Guardians may have just given the Reds a perfect excuse not to call up Sal Stewart

It seems like all Cincinnati Reds fans can talk about at the moment is Sal Stewart and his impending Major League call-up. The Reds top prospect has been dominant since receiving a promotion to Triple-A last month, and Cincinnati is running out of excuses to keep Stewart in the minor leagues much longer.

The Cleveland Guardians, however, may have just given Nick Krall and the Reds front office the perfect cover. On Tuesday, MLB insider Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription required) revealed that the Guardians have placed veteran first baseman Carlos Santana on outright waivers.

Santana, who previously played for Reds manager Terry Francona during his time in Cleveland, is hitting .225/.316/.333 on the season. While those numbers are nowhere the type of production Reds fans have seen from Stewart, adding Santana to the roster feels like the perfect excuse for Cincinnati to keep the 21-year-old in the minors for the rest of the 2025 season.

Guardians may have just given the Reds a perfect excuse not to call up Sal Stewart

Santana was signed to a one-year, $12 million deal this past offseason, and if another team submits a claim within the next 48 hours, they'll be responsible for the remainder of his salary (~$2 million). The savings the Reds received after Jake Fraley was claimed by the Atlanta Braves might be just enough to allow the front office to take on such a salary.

Waiver claim priority is determined by a team's win-loss record, and among all the NL contenders, the Reds would get first dibs for Santana's services. It's highly unlikely Cincinnati would play Santana in place of Spencer Steer at first base, but he would give the Reds a veteran right-handed bat in the lineup. That could come in handy if Miguel Andujar's quad injury continues to be a problem.

Francona's familiarity with Santana would undoubtedly carry some weight, and the 39-year-old went to the All-Star Game during the 2019 season under Tito's tutelage. Santana's offensive prowess, however, has taken quite a hit over the past five seasons, and his OPS dropped 100 points since his 2024 campaign with the Minnesota Twins.

The Cincinnati faithful have been pleading with the front office to give Stewart a chance. The Reds' offense has been abysmal of late, prompting calls for the prospect's promotion as a means to give Cincinnati's lineup a shot in the arm.

If adding an aging veteran like Santana is what keeps Stewart in the minor leagues, Reds fans are not going to be happy. But this feels very Reds-like, doesn't it?

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