Phils ready to shake things up

Santana signing shows Klentak, Kapler want to move forward

PHILADELPHIA » It would be simple enough to figure what general manager Matt Klentak foresaw Wednesday as being true: That the presence of Carlos Santana in the middle of the Phillies’ lineup will make an immediate difference.

“We’ve had interest in Santana as a trade target for years,” Klentak said. “The idea of having Santana and (Rhys) Hoskins in the middle of the lineup with their power and their strike zone control is a dream. That’s how winning teams are made.”

The Phillies didn’t need to make a trade, just to talk new first baseman Santana into signing a free agency deal for only three years instead of his preferred longer term. They made it all official Wednesday with the announcement of what’s essentially a three-year, $60 million deal with an additional cluboption season that the Phillies seemed to see as a turning point in franchise history.

What this move really reeks of is a club whose primary owner, John Middleton, is sick of a dragged out rebuilding phase.

Win now? Maybe not right away, but damned soon.

“We’re genuinely excited about this organization’s future,” Klentak said. “About the strides we believe we made in the second half last year, about the quality of our farm system and about our ownership’s commitment.

“Our ownership has implored us over the last several years to pursue opportunities when they exist . ... We’ve pursued things over the last handful of years that would have made a splash if they had come to fruition. They

JOSE F. MORENO — FOR THE ASSOCIATED PRESS New Phillies manager Gabe Kapler, right, tries to press Carlos Santana into his new uniform top at Citizens Bank Park Wednesday.