Diamondbacks' Carlos Santana suffers setback amid injury rehab

This offseason saw the Arizona Diamondbacks take a small gamble on the veteran slugger Carlos Santana, penning the former Silver Slugger to a one-year, $2 million contract. The move had the potential to give the Diamondbacks a bit of offense at the corner infield, given the numbers that Santana put up last season, slugging 11 home runs and 54 RBIs.

But this signing would be put under a microscope immediately when Santana put up lackluster performances with Arizona in Spring Training, as well as the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic, slashing .167/.286/.167 for his national team.

These struggles would persist in the regular season, as the veteran slugger is hitting .083/.154/.125 through his eight games with the Diamondbacks, with no home runs or runs batted in to show for it.

But his time taking to the field would be put on hold in early April when the 40-year-old suffered from a strained right abductor. After a bit of time, Santana would be sent on a rehab assignment with Arizona’s Triple-A affiliate, the Reno Aces, with whom he played seven games, hitting to a .120 batting average with a single home run and four RBIs to his name.

Santana suffers another setback

Carlos Santana had been trending toward a return, but those plans have been put on hold after he reinjured his adductor last night in a rehab game with Triple-A Reno.

Just as Santana was getting into the swing of things with the Aces, it appears that he’s suffered a setback in his rehab stint, as he reinjured his abductor, as reported by the Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro.

In Santana’s place, Diamondbacks’ manager Torey Lovullo has opted to use Ildemaro Vargas, who is hitting .341/.366/.571 through his 32 games this season, filling in the void left by the 40-year-old.