Carlos Santana DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Cleveland Guardians first baseman Carlos Santana (leg) is back at first base and is hitting fifth on Tuesday as the series continues against the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers and right-hander Dustin May at Progressive Field. Santana will return to the lineup after missing the last two games due to tightness in his left leg. The 39-year-old switch-hitting veteran will be looking to extend his modest hitting streak to seven games in his return against a pitcher he's never faced in his career in May. During his six-game hitting streak, the Dominican product has gone 8-for-21 (.381) with two home runs, two doubles, six RBI and six runs scored. Overall, Santana is slashing .235/.345/.371 with a .715 OPS, six home runs, five doubles, 27 RBI, 26 runs scored and two stolen bases in 49 games as the Guardians' primary first baseman.

Cleveland Guardians first baseman Carlos Santana (leg) is sitting out of Monday's series opener against the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers at Progressive Field. Kyle Manzardo is starting at first base and batting cleanup against Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Santana should be considered day-to-day this week after he was scratched from Sunday's lineup with tightness in his left leg. Fantasy managers will want to check back to see if he's active for Game 2 of the series on Tuesday. The switch-hitting Santana is nothing special offensively but has contributed a decent 27 RBI and 26 runs scored in his 170 at-bats on the year as the team's starting first baseman, adding six home runs and two stolen bases. Manzardo already has a career-high 10 long balls but is batting .216 (35-for-162) in 47 games. He has never faced Yamamoto in his career.

Cleveland Guardians first baseman Carlos Santana (leg) was scratched from Sunday's starting nine due to left leg tightness. Tim Stebbins of MLB.com noted that this is precautionary, and the veteran could return to the starting nine quickly. Fantasy managers should monitor his status leading up to their next game on Monday evening against the Los Angeles Dodgers. As a result, this afternoon, Kyle Manzardo will enter the starting nine and cover first base. Manzardo typically sits against southpaws but will get the nod with Santana sitting out. Over his last eight games, Santana has begun to heat up at the plate, holding a strong .310/.412/.586 slash line with two doubles and two home runs over his last eight games. Manzardo will have a difficult matchup facing Detroit ace Tarik Skubal and is best to fade in DFS competitions.

Cleveland Guardians first baseman Carlos Santana opened up the scoring on Saturday with a 415-foot solo home run off of Angels starter Jack Kochanowicz in the first inning, but Cleveland would go on to lose 10-4 to the Halos. Santana would finish 2-for-3 with a walk, two RBI, and two runs scored. The former All-Star now has three multi-hit games in his last five games and now owns a .290/.343/.452 slash line with a .332 wOBA and 115 wRC+. The 38-year-old has shown he can still hit, making good contact (84.1 percent Contact%) and not striking out at a high rate (14.3 percent K%), and is coming off a season in which he played 150 games with 23 home runs in two consecutive seasons now, so fantasy managers who are deploying the veteran should have confidencein continuing to use his services until he shows signs of a slowdown. It may not be the prettiest of all waiver wire pickups, but managers looking for some bench help could consider the switch-hitter who is owned in just nine percent of Yahoo leagues.

Cleveland Guardians first baseman Carlos Santana is expected to have an everyday role at first base to open the 2025 campaign. Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com reports that given Josh Naylor's departure, David Fry's (elbow) injury, and the development of Kyle Manzardo, Santana will likely have an everyday role at first base to open the season. Earlier in the offseason, it was reported that Fry could return to the batter's box early in the season but would only be able to operate as a designated hitter. The Guardians brought back their long-time first baseman in the offseason on a one-year $12 million contract. Santana spent the first eight years of his career in Cleveland and then returned for a brief two-year stint during 2019 and 2020 and will now return for his third stint. Last season, the 38-year-old held a .238/.328/.420 line with 23 home runs with the Minnesota Twins. He was very effective against left-handed pitchers as he posted a strong .286/.356/.578 line against them. As their top prospect, Kyle Manzardo, begins to develop, he may eventually earn a platoon role at first base alongside Santana. However, for now, fantasy managers in deeper formats should expect Santana to see most of the opportunities at first base.