Longtime Cleveland Guardians first baseman Carlos Santana will need to find a new MLB home after his new team cut ties with him amid lingering injury troubles.
Santana had been designated for assignment by the Arizona Diamondbacks this week, and was released by the team on Friday. The move leaves the 40-year-old with an uncertain future and no clear timeline for when he could recover from his injury.
Carlos Santana Hits the Open Market
As David Shovein of NBC Sports noted, Santana had been sidelined since the first full week of the MLB season.
“The 40-year-old slugger was designated for assignment earlier in the week,” Shovein wrote “He hasn’t played since April 5 due to a right adductor injury and has not performed well on his minor league rehab assignment. He’s now free to explore other opportunities if he chooses to do so.”
Eric Samulski of NBS Sports added that Santana was already having a difficult season before the injury, getting off to a rough start in the first week of the season. That led the Diamondbacks to designate him for assignment earlier in the week, setting the stage for his outright release.
“Santana (right adductor) hasn’t played since April 5th and has not looked good during his rehab assignment,” Samulski wrote. “The 40-year-old was just 2-for-24 for Arizona before suffering his injury. With no room for him on the active roster, the Diamondbacks have decided to move on.”
The Diamondbacks had hoped Santana would add a steady presence to their lineup, though his injury troubles and early-season struggles ended that idea. Santana has a career .352 on-base percentage and is the MLB’s active leader in walks with 1,330. He also has 335 career home runs.
Santana played 11 of his 16 MLB seasons with the Guardians, making an All-Star appearance in 2019 as he hit 34 home runs with a .911 OPS that season, winning a Silver Slugger Award.
Guardians Expected to Add Talent at MLB Trade Deadline
While it’s not clear if the Guardians would be interested in a reunion with Santana — once he is healthy, at least — the team is expected to take an active approach to the upcoming MLB trade deadline.
Bleacher Report’s Zachary D. Rymer suggested the Guardians will target Jorge Soler from the Los Angeles Angels to address their lack of power in the lineup.
“It must be a year ending in a number, because the Guardians are short on power,” Rymer wrote. “They rank 29th in slugging percentage. For a contender in that position, trading for Soler is one of the oldest tricks in the book at this point.”
Rymer added that Soler could be a great fit for the Guardians and wouldn’t need them to dig too deep into their strong farm system to land him.
“Soler is in the last year of a three-year, $42 million contract, and what value he has is diminished by way of a 94 OPS+ since the start of last season,” Rymer wrote. “He therefore fits another Guardians prerequisite as a guy who can be had without sacrificing anything of note from the farm system.”
Longtime Guardians Star Cut Loose By New Team Amid Injury Struggles