Roel Santos

Roel Santos Martínez (El Taita de Niquero)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 8", Weight 172 lb.

• Born September 15, 1987 in Niquero?, Granma Cuba

BR Cuba page

Biographical Information

Roel Santos has been an outfielder for the Cuban national team. He is a cousin of Raico Santos.

Santos debuted in the Cuban Serie Nacional in 2008-2009, hitting .281/.343/.382 for Granma. He did not play the next year, as Granma had a crowded outfield including sluggers Alfredo Despaigne and Yoenis Céspedes. Roel became a starter in 2010-2011, as Despaigne missed time and was used at DH frequently. Santos responded by hitting .342/.396/.492.

With Céspedes defecting, Santos moved from LF to CF in 2011-2012 and produced at a .315/.388/.416 clip. He followed with a .319/.419/.402 season in 2012-2013. He began 2013-2014 with Granma and hit .335/.402/.435 in the first half. When the league shrank to eight teams for the second half, with Granma eliminated, he was picked by Pinar del Río and hit .296/.387/.407 for them as they went on to win the title. For the season, he led with 81 runs (18 more than #2 Yulieski Gourriel), tied Yordan Manduley for third with 105 hits, tied Ariel Sánchez for second with five triples, was 6th with 140 total bases (between Yadiel Hernández and Yordanis Samón), tied Héctor Hernández for 4th with 14 steals and tied Maikel Cáceres for second with nine times caught stealing. He was named to the league All-Star team, joining Cáceres and Yadiel Hernández in the outfield.

Santos then made the Cuban national team for the first time. In the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games, he was 4 for 5 with a double, run and a RBI for the victorious Cubans, backing up Despaigne in LF and Alexei Bell in center. In the 2015 Caribbean Series, he was 3 for 18 with no runs and one RBI as Pinar del Río won, the first Cuban champion in the Caribbean Series in 55 years. He came up with a big hit against the Santurce Crabbers, singling off Fernando Cabrera in the bottom of the 10th to score Yosvani Alarcón with the winner. A signed jersey of Santos was sent to the Hall of Fame for display.

In 2014-2015, Santos hit .356/.499/.505 with 85 runs and 79 walks in 79 games for Granma. He fielded .980 and had 11 outfield assists. He was all over the leaderboards: first in runs again (12 more than Adrián Moreno), first in walks (two more than Yadiel Hernández), third with 105 hits (behind José Adolis García and Samón), tied with Edilse Silva for second with 7 triples, 8th in total bases (149, between Yadiel Hernández and Samón just like the prior season), tied for 4th in steals (11), tied for 4th in caught stealing (8), 10th in slugging, 5th in average (between Alarcón and Yusnier Diaz), 3rd in OBP (after Despaigne and Yadiel Hernández) and 4th in OPS (behind Despaigne, Yadiel Hernández and Gourriel). He was picked as the All-Star CF (Yadiel Hernández was chosen in RF, Urmari Guerra in LF).

Santos then represented Cuba in the 2015 Pan American Games, homering off Yesid Salazar in the opener. He finished the event just 1-for-9 with a walk, backing up José Adolis García in center.

Primary Sources

• INDER
• Baseballdecuba.com
• 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games website
• Caribbean Series
• MLB.com
• 2015 Pan American Games