3 nightmare roster scenarios for the Cleveland Guardians in spring training

2. Father Time catches up to Carlos Santana

Carlos Santana is back for his third go around in Cleveland, with this being the first time under the Guardians moniker. Cleveland brought back Santana following their decision to ship Josh Naylor to the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Guardians are hoping that Santana can help mentor Kyle Manzardo while still being a productive bat in the lineup. But if Father Time catches up to the soon-to-be 39-year-old, it could prove disastrous for Cleveland.

Santana has enjoyed a late-career renaissance of sorts, slashing .239/.323/.425 with 59 doubles, 46 home runs, and 157 RBI in 296 games for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Milwaukee Brewers, and Minnesota Twins. The recent production from a familiar face was clearly a factor in the Guardians signing him immediately after Naylor's trade to Arizona became official, but it was just a few years ago that this type of stat line was no longer possible for Santana.

From 2020-2022, Santana slashed .207/.323/.355 with 46 home runs and 40 doubles while driving in 149 runs in 349 games for Cleveland, Kansas City, and Seattle. It was at this time that it looked like his career was in its final years, but he has been able to keep going with his last two years at the plate.

Ideally, Santana will be able to evade Father Time once again and adequately replace the lost offensive production from Naylor. However, if these last two years were the last bits of genuinely productive baseball from Santana, it could prove to be a massive problem for the Guardians in 2025.