DENVER — The Chicago Cubs are signing first baseman Carlos Santana, a source told ESPN on Sunday.
Santana, 39, hit .225 with 11 home runs in 116 games for the Cleveland Guardians this season before being released by the team Friday.
The 16-year veteran has a career .778 OPS while playing for seven different teams, though most of his time was spent with the Guardians who he rejoined this year after spending a decade there to start his career.
Though he’s a switch-hitter, Santana is likely to see at-bats as a righty almost exclusively as the Cubs are just 17-19 on the season when a lefty starts against them. Left-handed hitter Michael Busch is the regular starter at first base, but he’s been spelled by veteran Justin Turner often this season.
It’s unclear what Santana’s signing means for the immediate future of Turner, though he’s considered the clubhouse leader on the team and with rosters expanding to 28 on Monday, the team has several options open to them to keep Turner if they desire.
The Cubs will enter the final month of the season as the No. 1 seed in the NL wild card race, trailing the first place Milwaukee Brewers by 6.5 games for the NL Central crown entering play on Sunday.
