Surprising Carlos Santana Injury Update Delays D-backs' Roster Crunch

The Arizona Diamondbacks will not be activating first baseman Carlos Santana from the injured list for the time being, despite some level of expectation that he might have been activated for Monday's game against the Texas Rangers in Arlington.

According to a new report from AZCentral's Nick Piecoro, Santana was trending in the direction of being activated sooner than later, but was ultimately pulled from one of his rehab games in Triple-A after suffering a setback and re-injuring the adductor that had landed him on the IL in the first place.

Santana hit 3-for-25 in seven rehab games with the Reno Aces before he was pulled from Sunday's contest early.

Diamondbacks' Carlos Santana re-injures adductor

Diamondbacks switch-hitter Carlos Santana hits a fly ball against the Rangers during a spring training game in Surprise on Feb. 24, 2026. | Patrick Breen/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Santana, 40, has not appeared in a contest with the Diamondbacks since April 5, when he exited a game against the the Atlanta Braves early after suffering said adductor strain and subsequently landing on the IL.

Santana had been struggling offensively in his extremely small sample size to begin the 2026 season. The veteran had been batting just .083 with a .279 OPS and one extra-base hit on the year.

Though he was mainly signed to provide solid defense at first base, Santana's early-season defensive metrics were not abnormally positive, either. He'd been worth -2 Defensive Runs Saved, -2 Outs Above Average and -2 Fielding Run Value through his first eight games.

It is certainly not a positive to see a player suffer an injury or a setback to an ongoing injury, but this news does extend the decision-making period for Arizona, who would have had to make a tough choice with regard to a looming roster crunch along the infield.

Diamondbacks' infield remains the same for now

Arizona Diamondbacks Jose Fernandez — May 7, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Jose Fernandez (11) dives for the ball against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the fifth inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images | Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

With Santana set to return, there was an awkward roster puzzle waiting to to be constructed by manager Torey Lovullo. Rookie 1B/3B Jose Fernandez needs playing time, while Lovullo has already committed to keeping Ildemaro Vargas in the lineup.

Both Fernandez and Vargas saw a large portion of their playing time at first base, without a great deal of flexibility at third base (inhabited by Nolan Arenado) shortstop (Geraldo Perdomo) and second base (Ketel Marte).

Despite Santana's lack of overall offensive production, there was no world in which the D-backs would DFA or refuse to play him regularly at first base. So a return for Santana would signal some amount of cutdown for Fernandez, Vargas, or one of Arizona's other infielders.

As of this writing, there has been no reported timetable for Santana's ultimate return. The re-injury could completely restart his recovery process, or simply push the return date slightly further back.

When he is healthy, however, Arizona will need to make a decision. Beyond the above-mentioned players, the D-backs will see another first baseman in Pavin Smith return at some point this season, as well.

The logjam will not get any less populated in the near future, but the D-backs won't have to figure that out right now, at least.

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