Why Miami Marlins Would Be Wise To Kick The Tires On Carlos Santana In 2025

If the Miami Marlins want to upgrade at first base in 2026, there is a golden opportunity brewing for them to jump the line on offseason competition.

Enter Carlos Santana, recently released by the Cleveland Guardians. The former All-Star and Gold Glove winner has certainly lost a step offensively, but the defense is still very much there. That Gold Glove came as recently as 2024, after all, and he's been very good again defensively this year. Even with a dip in power and a paltry .225 BA, he can still be relied upon to work a walk when he needs to.

The Miami Marlins should be diving for the phone now that he's cleared waivers.

Honestly, it might have even been worth claiming him outright. Yes, the Marlins are just about fully cooked when it comes to 2025 contention. A few weeks ago, this would have been a much stronger argument, as they would have still been on the fringes of the race. Now? The best thing that can be said of the 2025 Miami Marlins playoff chances is that they are not yet mathematically eliminated. Which makes them a far from traditional suitor for the salary dumping and waiver churning baseball enjoys in late August.

Doesn't matter. It's not like there's a rule against the bad teams making such moves. And the Miami Marlins should think long and hard about doing just that.

Why? Well, for starters, first base is the weakest position in the organization. Even at the ripe old age of 39, Santana would rank uncomfortably high among Miami's under contract options. If you had to pick one hole on the 2025 Marlins, it would have been first base. Admittedly, Eric Wagaman and Troy Johnston have come on stronger over the last couple weeks, but neither is seen as a sure thing to blossom into an everyday MLB option. The way this roster is currently built, improvement at first base is a must if the Marlins are going to take the next step in 2026. One could argue third base isn't looking too much better, but there's no arguing that Miami will need to spend some money on corner infielders this winter.

Unfortunately, there are a few problems with that. First and foremost, free agents tend not to be that crazy about signing with Miami. At least not the high profile options. For another, the first base free agent market is looking pretty top heavy. The Marlins aren't paying Pete Alonso or Josh Naylor. It's hard to imagine Salvador Perez leaving Kansas City unless it's to join a team with a clear shot at a championship. The next best option might actually be Luis Arraez, whom Miami already moved on from once. Just as they did from Josh Bell, another impending free agent. If you take those names off the table, you're left with a glob of mid-tier talent.

Santana might not be the best among them, but he has two clear advantages over the rest of the pack: defensive prowess and immediate availability.

Even if Miami just had Santana for the final month, just think what kind of impact he could have on the rest of the team in that time. Even if he split time at first with Johnston and/or Wagaman, they would have the opportunity to learn plenty from Santana about defense and preparation. He'd effectively be a player/coach for the rest of 2025.

Then again, it could also prime him to want to come back in 2026. As noted above, Miami's biggest problem tends to be getting free agents in the door in the first place. Once here, perhaps Santana falls in love with the coaching staff. Perhaps he makes some fast friends. Or perhaps he just discovers how much he likes living close to the beach.

Bottom-line, it's a cheap and painless tryout with almost zero downside. Yes, it would rob some reps from Johnston and Wagaman, but they're not exactly top flight prospects. The Marlins are going to look at improving at first base in 2026, and are very likely going to have to go outside the organization to do so. Barring a trade, Santana will be near the top of the list of options Miami can afford, assuming they don't just get outbid by another suitor.

They might as well get ahead of the game and kick the tires on Santana now.