Cleveland Guardians placed former Twins Gold Glove first baseman Carlos Santana on outright waivers
Carlos Santana might be joining a new team soon, as the Guardians have placed the former Gold-Glover on outright waivers, according to the Athletic's Ken Rosenthal and Zack Meisel. Teams now have 48 hours to claim Santana off waivers, in order of record from worst to best, and pay his remaining salary this year (a little over $2 million).
Santana, 39, has been worth 1.2 bWAR and slashed .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+ during his 16-year career.
Santana, a former catcher, had solid numbers 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.
It made sense for the Guardians to place Santana on waivers, as he is only under contract for this season and Cleveland is unlikely to make the playoffs. The Guardians will be able to save money and prioritize utilizing Kyle Manzardo and C.J. Kayfus at first base instead of a struggling veteran if a team claims the former Twins first baseman off waivers.
The Guardians signed Santana to a one-year deal worth $12 million 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, Philadelphia Phillies, Milwaukee Brewers, Pittsburgh Pirates and Seattle Mariners. He made one All-Star Game appearance as a Guardian in 2019.
The Twins have no reason to claim Santana off waivers at this point in the season, but they will likely have the opportunity to do so based on where they stand in the waiver claim order. Santana may go unclaimed, but a team with a lack of production at first base that is vying to make the postseason will likely claim the veteran.