Guardians release Carlos Santana: Will a contender will pick up 16-year MLB veteran for stretch run?
Santana, 39, has not hit well this season and the Guards let him go to free up playing time for others
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The Cleveland Guardians have released longtime first baseman Carlos Santana, the team announced on Thursday. In a corresponding move, the Guardians reinstated utility player Daniel Schneemann from the paternity list to take the 26-player roster spot vacated by Santana.
Santana, 39, was likely to depart the organization one way or another this week. A few days back, the Guardians placed him on outright waivers, likely hoping that another team would claim him for two reasons: 1) to give him a better chance at making the playoffs; and 2) to free them of their remaining financial obligations. No team claimed Santana, and so now he'll head to free agency hoping to latch on elsewhere. The Guardians, for their part, remain responsible for what remains on his $12 million salary, meaning that they receive no financial benefit from this transaction.
Where the Guardians do benefit is in the resolution of an unoptimized roster. Prior to Santana's release, he was one of five corner/DH players that manager Stephen Vogt had to juggle between first base, DH, and right field. (The others being Kyle Manzardo, David Fry, CJ Kayfus, and Nolan Jones.) With Santana out of the picture, Vogt's job gets easier, and can become more about finding solutions that can benefit the Guardians for the rest of this season and beyond.
| Player | Primary position | Age | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|
DH | 24 | 108 | |
Carlos Santana | 1B | 39 | 81 |
RF | 23 | 75 | |
RF | 27 | 72 | |
DH | 29 | 55 |
Santana may well be at the end of his 16-season big-league career. (It's worth noting that 11 of those seasons came as a member of the Guardians.) In 116 games this year, he hit .225/.316/.333 (81 OPS+) with 11 home runs. His contributions were worth an estimated 1.3 Wins Above Replacement, according to Baseball-Reference. Most of his value came on the defensive side, however, and it's unclear if contenders will desire a glove-only first baseman. Santana would need to be on a team's roster by 11:59 p.m. ET on Sunday (Aug. 31) to be eligible for the postseason.
The Guardians have fallen to five games back of the American League's third wild card spot after a recent downturn that has seen them go 3-9 in their last 12 games.
