Pittsburgh Pirates News: Edgar Santana Suspended for 80 Games

On Sunday, it was announced that Pittsburgh Pirates reliever Edgar Santana will be suspended for 80 games due to a positive PED test.

The Pittsburgh Pirates and the rest of Major League Baseball took another step toward returning on Sunday. On Sunday, teams across the league announced their initial 60-man player pools and taxi squads for the 2020 season. You can read about the Pirates’ here.

There was also another bit of news for the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday. This news was not pleasant news, though. Right-handed reliever Edgar Santana has failed a PED test and will now have to serve an 80 game suspension.

Due to the regular season only being 60 games in 2020, this suspension will cause Santana to miss the entire season. Unfortunately, that will mark back-to-back seasons that Santana misses the entirety of.

The now 28-year-old Santana missed all of 2019 after undergoing Tommy John Surgery. Prior to undergoing the surgery, Santana appeared to be emerging as a player who would become a key core member of the bullpen for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Santana pitched 84.1 innings in 88 games for the Pirates in 2017 and 2018. In those two seasons Santana posted a 3.31 ERA and a 3.79 FIP. He walked 6.8% of batters faced, struck out 21.0% and he allowed just nine home runs.

In one of the last rounds of roster moves the Pirates made before the MLB roster freeze that went into place due to the coronavirus shutdown, Santana was optioned to Triple-A. This was a bit of a surprise as he appeared to have a great opportunity to make the MLB roster out of spring training.

This suspension will be a big blow to Santana’s career. When he is eligible to pitch in games again he will be 29-years-old. While 29 is not old, the last time he pitched in a MLB game he was 26. Also, missing back-to-back seasons is difficult for any player to overcome.