CLEVELAND (AP) — Even after leaving Cleveland, Carlos Santana remained a fan favorite and was warmly welcomed back as a visitor.
He's home again.
Santana signed a one-year, $12 million contract and returned Monday for his third stint with the Guardians, who have an opening at first base after the AL Central champions traded Josh Naylor to Arizona on Saturday. Santana can earn an additional $1.2 million in bonuses for plate appearances: $200,000 for 500 and each additional 25 through 650.
The 38-year-old Santana spent last season with Minnesota, batting .238 with 23 homers and 71 RBIs in 150 games. He also won his first Gold Glove, becoming the oldest position player to win the honor for the first time.
Santana previously was with Cleveland from 2010-17. He returned in 2019, made his first All-Star team and spent two seasons with the club before signing as a free agent with the Kansas City Royals.
The switch-hitter is second in club history in walks (881), tied for sixth in homers (216) and is eighth in extra-base hits (503). Over 15 major league seasons, Santana has 324 homers and 1,082 RBIs in 2,080 games.
Santana has been remarkably consistent, driving in at least 60 runs and playing a minimum of 130 games in each of his 13 full seasons. He also has played for Philadelphia, Seattle, Pittsburgh and Milwaukee.
The well-respected Santana will be Cleveland's primary first baseman in 2025 after the Guardians sent Naylor to the Diamondbacks for right-hander Slade Cecconi and a competitive balance draft pick.
The Guardians have other options at first base, including Kyle Manzardo and Jhonkensy Noel. But there's no need to rush those players with Santana around, and it's entirely possible he could be signed beyond 2025.
With the Naylor deal, the Guardians have completely overhauled the right side of their infield this winter. Cleveland previously traded Gold Glove second baseman Andrés Giménez to Toronto as part of a three-team swap with Pittsburgh.
It feels somewhat risky — and maybe unnecessary — for an established team, but president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti was quick to point out that both Naylor and Giménez arrived in Cleveland via trades.
“Very difficult trades,” he said. "In terms of how we have to operate moving forward, there are times when we have to make difficult decisions involving very good players, but our goal continues to be how do we find a way to field competitive teams both in the near term and long term and that sometimes necessitates difficult decisions.
“To be clear, our goal in 2025 is to try to find a way to win the American League Central.”
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FILE - Cleveland Indians catcher Carlos Santana during a baseball game against the Texas Rangers, July 7, 2010 in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s opposition-controlled National Assembly voted Friday to impeach acting President Han Duck-soo despite vehement protests by governing party lawmakers, further deepening the country’s political crisis set off by President Yoon Suk Yeol’s stunning imposition of martial law and ensuing impeachment.
Han’s impeachment means he will be stripped of the powers and duties of the president until the Constitutional Court decides whether to dismiss or reinstate him. The court is already reviewing whether to uphold Yoon's earlier impeachment. The impeachments of the country’s top two officials worsen its political turmoil, deepen its economic uncertainty and hurt its international image.
The single-chamber National Assembly passed Han’s impeachment motion with a 192-0 vote. Lawmakers with the governing People Power Party boycotted the vote and surrounded the podium where assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik was seated and shouted that the vote was “invalid” and demanded Woo's resignation. No violence or injuries were reported.
The PPP lawmakers protested after Woo called for a vote on Han’s impeachment motion after announcing its passage required a simple majority in the 300-memer assembly, not a two-thirds majority as claimed by the PPP. Most South Korean officials can be impeached by the National Assembly with a simple majority vote, but a president’s impeachment needs the support of two-thirds. There are no specific laws on the impeachment of an acting president.
In a statement, Han called his impeachment “regrettable” but said he respects the assembly's decision and will suspend his duties to “not add to additional confusion and uncertainty.” He said he will wait for “a swift, wise decision” by the Constitutional Court.
Han’s powers were officially suspended after the copies of his impeachment document were delivered to him and the Constitutional Court. The deputy prime minister and finance minister, Choi Sang-mok, is next in line to take over.
Han, who was appointed prime minister by Yoon, became acting president after Yoon, a conservative, was impeached by the National Assembly about two weeks ago over his short-lived Dec. 3 imposition of martial law. Han quickly clashed with the main liberal opposition Democratic Party as he pushed back against opposition-led efforts to fill three vacant seats on the Constitutional Court, establish an independent investigation into Yoon’s martial law decree and legislate pro-farmer bills.
At the heart of the fighting is the Democratic Party’s demand that Han approve the assembly's nominations of three new Constitutional Court justices to restore its full nine-member bench ahead of its ruling on Yoon’s impeachment. That’s a politically sensitive issue because a court decision to dismiss Yoon as president needs support from at least six justices, and adding more justices will likely increase the prospects for Yoon’s ouster. Yoon’s political allies in the governing party oppose the appointment of the three justices, saying Han shouldn’t exercise the presidential authority to make the appointments while Yoon has yet to be formally removed from office.
On Thursday, Han said he wouldn’t appoint the justices without bipartisan consent. The Democratic Party, which holds a majority in the assembly, submitted an impeachment motion against Han and passed bills calling for the appointment of three justices.
South Korean investigative agencies are probing whether Yoon committed rebellion and abuse of power with his marital law decree. His defense minister, police chief and several other senior military commanders have already been arrested over the deployment of troops and police officers to the National Assembly, which prompted a dramatic standoff that ended when lawmakers managed to enter the chamber and voted unanimously to overrule Yoon’s decree.
Han's impeachment motion accuses him of collaborating and abetting Yoon's declaration of martial law. It also accuses Han of attempting to obstruct the restoration of the Constructional Court's full membership and of delaying investigations into Yoon's alleged rebellion by not appointing independent counsels.
Protesters hold banners showing images of impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol, right, and acting President Han Duck-soo during a rally demanding Han's impeachment outside of the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Dec. 27, 2024. The signs read "Impeachment immediately" (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
South Korea's ruling People Power Party floor leader Kweon Seong-dong, top right, argues with democratic Party floor leader Park Chan-dae, top left, as National Assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik stands between them during a plenary session for the impeachment motion against South Korean acting President Han Duck-soo at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Dec. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Impeached South Korean acting President Han Duck-soo gets into a car as he leaves the government complex building in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Dec. 27, 2024. (Hong Hae-in/Yonhap via AP)
Impeached South Korean acting President Han Duck-soo leaves the government complex building in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Dec. 27, 2024. (Hong Hae-in/Yonhap via AP)
South Korea's opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, bottom center, walks past lawmakers of the ruling People Power Party protesting to South Korea's National Assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik, top center, during a plenary session for the impeachment motion against South Korean acting President Han Duck-soo at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Friday Dec. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
South Korea's opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, bottom center, walks past lawmakers of the ruling People Power Party protesting to South Korea's National Assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik, top center, during a plenary session for the impeachment motion against South Korean acting President Han Duck-soo at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Friday Dec. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Lawmakers, left, of South Korea's opposition Democratic Party, hold signs as lawmakers of the ruling People Power Party protesting to South Korea's National Assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik, top second from right, during a plenary session for the impeachment motion against South Korean acting President Han Duck-soo at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Dec. 27, 2024. The signs read "People Power Party is an accomplice of rebellion". (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Lawmakers of the ruling People Power Party protest to South Korea's National Assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik, top center, during a plenary session for the impeachment motion against South Korean acting President Han Duck-soo at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Friday Dec. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
South Korea's opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung casts his ballot during a plenary session for the impeachment motion against South Korean acting President Han Duck-soo at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Friday Dec. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
South Korea's National Assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik bangs a gavel during a plenary session for the impeachment motion against South Korean acting President Han Duck-soo at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Friday Dec. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
South Korea's National Assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik, top, speaks as lawmakers of the ruling People Power Party protest during a plenary session for the impeachment motion against the country's acting President Han Duck-soo at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Dec. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Lawmakers of the ruling People Power Party protest to South Korea's National Assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik, top left, during a plenary session for the impeachment motion against South Korean acting President Han Duck-soo at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Friday Dec. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Lawmakers of the ruling People Power Party protest to South Korea's National Assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik, top center, during a plenary session for the impeachment motion against South Korean acting President Han Duck-soo at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Friday Dec. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
South Korean acting President Han Duck-soo speaks at the government complex in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (Choi Jae-koo/Yonhap via AP)
