An idea Indians manager Terry Francona has been kicking around for quite some time has now come to fruition, at least for one night.
Carlos Santana, an on-base percentage savant, is hitting leadoff for the Indians Friday night against Justin Verlander and the Detroit Tigers. A number of factors played into it, such as Rajai Davis and Jose Ramirez both having the night off and Santana having previous success against Verlander.
It isn’t a permanent move, but it could be the beginning of a semi-regular occurrence. Francona floated the idea this spring but never committed to it beyond Santana hitting leadoff in a few spring training games.