The Guardians have placed veteran first baseman Carlos Santana on outright waivers, Ken Rosenthal and Zack Meisel of The Athletic report. The 39-year-old switch-hitter is playing on a one-year, $12MM contract and still has about $2.13MM of that sum yet to be paid out.
Any team that claims Santana would need to take on the entirety of that remaining sum. Santana has not been designated for assignment, meaning he can continue to play while he is on waivers. If he goes unclaimed, the Guardians do not need to assign him to a minor league affiliate or remove him from the 40-man roster (though they could choose to do so). If he is claimed, the waivers are irrevocable, and Santana will head to the claiming club. In 455 plate appearances this season, Santana is hitting .225/.316/.333 with his typical brand of elite defense at first base.
Though his defense remains excellent and Santana is still drawing walks at a premium 11.4% rate, his overall offensive output has been about 14% worse than average, by measure of wRC+. This season’s 18.9% strikeout rate is the second-highest of his career and his worst since way back in 2011. Santana is averaging a career-low 87.5 mph off the bat and has struggled particularly from the left side of the plate, hitting just .220/.311/.325 against right-handed pitching.
The Guardians have fallen down the standings with a recent 1-9 skid. Cleveland now sits six games back in the American League Wild Card chase (plus an even more daunting 12.5 games out in the division).
With that swoon and the placement of Santana on waivers, they’ll turn the page on the 2025 season and give more playing time to younger, controllable first base/designated hitter options like Kyle Manzardo and recently promoted top prospect C.J. Kayfus. The 25-year-old Manzardo has popped 21 homers while hitting .231/.313/.453 in 415 plate appearances this season, while the 23-year-old Kayfus is hitting .220/.281/.424 in his first 63 turns at the plate as a big leaguer.
If another club does claim Santana and his remaining salary, he’d be postseason-eligible by virtue of that fact that he’s in his new organization prior to Sept. 1. If he goes unclaimed, Cleveland could release the well-respected veteran in hopes that he’ll catch on elsewhere and be able to participate in another postseason run.