Dennis Santana DFA brings Pirates' painful David Bednar choice full circle

The Pittsburgh Pirates’ decision to designate Dennis Santana for assignment Thursday was already notable on its own, but it becomes much more painful when viewed through the lens of David Bednar.

Santana was one of Pittsburgh’s best relievers in 2025, posting a 2.18 ERA across 70 1/3 innings and earning a $3.5 million salary through arbitration for 2026. But virtually none of that success carried over. His ERA ballooned to 6.05 through 41 2/3 innings, his strikeout rate dipped from 22.2% to 19.9%, and his walk rate jumped from 6.3% to an ugly 11.3%.

Now, just months before he would have reached free agency anyway, Santana is off the roster. And it’s impossible not to think about what happened at last year’s trade deadline.

The Pirates effectively had a choice to make between cashing in on Santana’s breakout season or moving on from Bednar, the hometown closer who had twice represented Pittsburgh at the All-Star Game but had endured a dramatic fall from grace.

They ultimately chose Bednar, sending him to the New York Yankees for Rafael Flores Jr., Edgleen Perez and Brian Sanchez. Fast forward one year, and Bednar owns a 2.53 ERA with 18 saves for New York while Santana has been designated for assignment.

Pirates' choice between Dennis Santana and David Bednar aged terribly, but hindsight matters

It’s incredibly tempting to look at those outcomes and declare the Pirates made an obvious mistake. They should have traded Santana while his value was at its peak, kept Bednar and watched their longtime closer rediscover himself in Pittsburgh. Imagine how much different this bullpen — and perhaps the Pirates’ place in the playoff race — might look right now.

There’s just one problem with that argument: It requires pretending nobody remembers what Bednar looked like before the trade.

Bednar posted a 5.77 ERA in 2024 and blew seven saves after rushing back from a lat injury. His struggles continued badly enough the following season that the Pirates did something once almost unimaginable and optioned their two-time All-Star closer to Triple-A Indianapolis.

That demotion helped Bednar rediscover himself, but it hardly erased the risk involved in betting on a volatile reliever approaching free agency.

Santana, meanwhile, was coming off the best season of his career. His peripherals suggested some regression was coming — a .211 BABIP and 80.7% strand rate were never likely to last — but a complete collapse wasn’t inevitable, either.

That’s the uncomfortable reality with relievers. They are notoriously unpredictable. Bednar could dominate for years. He could also lose his command next month. Santana looked like a bullpen building block one year ago and is now in DFA limbo.

So yes, seeing Bednar thriving in New York while Santana gets pushed off Pittsburgh’s roster hurts. It also brings the Pirates’ decision full circle in the cruelest possible way.

The outcome looks obvious now, but the choice wasn’t nearly as obvious then.

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