Carlos Santana will return to familiar ground after signing with the Cleveland Guardians, but many teams were reportedly interested in the free agent first baseman.
According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Seattle Mariners, Detroit Tigers and Arizona Diamondbacks “were in the mix” for the first baseman.
On a one-year, $12 million contract, Santana is will return for his third stint in Cleveland.
Santana, 38, profiled as a less expensive option in this offseason’s first baseman free agent market. The switch hitter has remained an above-average hitter throughout his 15-year career, but his age limited him to a short term contract.
This year with the Minnesota Twins, Santana hit .238 with 23 home runs and a .749 OPS.
Pete Alonso still remains on the first base market, and its appearing more and more likely that the slugger will return to Queens. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic said on the “Fair Territory” podcast this week. that “the entire baseball industry believes the Mets will re-sign first baseman Pete Alonso.”
On Saturday, the Yankees signed free agent first baseman Paul Goldschmidt to a one-year deal worth 12.5 million. The 37-year-old won the NL MVP in 2022 while with the St. Louis Cardinals, but he’s coming off of a career-worst season. Over 154 games in 2024 he hit 22 homers with 65 RBI and a .716 OPS. It’s the first time in his 14-year career that he’s had an OPS under .800.
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