Diamondbacks sign former Pirates closer to a minor league deal

The Arizona Diamondbacks signed relief pitcher Dennis Santana to a minor league contract on Wednesday, adding a veteran arm who experienced a breakout 2025 season to the system.

Santana saved 16 games with a 2.18 ERA for the Pittsburgh Pirates last year, taking over the closer role after the club traded David Bednar to the New York Yankees.

Santana, a 30-year-old right-hander, took a massive step back this season, pitching to a 6.05 ERA in 44 games before the Pirates designated him for assignment. His predictive stats were not pretty, either (5.30 xERA and 5.47 FIP). He was released on July 29.

Across the board, his numbers tumbled in the wrong direction this year:

• Walk rate up from 6.3% to 11.3%
• Home run rate up from 1.9% to 4.3%
• Strikeouts down from 22.2% to 19.9%
• Ground balls down 38.9% to 29.4%

The Diamondbacks assigned him to the Arizona Complex League, according to the minor league transactions log.

This is a flier for bullpen depth considering how dominant he was less than a year ago. Even in 2026, he owned a 0.69 ERA in his first 13 outings before his season spiraled.

Many times, these experiments do not lead to anything substantial, but Ryan Thompson had an ERA over six in 2023 before he got dumped by the Tampa Bay Rays, signed a minor league deal in Arizona and became integral to the postseason push.

Santana throws a mid-90s mph fastball and still missed bats with his slider (37.6%), his primary pitch. He allowed runs in 12 of 44 games this year, but the walks and home runs were real issues.

Dennis Santana, Nasty 89mph Changeup. 👌 pic.twitter.com/cru6HwYpsm

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 17, 2025

Santana also pitched for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic before the season started, working with Diamondbacks bullpen coach Wellington Cepeda, who was Team D.R.’s pitching coach. D-backs infielders Ketel Marte and Geraldo Perdomo were on the national team, as well.

The veteran righty previously pitched for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Texas Rangers, New York Yankees and New York Mets before landing with Pittsburgh.

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