Chapman.