All the first basemen are flying off the board in free agency.
Carlos Santana on Saturday agreed to sign a 1-year deal with the Cleveland Guardians, which reunites him with his former team. Cleveland’s deal for Santana was reported minutes after the team made a trade.
Cleveland traded away first baseman Josh Naylor to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Slade Cecconi and a competitive balance Round B draft pick.
The Guardians are trading away an All-Star first baseman for one who won the Gold Glove last season. In 2024, Santana won the Gold Glove while playing 146 games at first base for the Twins. Santana’s batting average was low as usual at .238, but he added substantial pop with 26 doubles and 23 home runs and delivered a respectable .749 OPS.
Santana has spent 15 seasons in MLB and has played the majority of his career with Cleveland. He played for them from 2010-2017, and again from 2019-2020, so this will be his third stint with the team.
Santana is reportedly receiving $12 million in his deal, with incentives that could add an extra $1 million. That puts his deal on par with what Paul Goldschmidt got from the Yankees.
There is a run on first basemen in free agency. On Friday, Christian Walker signed a 3-year deal with the Houston Astros. Then on Saturday, Goldschmidt and Santana signed, while Naylor was traded.
