Santana is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Royals.
Santana will hit the bench against a right-handed starting pitcher (Alec Marsh) for the third time in five games. The downturn in opportunities comes while Santana has fallen into a 5-for-33 skid at the plate (.152 average) over his last 10 starts, bringing his slash line down to .201/.282/.361 over 188 plate appearances on the season. The Minnesota infield will become more crowded when Royce Lewis (quadricep) returns from the 10-day injured list, potentially as soon as later this week, so Santana could be on the way out of the everyday lineup, if he hasn't lost his spot already.