Article: Like the Red Sox, Fans Should Buy Into the Idea of Carlos Santana at the Trade Deadline

[Brandon Glick]

When the Red Sox made the baffling decision to trade Rafael Devers in the middle of the season — in the midst of a hot streak, no less — one of the through lines the front office used in their attempt to explain the deal was Devers' immaturity. Indeed, it was well-chronicled this year, as Devers didn't play nicely after the team splurged on Alex Bregman in free agency, displacing the franchise star from his usual home at the hot corner. Then, after settling in to life as a full-time designated hitter, Craig Breslow and company asked Devers to cover for the injured Triston Casas at first base, which he was simply unwilling to do. Thus brought about the stunning deal that sent him out of Boston for good, leaving a big hole in the lineup at both DH and first base.

With the team seemingly planning to run a set of platoons at those positions — Masataka Yoshida and Rob Refsnyder at DH, Romy Gonzalez and Abraham Toro at first — there's an obvious opening for a trade deadline acquisition to take over in the second half. Our @Alex Mayes wrote up a piece detailing a few of the available first base options on the market, all of whom are half-year rentals. I'd wager that the least exciting option of the bunch is actually the best target for the 2025 Red Sox.

Carlos Santana is a 39-year-old former catcher playing in his 16th MLB season. He's been a mainstay in the league since 2010, when he first burst onto the scene as a hard-hitting backstop with the Cleveland Guardians. After a strong decade in Ohio, he entered the nomadic phase of his career, slowly transitioning to first base as his body couldn't handle the wear and tear of catching. He arrived in Minnesota in 2024 as a full-timer at the cold corner and promptly won the only Gold Glove of his career, and he's carried over some of that success in his triumphant return to Cleveland this season.

It wasn't long ago that the Guardians looked like a postseason contender, but whereas the Red Sox launched themselves back into the fray with a ten-game winning streak prior to the All-Star break, Cleveland took itself out of it with a ten-game losing streak. Santana is playing on a one-year, $12 million contract and has been taking his career year-to-year recently. He wouldn't cost much in terms of prospect capital or financial commitment, making him a perfect fit for a team that may still toe the line between selling and buying at the trade deadline.

Offensively, Santana isn't quite the voracious slugger he once was, but he's still plenty productive. Through 89 games (360 plate appearances this season), the veteran is slashing .232/.328/.360, good for a 98 wRC+. His ISO (.129) is down near career-low levels, but his walk (11.9%) and strikeout rates (18.6%) remain positively elite. It's also worth pointing out that his numbers are being dragged down by a disastrous June. In 23 games (90 plate appearances) last month, the 39-year-old slashed .169/.233/.253, good for a pitiful 38 wRC+. His strikeout rate ballooned to 25.6% while his walk rate (7.8%) fell off a cliff.

Luckily, he's regained some footing in July, hitting .227/.320/.386 (102 wRC+) in the few weeks leading up to the All-Star break. His strikeout (14.0%) and walk rates (12.0%) have stabilized, and he's back to limiting the soft contact off his bat. It's not quite equivalent to when he produced a ridiculous 182 wRC+ in May, but a better-than-league-average bat still exists inside the switch hitter.

Of course, offense isn't the only reason you'd be bringing someone so long in the tooth in. Santana has become a great defender at first base in recent years, and he's on pace for perhaps his best season with the glove yet. His seven Outs Above Average put him on pace to match the 14 OAA he gave Minnesota in 2024, and his seven Defensive Runs Saved nearly match the eight DRS from last year in half the innings. Compared to what Gonzalez (-1 OAA in 224 innings) and Toro (-3 OAA in nearly 325 innings) have given the Red Sox, Santana's defense alone would be worth the price of admission.

Also, and this should be obvious from the preamble of this article, Santana is a natural-born leader. From his time as a catcher on a team that made the World Series in 2016 to his recent journeyman swing, he knows how to command the attention of the locker room. And, not that it would be wise to ask him to do so, you can bet the 39-year-old would change positions if it was in the best interest of the team. It's been nearly a decade since he made the World Series with the Guardians, and he hasn't gotten particularly close to returning since. Odds are, he'd do nearly anything on the diamond for the sake of winning.

Staring up at a 12-game deficit in the AL Central while in a virtual tie for second with the Minnesota Twins and Kansas City Royals, FanGraphs gives Cleveland a meager 10.3% chance of making the postseason (and an almost-nonexistent 0.7% chance of usurping the Tigers for the division crown). They may only be 4.5 games out of the third Wild Card spot, but they'd need to leap all of the Royals, Twins, Angels, Rangers, Rays, and Mariners to make the dance. It'd be difficult for them to trade Santana, long a fan favorite who willingly chose to return in what could be the swan song of his career, but it's the right decision given his rental status.

The Red Sox would be wise to capitalize on the Guardians' unfortunate circumstances. Bringing in Carlos Santana wouldn't just lengthen the lineup and vastly improve the infield defense—it would give the clubhouse another leader. On a team with so many budding young stars, the importance of that can't be overstated.

View full article

[Brock Beauchamp]

I would have sworn Santana was on a two-year deal, but he’s definitely a two month rental.

Given how bad first base is this season, I wonder how much competition there will be for his services. 

[mvp 78]

I like Santana better than Naylor. I think adding a veteran presence would be good for the team. Wouldn't be upset about that defense either. His OAA and DRS are 2nd in MLB for 1b. I'd take that all day long considering what we've seen the past few years. 

[Brock Beauchamp]

56 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

I like Santana better than Naylor. I think adding a veteran presence would be good for the team. Wouldn't be upset about that defense either. His OAA and DRS are 2nd in MLB for 1b. I'd take that all day long considering what we've seen the past few years. 

As a Brewers and Twins fan, I've watched a lot of Carlos Santana over the years. So much.

The defense is as advertised, and strangely, has actually gotten better as he aged.

[Deja Doh]

Forget Santana and Naylor.  That solves nothing as we have to move on from Casas.  Vinnie Pasquantino of KC or Jake Burger of TX would be much better in the long run.  And even a better would be to get Nolan Schanuel off the Angels.

[Brock Beauchamp]

2 minutes ago, Deja Doh said:

Forget Santana and Naylor.  That solves nothing as we have to move on from Casas.  Vinnie Pasquantino of KC or Jake Burger of TX would be much better in the long run.  And even a better would be to get Nolan Schanuel off the Angels.

It's a hell of a lot easier to acquire a long-term solution at first base this winter, when guys like Rhys Hoskins will be free agents.

[drewski6]

Raise your hand if you forgot Santana was a catcher at one point. Feels like ages ago.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

I like Santana better than Naylor. I think adding a veteran presence would be good for the team. Wouldn't be upset about that defense either. His OAA and DRS are 2nd in MLB for 1b. I'd take that all day long considering what we've seen the past few years. 

I've already said the rent's cheaper in Samba Pa Ti than the House of Naylor.

It's also better on a nice post-ASB morning with a breeze blowing away the humidity...

 

 

[notin]

24 minutes ago, Deja Doh said:

Forget Santana and Naylor.  That solves nothing as we have to move on from Casas.  Vinnie Pasquantino of KC or Jake Burger of TX would be much better in the long run.  And even a better would be to get Nolan Schanuel off the Angels.

Burger is a waste.  Texas is reportedly looking to add a 1b at the deadline.  If Burger was a good solution, that wouldn’t be necessary.

Very, very doubtful the Angels trade 23yo Nolan Schanuel, a player they like so much he went right from signing his contract out of college to starting at 1b in MLB the same year.  Hes 23 and IMO. a future star, better than his more hyped fellow draftee Wyatt Langford…

[notin]

Just now, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

I've already said the rent's cheaper in Samba Pa Ti than the House of Naylor.

It's also better on a nice post-ASB morning with a breeze blowing away the humidity...

 

 

I agree Santana will cost less than Naylor.  I disagree that two months of Naylor will require Campbell, Casas, and then some…

[mvp 78]

1 minute ago, notin said:

I agree Santana will cost less than Naylor.  I disagree that two months of Naylor will require Campbell, Casas, and then some…

But AZ could give him the QO this offseason! 😶

[notin]

1 minute ago, mvp 78 said:

But AZ could give him the QO this offseason! 😶

They could .  And then clearly draft the next Campbell, Casas, and then some…

[mvp 78]

8 minutes ago, notin said:

They could .  And then clearly draft the next Campbell, Casas, and then some…

All the players we hate on here. 😎

[Brandon Glick]

1 hour ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

I've already said the rent's cheaper in Samba Pa Ti than the House of Naylor.

It's also better on a nice post-ASB morning with a breeze blowing away the humidity...

 

 

You have no idea how much self restraint I had to exercise not to make Santana references in this piece. Thank you for this.

[Brandon Glick]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

But AZ could give him the QO this offseason! 😶

I've been worried about the same thing, but I don't think that makes Naylor the better option for this Red Sox team. Plus, if the Diamondbacks really are going to sell at the deadline, you can bet someone else will trade for Naylor, voiding his chance of getting a QO.

[Brandon Glick]

1 hour ago, Deja Doh said:

Forget Santana and Naylor.  That solves nothing as we have to move on from Casas.  Vinnie Pasquantino of KC or Jake Burger of TX would be much better in the long run.  And even a better would be to get Nolan Schanuel off the Angels.

I'm actually in the opposite boat. Yes, move on from Casas, but doing so at the deadline this year is asking for trouble. What if Campbell's long-term home really is first base (he sure didn't look like a big league second baseman)? Then, you'd need to get a new 2B, not a new 1B. I think grabbing a rental and reevaluating over the offseason is the move here.

[mvp 78]

4 minutes ago, Brandon Glick said:

I'm actually in the opposite boat. Yes, move on from Casas, but doing so at the deadline this year is asking for trouble. What if Campbell's long-term home really is first base (he sure didn't look like a big league second baseman)? Then, you'd need to get a new 2B, not a new 1B. I think grabbing a rental and reevaluating over the offseason is the move here.

If Campbell and Casas are both hitting well and both seem to be playing 1B well, it's a problem for the future Red Sox. At that point, you could platoon them in the short term, move Campbell around the diamond, trade one of them in season, or make Casas the fulltime DH. Who knows? That's not necessarily a problem Breslow has to figure out now as those players aren't those guys yet. 

[TedYazPapiMookie]

Lots of crazy, panicked talk going on here.  Santana sucks.  He's ancient and picking up a .230 hitter at the deadline is insane.  Thinking the Diamondbacks would give up on Naylor is highly unlikely except for the fact they haven't extended him already.   They just got him to replace Walker long-term so dealing him would need to be with an extension for the player otherwise he could simply return to ARI and the prospects would be wasted.  

What are the REAL options?   

1. Casas long-term.  A guy who has only been in the MLB for roughly 1 2/3 seasons and his one full season showed he has decent hitting skills and league average fielding skills.  His odd duck personality should have nothing to do with his performance, but many fans discount him because of it.  The fickle nature of fans has pushed him out of the picture, but he is a viable choice going into 2026 that deserves another chance to prove himself to be the long-term solution.

2 Campbell.  An unlikely candidate for 1B as a former SS forced into playing 2B and evaluated as an outfielder on a team knee deep in outfielders, this kid has a ton of talent and has proved it in the minors and the majors.  He still has done better than both Mayer and Anthony through the number of games they have played and met with his FIRST adversity of his career and has been discarded by the average ignorant fan.  Just like Duran and Rafaela were discarded by the fickle fan base, Campbell's track record speaks for itself, and the MLB sample size is incredibly small to be dismissing him.  He has sufficient size and power to be a corner infielder despite his slight frame and speed but 1B may be a waste of his talent when Story moves on or fails to maintain his skills.  His sentence in AAA should be almost up and when he returns, we'll see if anyone actually helped him make adjustments or it was a complete waste of time going to AAA.  Will he be the third player who has been wasted due to a bad manager?  (Duran, Rafaela and now Campbell) I believe he will be because he has more skills than most folks give him credit for just like Duran and Rafaela.

3 Toro or Gonzalez.   Both players deserve credit for carrying the load at 1B in the first half and over performing to help Boston put up a decent record at the break.  They both have faded as should be expected by players overachieving and both don't appear to be long-term solutions.  Either could be a corner infield reserve in 2026 but they don't appear to be the future solution at 1B.

4 Nate Lowe After putting up a 11.2 WAR in 4 years in Texas he's struggled with WAS.  The change in scenery did nothing for a guy used to being on a highly competitive team and going to a non-competitive team.  Maybe his skills completely fell off the table or maybe he needs a team that is competitive.  He is a cheap acquisition that could bounce back with BOS and help fill the hole at 1B in the second half.  He's got 14 HRs in less than 100 games so he brings some pop.  He's an arb 4 in 2026 so his price in going to be minimal if he does well in the second half due to his bad first half.

5 Josh Naylor By far the best solution but it's hard to believe ARI would want to part with him.  The haul for him would need to be large.  He had 31 HRs and 108 RBIs in CLE in 2024.  Those are keeper numbers.  He's in an adjustment season in ARI but he's a top 1B and if he could be stolen from ARI that would be quite the accomplishment by Breslow.  With all the depth in BOS, the deal could include Casas, Abreu and two prospects if an extension is part of the deal.  Otherwise, Breslow can get him in the off-season since he's a FA in 2026.  The price with an extension could save money in the long run because he should be highly sought after in the off-season.  Casas would not be needed if BOS gets Naylor and Abreu is a surplus player as well.  The two prospects need to come from Mayer, Campbell and Anthony's positions making them surplus as well.