Report: Carlos Santana chose Guardians over better offer from AL West club

The Cleveland Guardians made a splash over the weekend by signing first baseman Carlos Santana to a one-year deal worth $12M, bringing the long-time Cleveland staple back into the fold for the third time in his career. 

It sounds like the one-time All-Star turned down a more lucrative contract to return to Cleveland. According to a report from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Seattle Mariners extended an offer to Santana that came with more guaranteed money than the one he landed in Cleveland. Rosenthal also cited the Yankees, Mets, Tigers, Diamondbacks, Rangers and Padres among clubs that had interest in the switch-hitter before he ultimately landed in Cleveland.

Regarding Seattle’s offer, Rosenthal specifies that not only did the deal come with more guaranteed money, but it involved a player option for the 2026 season, allowing Santana to either opt out and return to free agency or remain with the club. It’s somewhat surprising to hear that a club was willing to guarantee a second guaranteed year to Santana, who will celebrate his 39th birthday in early April. Rosenthal describes the Mariners as Santana’s “initial priority” until the Guardians realized that they could trade Josh Naylor to another Santana suitor, the Diamondbacks. At that point, the Guardians offered Santana (who had coincidentally just sold his Cleveland area home) the one-year deal he went on to sign.

The Mariners briefly acquired Santana from the Phillies during the 2018-19 offseason but flipped him to Cleveland shortly thereafter, before he ever suited up for the club. He eventually returned to the organization in 2022 after being traded there by the Royals, and this time his stay lasted 79 games. In 294 trips to the plate for Seattle, Santana hit .192/.293/.400. Despite that sub-Mendoza Line batting average, Santana’s performance was actually good for an above-average 103 wRC+ thanks to a strong 11.9% walk rate and the 15 home runs he clobbered down the stretch for the club.

That half-season stint evidently made enough of an impression with the Mariners that they were interested in a reunion as they searched for first base help. The Mariners were reportedly pursuing a reunion with either Santana or Justin Turner at first base. Turner is still available, though it’s unclear whether that interest on Seattle’s end has persisted as the first base market has shifted in recent days. Of the six teams besides Cleveland that Rosenthal noted had interest in Santana’s services, three of them have found solutions in the days since: the Rangers replaced Nathaniel Lowe with Joc Pederson, the Yankees signed Paul Goldschmidt and the Diamondbacks traded for Naylor and opened the door for Santana to re-sign in Cleveland.

For the Mariners, Mets and Padres, there’s still a number of interesting first base options available. Turner has been a reliably above average hitter 11 consecutive seasons but celebrated his 40th birthday in November, a reality that could give some teams pause about committing to him as a regular option if they can’t offer significant time at DH as well. Pete Alonso is of course the top free agent available at first base, though barring a sudden change in plans by the Padres or Mariners it seems unlikely he would fit the budgets rumored to be in play for San Diego and Seattle. Anthony Rizzo, Mark Canha, Josh Bell and Yuli Gurriel are among a number of veteran options at the position who could likely be had on a low-cost deal, and the trade market offers the possibility that the Giants could part ways with LaMonte Wade Jr. or perhaps even a deal with the Rays involving Yandy Diaz, who hasn’t been the subject of many trade rumors this winter but appeared to be available prior to this summer’s trade deadline.