From selling his home to returning home: Carlos Santana’s surprising comeback to Cleveland Guardians

On Saturday, December 21, reports emerged that the Cleveland Guardians had agreed to sign Carlos Santana to a one-year, $12 million deal, to replace the outgoing Josh Naylor, who was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks. This is not Santana's first time calling Progressive Field home, having also previously played for the Cleveland Indians (2010-17 and 2019-20).

The last few days have left baseball fans confused, with many left scratching their heads about the Guardians' decision to acquire Santana despite the availability of other top-quality first basemen, such as Pete Alonso. If reports are to be believed, though, it has been a pretty crazy week for Santana himself, on a personal level.

Per sources, Santana owned a property in Bratenahl, Ohio, back from his days playing for the Indians. Having held on to it all these years, the Dominican finally decided to sell it this week, signing the papers to officially complete the sale on Thursday, probably thinking his time in Cleveland was done.

As fate would have it, Josh Naylor's departure on Saturday left a hole at first base for the Guardians, which they decided to fill by bringing Santana back to Cleveland for a third stint.

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Carlos Santana won his first-ever Gold Glove award in a reinvigorating 2024 season

Though many baseball fans have expressed their doubts about the Guardians choosing to acquire an aging Carlos Santana, the 38-year-old demonstrated over the course of the 2024 season that he still has what it takes to play at the top level day-in-day-out.

The Dominican showed he still had plenty of power in his bat, accumulating 23 home runs and 71 RBIs over the course of the 2024 regular season for the Minnesota Twins. It was in defensive situations where he truly shined, though, as he won his first career Gold Glove award.

To add, Carlos Santana has been a part of the city and clubhouse before and was loved by the fans, players, and staff. Bringing back such a player not only provides the Guardians with a perfect stop-gap solution at first base but also a perfect mentor for young players such as Jhonkensy Noel and Kyle Manzardo to learn from, who are seen as the long-term options for the Guardians at first base.