Former Minnesota Twins Gold Glove first baseman Carlos Santana signed with Chicago Cubs after being released by Cleveland Guardians
The Cubs have signed switch-hitting first baseman Carlos Santana, according to the New York Post's Jon Heyman. The Cleveland Guardians released Santana, 39, on Thursday after he cleared waivers to create more playing time for younger players and provide Santana with an opportunity to play for a team making a playoff push.
The Cubs already have an established first baseman in Michael Busch, meaning Santana's primary role will likely be as a pinch hitter. He will likely occasionally play first base in September to give Busch rest, but he is unlikely to start in the postseason unless he hits at an elite level next month.
Santana, 39, has posted 1.2 bWAR and hit .225/.316/.333 (80 OPS+) with 11 homers this season. He made his MLB debut with Cleveland in 2010 and has been worth 39.4 bWAR with a 112 OPS+ throughout his 16-year career.
Santana, a former catcher, had decent stats in his only season with Minnesota last year, posting 2.5 bWAR and a .238/.328/.420 (109 OPS+) slash line. He earned his first career Gold Glove Award with the Twins as a first baseman as well.
The Guardians signed Santana to a one-year, $12MM contract this past offseason after trading first baseman Josh Naylor to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for right-handed pitcher Slade Cecconi and a competitive balance draft pick.
Santana has been on five other MLB teams in addition to the Twins and Guardians during his 16-year career, having played for the Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates and Seattle Mariners. He made one All-Star Game appearance as a Guardian in 2019.
As we enter the final month of the regular season, it appears that Santana and the Cubs will likely play in the National League Wild Card series. Chicago currently holds the top NL Wild Card spot with a 78-58 win-loss record and trails the first-place Milwaukee Brewers by 6 1/2 games in the NL Central standings. If the season were to end today, the Cubs would host the San Diego Padres (76-60) at Wrigley Field for the NL Wild Card series.