Veteran 1B Santana placed on waivers (source)

CLEVELAND -- The Guardians have placed first baseman Carlos Santana on outright waivers, a source told MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand on Tuesday. The news, which has not been confirmed by the club, was first reported by The Athletic.

The move could lead to the end of Santana’s third tenure with Cleveland. By placing the 39-year-old on outright waivers, the league’s other 29 teams have 48 hours to claim him. A claiming team would then be on the hook for the $2 million remaining on Santana’s contract this season.

Claiming priority is determined by reverse winning percentage. Santana would be eligible for a team’s postseason roster, if claimed, because he would join their organization before Sept. 1.

If no team were to claim Santana, he would remain with the Guardians, barring a subsequent move. And despite being placed on waivers, Santana is still on Cleveland's active roster and available to play.

Santana has seen his playing time reduce in recent weeks as the team has pivoted toward Kyle Manzardo and C.J. Kayfus (Cleveland’s No. 4 prospect, per MLB Pipeline) at first base. Santana started 86 of the Guardians’ 95 games before the All-Star break. He has started in 22 of 35 since the break.

“When you have 15 years in the big leagues, you've earned the right to know what's going on and how we're thinking,” manager Stephen Vogt said on Sunday in Texas. “Right now, we want to give the opportunities to C.J. and Manzo to play a little bit more and get them onto the field. Carlos has still continued to be the best defensive first baseman in baseball. With his track record, he's still going to continue to get opportunities, a lot vs. lefties while a little limited vs. righties right now. But that doesn't mean that can't change.

“He's a big part of our team. He's great with our young guys. It's never fun to hear that your role is being reduced, but he's handled it tremendously, just as everybody would think he would.”

Santana signed a one-year, $12 million deal with the Guardians on Dec. 23 to return for a third stint with the organization. Cleveland added him to help fill the void left in its lineup following the trade of Josh Naylor to the D-backs on Dec. 21.

Santana has slashed .225/.316/.333 with 11 homers and 52 RBIs over 116 games this season. His best month was May, when he slashed .316/.450/.544 with five homers and 22 RBIs over 24 games. All the while, he has provided leadership in the clubhouse and played stellar defense at first, coming off a 2024 season in which he won his first Gold Glove Award.

Santana entered Tuesday tied with the Padres' Ryan O'Hearn for second among qualified first basemen with 7 Outs Above Average.