Report: Phillies Added Wrong Player in Hunter Pence Deal in 2011

The Astros acquired an outfielder named Domingo Santana as the player to be named later in the Hunter Pence trade back on August 15, 2011. Also in that deal were big leaguers who they gave away, Jonathan Singleton, Jared Cosart, Josh Zeid - all have made it to Houston.

At the time, Santana was 19, and hitting .269 with seven homers and 32 RBI in 391 plate appearances this season at Single-A Lakewood.   At 21, Santana hit .252 with 25 home runs with Double-A Corpus Christi and was added to the Astros 40-man roster.

Right now he is hitting .292 with 9 home runs and 37 RBI in 62 games at AAA Oklahoma City, a Astros affiliate.

So why have we told you so much about this player to be named later of a trade that happened in 2011?

Well according to a report by Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle, Santana wasn't supposed to be included in the deal; Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr., made a mistake.

Less than two months after they picked George Springer from the University of Connecticut, the Astros sent Pence and cash to the Phillies on July 29, 2011, for Cosart, Singleton, Zeid and a player to be named, which ended up being Santana. In spring training, a Phillies official admitted that Santana wasn't actually supposed to be on the list that was given to the Astros to pick from to satisfy the final piece on Aug. 15, 2011.

 

So essentially, the Phillies got ripped off with the players they gave the Astros in the trade for Pence, since the decided to then deal Pence for a three-pack of tennis balls - and then threw in a player, who is now turning into a legitimate prospect, who they actually didn't want to deal in the first place.

Lovely.

So yes, Santana was included on the list of players to select due to a clerical error. The Phils apparently gave away what has become one of the better young prospects in the game by mistake. Santana was never supposed to be on the list according to the report, and yet somehow got past the desk of Amaro. Just another example of how poorly his tenure has been in Philadelphia.