Carlos Santana has worn the No. 41 throughout his 14-year career and when he signed with the Minnesota Twins last month, he wanted to keep that tradition alive.
Santana had a deal worked out with Twins pitcher Joe Ryan to keep his number, but a new MLB rule requires a $225,000 charge to make that happen.
It's part of a new rule MLB instituted in the latest collective bargaining agreement, which requires players to request a different number by July 31 of the previous season. While exceptions can be made for veterans who switch teams, an exception can also be made if "the player (or someone on his behalf) purchases the existing finished-goods inventory" with that number.
Since Ryan is one of the most popular players on the Twins, there are plenty of jerseys and souvenirs that have his name alongside the No. 41 and MLB wanted Santana to buy out that inventory or find a new number.
"It's the first time that's happened to me," Santana told Phil Miller of the Star Tribune. "I don't want to pay all that money for using 41. But it's OK. [Ryan] has played here for a while I"m not upset."
The rule is similar to what was established in the NFL after they allowed defensive players and skill positions to use single-digit numbers before the 2021 season. Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook wanted to switch from No. 33 to No. 4 with the advent of the rule but waited until the 2022 season to do so as the NFL required him to buy out the estimated $1.2 million in inventory.
"I'd been trying to do it last year, but they tried to take my money from me," Cook said via Inside The Vikings's Will Ragatz. "That's important nowadays."
But while the rule makes sense when you consider MLB charges $354.99 for a Joe Ryan jersey on its website, it seems flawed when you consider previous switches in Twins history.
When Kenta Maeda was traded to the Twins before the 2020 season, he wanted to wear the No. 18 due to its tradition tied to the team's ace in Japanese baseball. Mitch Garver, who wore No. 18 at the time, obliged and switched to No. 8 until he was traded before the 2022 season.
Josh Donaldson wanted the No. 20 jersey when he signed with Minnesota later that winter but Eddie Rosario refused to give it up, requiring the veteran to wear No. 24 during his first season in Minnesota.
In this case, the No. 41 has special meaning to Santana. Coming through as a catcher in the Cleveland Guardians organization, Santana decided to wear the number as a tribute to fellow Venezuelan Victor Martinez. The number stuck with Santana as he played with the Philadelphia Phillies, Kansas City Royals, Seattle Mariners, Pittsburgh Pirates and Milwaukee Brewers and everything was on track to acquire the number in Minnesota.
But since Ryan was willing to give up his number without compensation, MLB deemed it was Ryan who was technically seeking a new number, requiring someone to pay up.
"A veteran guy comes in, he's got more than a decade in the majors and it's going to make him super-happy," Ryan said. "I can switch numbers for a year or two. I told him that. [I] can't blame him for second thoughts when he saw the cost, though."
As a result, Santana will the No. 30 jersey, a tribute to his first number in professional baseball. But it will be interesting to see if more stories like this pop up as veterans switch teams in the future.
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