Chicago Cubs Agree to 1-Year Contract With First Baseman Carlos Santana

The Chicago Cubs added Carlos Santana on Sunday, agreeing to a one-year contract with the veteran first baseman that puts him in the mix for the playoffs, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the move had not been announced by the team.

The Cubs also claimed right-hander Aaron Civale off waivers from the White Sox before their series finale at Colorado. Right-hander Porter Hodge was recalled from Triple-A Iowa, and left-hander Jordan Wicks was sent down. Tom Cosgrove, another lefty, was designated for assignment.

The timing of the moves makes Santana and Civale eligible for Chicago’s postseason roster because they were part of the organization before the MLB deadline at 11:59 p.m. ET on Sunday. Active major league rosters expanded from 26 to 28 players on Monday, so they will likely join the team before the opener of a three-game series against Atlanta.

The 39-year-old Santana was released by Cleveland on Thursday, ending his third stint with the franchise.

Chicago has Michael Busch at first base, and Seiya Suzuki is the team’s primary designated hitter. But the addition of Santana puts another experienced option on manager Craig Counsell’s bench.

Santana batted .225 with 11 homers and 52 RBIs in 116 games with the Guardians after signing a $12 million, one-year contract in December. The former Silver Slugger and Gold Glove winner is the majors’ active leader with 1,330 career walks.

Going into Sunday’s action, Chicago was on top of the NL wild-card standings with a 78-58 record. It trailed NL Central-leading Milwaukee by 6 1/2 games.

Santana played for Counsell at the end of the 2023 season after he was traded from Pittsburgh to Milwaukee. Cubs general manager Carter Hawkins also knows Santana from his time in Cleveland’s front office.

The New York Post first reported that Santana had signed with Chicago.

Civale is 3-9 with a 5.26 ERA in 18 starts this year. He was traded from the Brewers to the White Sox for first baseman Andrew Vaughn on June 13.

Hodge is 2-1 with a 6.85 ERA and two saves in 26 appearances for Chicago this year. In his past nine appearances with Iowa going back to Aug. 1, he struck out 20 and allowed six hits over 12 scoreless innings.

“I think one thing we want to keep in mind is Porter had a big impact on this team last year and was pitching at a really high level at the end of the year last year,” Counsell said. “He has not done so so far this year, but there are some signs that he’s starting to pitch well in Iowa.

“If we could get that version of Porter kind of coming back again, that’s obviously a big plus and something we’d want to still be open to. We’ll see what happens here.”

The 25-year-old Wicks, a first-round pick in the 2021 amateur draft, is 0-1 with an 8.71 ERA in six relief appearances with the Cubs this year.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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