Jeff Passan report makes Pirates' Dennis Santana decision even more baffling

If you’re a Pittsburgh Pirates fan, your head is probably spinning right now—and not because of some splashy free-agent signing or shocking trade. No, it’s because the Pirates just did one of the most confusing, contradictory things imaginable by tendering Dennis Santana while somehow still telling the world that they're shopping for a closer this offseason.

Make it make sense. Please. Someone. Anyone.

Last week, MLB insider Jeff Passan listed the Pirates as one of the teams expected to be active in a "reliever-hungry market" for the handful of closers available in free agency; and when Passan reports something, it’s not rumor. It’s fact. A team insider didn’t casually mention this—they told Passan the Pirates were actively looking for a closer after trading David Bednar at the deadline last season.

The Pirates want a legitimate ninth-inning arm. They know it’s a major need. They understand you can’t run a contender with a bullpen made of duct tape and dreams. So how does tendering Santana fit into that plan?

Spoiler: It doesn't.

Let’s not sugarcoat it. Ben Cherington stumbled into a pleasant surprise when he snagged Santana off waivers from the New York Yankees in 2024. But the fact remains that the right-hander is still wildly inconsistent, prone to blow-ups, probably best suited as a middle reliever and definitely coming off a season in which he did not justify $3+ million.

Santana wasn’t a disaster in 2025, but he was so replaceable that most teams would have non-tendered him, re-signed him for cheaper or simply found someone equally effective for the league minimum. The Pirates tendering Santana feels like paying full price for something every other team knows you can grab out of the discount bin.

If the Pirates are really going all-in on bullpen upgrades, they shouldn't start the offseason by locking in $3.4 million of dead money to a guy who profiles as a setup man. If they were clearing space to add a closer, they definitely wouldn't box themselves in by protecting an arm that may or may not fill their greatest bullpen need.

It’s like saying you’re going to buy a new car while simultaneously pouring money into repairing your 2008 Civic’s third transmission. It's roster management 101.

Pirates fans are right to be baffled by decision to tender Dennis Santana

Pirates fans aren’t unreasonable. They weren’t demanding a $20 million closer. But they were expecting basic competence—especially after Santana looked like one of the easiest non-tenders on the roster.

Instead, they’re left wondering why the Pirates would spend $3.4 million to block a roster spot when upgrades are necessary, why they would contradict their stated offseason plan and why, frankly, this team is always making life harder for themselves for no reason.

This is why fans get so frustrated: Every time you think the Pirates might be turning a corner, a move like this reminds you that the organization still struggles with the most basic value calculations. This move screams, “We’re terrified of losing anyone with a pulse because what if they magically figure it out somewhere else?” That’s not strategy––that’s insecurity.

Tendering Santana doesn’t ruin the Pirates' offseason—but it absolutely exposes the same frustrating, small-market, risk-averse instincts that have held this franchise back for years. It's not that Santana is bad; it's that this decision reeks of poor roster strategy, poor financial allocation, poor alignment with states goals and poor messaging. It's yet another example of the Pirates doing the opposite of what winning teams do.

If the Pirates truly want a closer, they need to quit burning money and roster spots on players who don’t move the needle. And if Passan's report is accurate, Pirates fans have every right to ask how this team can claim to be serious about winning when it can't even make the obvious calls.