The Cleveland Guardians are bringing back first baseman Carlos Santana of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. According to Nick Deeds of MLB Trade Rumors, he signed a one-year deal worth $12 million. The free agent signing comes on the same day that the Guardians traded Canadian first baseman Josh Naylor of Mississauga, Ontario to the Arizona Diamondbacks for right handed pitcher Slade Cecconi of Oviedo, Florida.
Santana’s decade with the Guardians before
Santana played eight seasons with the Cleveland Guardians from 2010 to 2017, and again for two years from 2019 to 2020. In that time, he batted .251 with 216 home runs and 710 runs batted in. During 1334 games, 4773 at bats, and 5723 plate appearances, Santana scored 717 runs and had 1197 hits, 273 doubles, 14 triples, 44 stolen bases, 881 walks, 2146 total bases, and 41 sacrifice flies, with a .368 on base percentage and a .450 slugging percentage.
Santana’s 2019 American League All-Star Season
Five years ago Santana was an American League All-Star in Cleveland. He batted .281 with 34 home runs and 93 runs batted in. During 158 games, 573 at bats and 686 plate appearances, Santana scored 110 runs and had 161 hits, 30 doubles, one triple, four stolen bases, 108 walks, 295 total bases, two sacrifice flies, an on base percentage of .397 and a slugging percentage of .515. The triple came on May 29, 2019 in a 14-9 Cleveland win over the Boston Red Sox. The sacrifice flies that season came on August 2 in a 7-3 Cleveland win over the Los Angeles Angels and in a 7-0 Cleveland win over the Detroit Tigers on September 19.
Who else has Santana played for?
Santana played for the Philadelphia Phillies in 2018. After his second stint in Cleveland, he was with the Kansas City Royals in 2021 and 2022, the Seattle Mariners in 2022, the Pittsburgh Pirates and Milwaukee Brewers in 2023, and the Minnesota Twins in 2024.
Santana in 2024
This past season for the Twins, Santana batted .238 with 23 home runs and 71 runs batted in. During 150 games, 594 plate appearances and 521 at bats, he scored 63 runs, and had 124 hits, 26 doubles, four stolen bases, 65 walks, 219 total bases, two sacrifice flies, an on base percentage of .328, and a slugging percentage of .420. The sacrifice flies came in a 5-0 Twins win over the Detroit Tigers on July 28 and in a 3-2 Twins win over the Texas Rangers on August 15.
Santana won the American League Gold Glove Award at first base for the first time in his career. He had a fielding percentage of .996 and led the American League with 92 assists.
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