This offseason the Minnesota Twins signed Carlos Santana to a deal worth just over $5 million. It was something of a scrap heap find that was necessitated by the front office’s unwillingness to spend money, and so far the results have been mixed.

Minnesota Twins Carlos Santana > New York Yankees Aaron Judge?

In a recent poll run by YouGov, Carlos Santana was voted as both the most famous and most popular baseball player across the sport, way ahead of Yankees superstar, Aaron Judge.

Face of baseball: Carlos Santana pic.twitter.com/xsCoMjgHpg

— Travis Sawchik (@Travis_Sawchik) June 10, 2024

Fame was defined as “the percentage of people who have heard of a contemporary baseball player,” while popularity was defined as the “the percentage of people who have a positive opinion of a contemporary baseball player.”

Rocco Baldelli was handed Carlos Santana as an option to supplement Alex Kirilloff, Jose Miranda, and others at the first base and designated hitter spots in his lineup. The longtime veteran had tormented the Twins as a member of the Cleveland Guardians, but the hope was that his home run barrage would continue while calling Target Field his home.

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Clearing the 70% threshold for fame, and 40% threshold for popularity, it’s the Twins slugger that checks in as tops across the board. How is that possible?

What they don’t know about Carlos Santana

In reality, the above poll results are voters mistaking Carlos Santana, the baseball player, for Carlos Santana, the famous guitarist and head man of the rock band ‘Santana’. A simple google search will always pull up the latter, and it is Carlos Humberto Santana Barragan that will remain most prominent across the world.

The famous musician has been active since 1965 and has played with acts spanning from Shakira, Willie Nelson, Grateful Dead, Eric Clapton, Dave Matthews, and many others. Signed by Columbia Records back in the late 1960’s, it was a Woodstock appearance that sent the band to international prominence.

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Having underwent heart surgery in 2021, and postponing concerts in 2022, it remains unclear as to whether or not Santana has attended baseball games or is a fan at all. If the Minnesota Twins are going to cash in on Carlos Santana, advertising his musical prowess might be a better idea than advertising his hitting capabilities recently, anyway…

But there is one MLB story ($$$) on ESPN that I would not have believed was posted, if not for reading it with my own two eyes. Big wig baseball insider, Buster Olney, writing about New York Yankees superstar, Aaron Judge, landing with the Minnesota Twins.

Obviously, the best team in the league is not moving Judge, its best player, before the upcoming trade deadline. But the New York Yankees are in negotiations on a new contract with the 30-year-old slugger. And if the two sides do not come to terms, he’ll become a free agent this upcoming offseason. Should that happen, the Twins would be one of eight possible landing spots, according to Olney.

Minnesota Twins

Like the Giants, they have some payroll flexibility moving forward, as they demonstrated by landing Carlos Correa — and assuming Correa won’t stay the full term of the three-year deal he signed with Minnesota, those dollars could be devoted to Judge. But it seems highly unlikely Judge would land anywhere other than with a big-market team.

The other seven teams listed are all big market behemoths. The Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, Angels, and Giants are among them. Let’s be real. On this list, the Twins stick out like an underdeveloped thumb on an adult hand full of large, well manicured, regularly-worked fingers.

What is happening?

Buster Olney, and whoever is feeding him this information (probably Judge’s agent), sees the Minnesota Twins as a possible fallback option for a superstar who doesn’t end up with the long-term contract they desire in free agency. Much like what’s playing out with Carlos Correa in the present. Will Falvine and the Pohlads sign Aaron Judge, Carlos Correa or any other premier player to an 8 to 10-Year contract worth $300+ million?

Probably not, but they’ve clearly proven to insiders and player agents around the league that they’re willing to spend big money, as long as the terms are short and/or flexible. Aaron Judge is an interesting case, however, because he’s (barely) beyond the age of 30.

On the surface, that should make the Twins a less-likely destination. Why would he want to sign a 1 or 2 year deal that would only make him less valuable when he hits free agency again? But, Buster Olney carries more clout than any other insider in baseball. And Judge would look damn good in a lighter shade of navy blue…

ALL RISE

HR Number 25 for Aaron Judge

Mama there goes that man @short_porch pic.twitter.com/H2rHSKmp9T

— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) June 15, 2022

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan