The Cleveland Guardians will have their home opener on April 8th against the Chicago White Sox.
It will be a special day for one of their offseason newcomers, Carlos Santana.
Well, newcomer is technically the right word given the fact he didn’t play last year in Cleveland.
However, Santana has spent 10 seasons with the Guardians, almost his entire career.
He is very much familiar with the city and the organization.
He will turn 39 home on the day of that home opener, which is why it will be one to remember for him.
“I’m excited, coming back,” he told Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com. “Especially, Opening Day in Cleveland. That day, it’s my birthday [April 8], so I think that’s a special day.”
Santana returned to Cleveland on a one-year deal after a successful 2024 with one of the Guardians’ main foes, the Minnesota Twins.
He is the chosen one to replace Josh Naylor’s 31 home runs and 108 RBI last year.
If we evaluate Santana in those two categories, he will surely fall short of expectations.
However, his value comes from an ability to walk and some decent power still (23 round-trippers in 2024), not to mention his excellent fielding abilities.
The overall package puts him very close to Naylor territory as a hitter (118 wRC+ for the current Arizona Diamondbacks’ first baseman, 114 for Santana in 2024) and makes the new Guardian a more well-rounded player, as the difference in fWAR in his favor (3.0 to 2.3) suggests.
Manager Stephen Vogt is certainly happy to have Santana on his side.
He praised him for his ability to take care of his body and play the game the right way.
“It just shows me that he’s dedicated to be great,” Vogt said. “Fifteen years in the big leagues doesn’t happen by accident.”
All we know is that he will feed from the crowd’s energy that day at Progressive Field.
He is loved and admired by Guardians fans.
He will be reminded of that on that date.
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