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In June, the Pirates claimed right handed reliever Dennis Santana off waivers from the New York Yankees. Initially, it looked like another cheap pickup by the Pirates to eat innings, but after Santana's impressive turnaround during his time in Pittsburgh, it appears that he could be a reliable high leverage reliever for the club in 2025.
When the Pirates first acquired Santana, he had been on a very poor stretch with the Yankees, posting a 6.26 ERA through 27.1 innings pitched. Opponents had a batting average of .260 with a WHIP of 1.35 and a FIP of 3.93. His strikeout percentage sat at just 16.5% and his walk rate was at 8.7%.
Once he joined the bullpen in Pittsburgh, however, Santana looked like a completely different pitcher. In 44.1 innings with the Pirates, Santana posted an excellent ERA of 2.44 with an identical FIP. He was lights out, pitching his way to a WHIP of 0.92, an opponent batting average of .190, and he struck out 50 batters, translating to a strikeout percentage of 29.1%. His control was even much better than it had been with the Yankees, as his walk percentage dropped to 6.4%.
Dennis Santana's strong 2024 turnaround with the Pirates gives him a chance of being a high leverage reliever
With these numbers, the Pirates decided to up Santana's role late in the season, especially with the struggles from David Bednar that resulted in him losing his closer role. This allowed Santana to put up 11 holds and a save down the final stretch of the season. Santana being effective in these late game situations is significant for his future in the Pittsburgh bullpen.
Santana's numbers were very impressive and even reliable, which the Pirates missed from Colin Holderman and Bednar in 2024. Those high leverage roles need more consistency for the Pirates to get back on track in 2025. If Santana can pitch in 2025 the way he did for the Pirates in 2024, he could be a reliable reliever in high leverage situations, potentially resulting in more wins for Pittsburgh.
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