Carlos Santana has reached his final form

Carlos Santana is a player in decline. He is 36 years old in a professional industry whose doors start closing when you hit 30.For Santana, his decline has been regular and consistent since 2019, where he has slowly but surely performed worse and worse. His wRC+ has fallen from 138 to 99 to 83 to 76, and his rolling wRC+ graph is a consistently downward spiral.

This is nothing to be ashamed of on Santana’s part. No one plays forever. That Santana was able to put up a league average slash in 2020—his age-34 season—is evidence of his sharp skills as a baseball player even as his athletic skills eroded (thanks, Father Time).