Can Guardians really justify selling veteran leader at trade deadline?

Carlos Santana has been in Cleveland for seemingly every recent era of Cleveland baseball. 

He was there in 2010 when the team was fighting through the pits of relevancy and struggling to find an identity under Manny Acta. He was there when the Guardians hired Terry Francona and morphed into an American League juggernaut. 

He was there during the team’s retooling in 2019 and ‘20. And, he’s here now as they work to get back to the heights they reached last year on their ALCS run. 

And while he’s been able to turn the clock back this year and put together another productive season at the corner of Carnagie and Ontario, his name has seemingly become a mainstay among trade rumors. 

The latest example of that came earlier this week when MLB.com put out a story highlighting one potential trade chip from every team, with the Guardians pick being Santana.

Can Guardians really justify selling Carlos Santana at trade deadline?

This isn’t the first time Santana’s name has come up in one of these exercises, as Jeff Passan recently highlighted him as a potential trade chip should the Guardians elect to sell at the trade deadline. 

That said, his inclusion on MLB’s list is a bit more encouraging given the circumstances. 

Moving Santana is unlikely, as the Guardians are in the postseason race and positioned to tap into their farm system to buy at the Deadline, not sell. If you consider potential trade chips on the big league roster in a sell scenario, however, the 39-year-old has a lot of value, writes Tim Stebbins, the team’s beat reporter for MLB.com. 

And he’s right on both accounts. Santana is the stereotypical trade candidate since he’s on a one-year deal (he was dealt at the deadline in 2022 and ‘23), and is the kind of veteran who can help establish a winning culture. 

It also helps that he’s producing at the plate. The 39-year-old is slashing .256/.357/.384 with seven home runs and has been worth four Outs Above Average in the field. 

He’s currently splitting time at first base with Kyle Manzardo (and David Fry waiting in the wings once he’s able to play the field), but it would be hard to believe the Guardians would subtract from their offense at the deadline instead of add, as Stebbins pointed out. 

“While (Santana) could generate interest on the trade market, his value to the Guardians is significant,” Stebbins wrote.

The other potential trade chips highlighted from the rest of the division were C Carter Jensen (Royals), 2B Max Anderson (Tigers), SS Kaelen Culpepper (Twins) and OF Luis Robert Jr. (White Sox). 

That list speaks to the talent within the division, as three of those four teams are projected to buy, not sell. 

The Guardians have been great at threading the needle in years prior, but they may need to pick a side this year.