The Arizona Diamondbacks are in the market for more help this offseason to round out their infield. While they’ve shown interest in a few names around the league, there is one that stands out.
Paul Goldschmidt would be a very fun addition for the Diamondbacks, but, while they’ve shown interest in him, he’s not the most recent veteran All-Star first baseman the D-Backs have been interested in.
According to Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com, the Diamondbacks have been showing interest in a pair of veteran Gold Glove, All-Star first basemen in Carlos Santana and Ty France.
Diamondbacks interested in Carlos Santana, Ty France
“As reported last night, Diamondbacks are in on Carlos Santana as a free agent 1B target,” Cotillo reports. “They’ve also talked to Ty France, per source, though France has a robust market.”
The Diamondbacks have two veteran first basemen, other than Goldschmidt, that they’re interested in. Santana and France are two names to keep an eye on this offseason.
Santana is going to be 40 years old on April 8th, and while his offense has taken a step back, he’s still a net positive defensively.
This past season, with the Cleveland Guardians before a late-season release, he played in 116 games, posting 1.3 bWAR with a .225 batting average and a .650 OPS to go with great defense at first base.
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France is a great defender as well, and while his .257 average and .681 OPS might be better, there are more teams interested in him this offseason, with the New York Yankees, New York Mets, and others also in on France.
While either France or Santana would be nice additions for the Diamondbacks, Santana is the far more likely one, as his market isn’t nearly as robust as France’s.
Nothing is official, nor is anything close to being done. But the Diamondbacks interest is real, and worth keeping an eye on as the veteran first baseman market begins to move along in the coming weeks leading up to Spring Training.
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