D-backs bolster their offense with the arrival of Carlos Santana
The Arizona D-backs have reached an agreement with veteran Dominican first baseman Carlos Santana, according to recent reports. The club has not yet made the signing official.
Santana, with a distinguished career of 16 seasons in the Major Leagues, is a former All-Star and Gold Glove winner. He is recognized as one of the most disciplined hitters of his generation.
Currently, he leads active MLB players in walks, accumulating a total of 1,330. In addition, he records an on-base percentage of .352 and an OPS+ of 112 throughout his career, surpassing league averages.
The 2025 season presented challenges for Santana. In 116 games with the Cleveland Guardians and eight with the Chicago Cubs, he batted .219/.308/.325, with 11 home runs and an OPS+ of 77, the lowest of his career.
During that campaign, his offensive performance was affected by a lower frequency of hard contact and an increase in strikeouts. These difficulties led Cleveland to release him on August 28, before he signed with the Cubs on September 1.
Despite this, Santana demonstrated his ability by connecting 28 hits at over 105 miles per hour, with an average of .607 on those connections. He also maintained solid plate discipline, with an 11% walk rate, ranking in the 80th percentile of MLB.
Defensively, the Dominican continued to excel at first base. In 2025, he recorded eight Outs Above Average and six runs prevented, positioning himself among the leaders at the position in the Major Leagues.
Santana’s signing does not involve compensation or penalties in Draft selections, which facilitated the agreement with Arizona.
