GM Mike Hazen Explains Why D-backs Signed Carlos Santana

Why the Diamondbacks signed the veteran first baseman.

Jul 23, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians first baseman Carlos Santana (41) tosses the ball to first base in the sixth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images | David Richard-Imagn Images

On Tuesday, the Arizona Diamondbacks officially announced the signing of veteran first baseman Carlos Santana. In a corresponding move, left-hander Andrew Saalfrank was placed on the 60-day IL as he recovers from season-ending shoulder surgery.

As pitchers and catchers officially reported to Salt River Fields in Scottsdale, Santana was already out on the field taking ground balls with the starting infield, alongside Ketel Marte and Geraldo Perdomo.

Not long following, GM Mike Hazen met with the media to ring in a the new baseball year. Hazen explained why the D-backs opted to sign the veteran first baseman — defense.

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"I think one of the things that we set off into this offseason coming off of last year was a commitment to really fortifying our defense in a lot of the moves that we were trying to make, and I feel like we've tried to stay somewhat stubborn to that.

"We still have a lot of firepower at the top of our lineup. We'll continue to round out and build the bottom part of our lineup. We wanted to make sure that our defense was where it needed to be, and [Santana]'s an elite defender at that position," Hazen said.

"We just we really wanted to solidify the corners for this team moving forward, and for the defense from a run prevention standpoint, that's been the reason the last two years we haven't made the playoffs. We wanted to make sure that that wasn't the case going into this year.

Santana's +12 Defensive Runs Saved speaks volumes about who he is as a defender. He's been consistently near the top of first base defenders and owns a Gold Glove. The bat, however, has declined in recent seasons, offering a bit of a dilemma with regard to how often he'll be deployed.

Hazen said he's not sure how the reps will be shared between Santana and platoonmate Pavin Smith exactly. Smith figured to be the heavy side, facing right-handers, but with Santana's ability to hit from both sides, it seemed as if the veteran first baseman might be in line more playing time, especially with an elite glove.

Just how that will shake out is unclear. Hazen did emphasize an expectation of defensive improvement by Smith, however, which may suggest a split closer to even. From Hazen's comments, it appears that an increased share for Smith would be dependent on a defensive leap.

"There's certainly going to be some days with [Santana] and Pavin, mixing in and around there. Still, you know, not 100% certain where the DH and all those days are going to be," Hazen said.

"Carlos is certainly stronger versus lefties, Pavin's stronger versus righties, so there is still some of that... We expect Pavin to grow and improve from a defensive standpoint, so we'll see where the year takes us. We've bounced Pavin around quite a bit. We've never really given him a spot to sort of solidify himself defensively. He's going to continue to improve.

"But Carlos comes now as an elite defensive player, and he's going to see time there, and I'm sure there's going to be early in the season opportunities to defensive replace if we're ahead and things like that, but that will be up to [manager Torey Lovullo] how it gets deployed."

Lovullo, meanwhile, said he has "yet to outline" a specific plan for their veteran defenders, including Santana and Nolan Arenado. Lovullo expects to formulate that outline in the coming weeks.

"My expectation is we need them on the field as often as possible at the highest level," Lovullo said.