Marlins recall power-hitting infielder who had brief Rule 5 stint with Guardians 

In December 2023, the Cleveland Guardians took a swing by picking Arizona Diamondbacks infield prospect Deyvison De Los Santos in the Rule 5 Draft. 

While De Los Santos had some clear warts in his game, he boasted 80-grade power, which explained why the Guardians decided to roll the dice on him earning a roster spot out of spring training. 

And while that never came to fruition and he was eventually returned to the Diamondbacks at the end of spring training, his star has continued to rise in the two-plus years since despite the fact he was traded to the Marlins. 

He got his first chance to make an impression with the Miami faithful on Sunday after he was recalled from the minors for his big league debut against the Rockies. He went 1-for-2 with a double in Miami’s 4-3 walk-off win over the Rockies. 

Former Guardian Deyvison De Los Santos impresses in MLB debut against Rockies 

De Los Santos’ time with Cleveland was pretty anticlimactic, as he finished that spring with a .227 batting average with just one home run in 18 games. 

He was a solid fit on paper because the Guardians were coming off a season where they hit an MLB-low 124 home runs, but he failed to show enough power to justify taking up a roster spot all season. 

Part of the reason why De Los Santos may have looked overmatched that spring is because he hadn’t played above Double-A. That said, he authored a breakout season in 2022 when he slashed .306/.348/.499 across 126 games in Single-A, High-A and Double-A, and had also hit 20 home runs in 2023 at Double-A. 

But he was best suited to play at first base (which was occupied by Kyle Manzardo and Josh Naylor) and third, which was (and still is) locked down by José Ramírez.

He played well for the Diamondbacks after being returned to the organization and entered the trade deadline with 28 home runs across Double-A and Triple-A, which led to him being the centerpiece of the Marlins’ return for reliever A.J. Puk at that year’s deadline. 

His production tapered off once he got to Miami, however, as he hit just .240 in the second half of 2024 in Triple-A and finished last season with a .241 batting average with just 12 home runs. 

The Marlins still added him to the 40-man roster in the offseason and decided to give him his first big league shot this season. 

He’s a full-time first baseman now and should get plenty of playing time as Miami’s back-up first baseman behind Connor Norby. 

Even though De Los Santos never played in a or the Guardians, his brief stop in Cleveland is a big part of his big league journey. That journey got off to a good start yesterday.