Diamondbacks sign former Pirates closer to a minor league deal
Dennis Santana saved 16 games for the Pirates last year before taking a step back, and the Diamondbacks took a flier on him with a minors deal.
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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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Comments
7 Comments
Most teams will invest in their pitching staff...both starters and bullpen...starting with their farm system to the major. It seems like the Dbacks take flyers and hope for the best.
I have said for years that pitching wins games. I am not a Reds fan but let's take a look at their 1974, 1975 and 1976 teams.
In 1974, their bullpen had a 2.98 ERA and they finished second place in the NL West with 98 wins (please remember, no wildcard teams...the Dodgers won the NL West with 102 wins).
In 1975, the ERA for their bullpen was 2.67. The experts said that this improvement was an important factor in Reds jump from second place in the NL West to winning the 1975 World Series.
In 1976, the ERA for their bullpen was 2.56...another World Series championship.
The Reds' bullpen improvement in each of those three seasons, helped fuel a remarkable three-year run in which the Reds won 308 regular-season games (98, 108, and 102 wins) and captured back-to-back World Series titles in 1975 and 1976.
Pitching wins championships!!!
I really still am appalled how badly Hazen neglects and undervalues the closer job!!
We had 3 sub par Relievers experience the best month of their careers all at the same time! And it literally carried us the WS! And ya know it probably turns out very differently had we INVESTED in those relief roles like most other teams to..
EVERYONE knows this! EXCEPT Hazen!!
Year after year, it’s let’s see who the closer will be, while true contenders have THEIR closer, their set firmly identified!!
GOM, you forgot to tell everyone the 1975 Reds have been compared to the 27 Yankees. Two of the best lineups in the history of baseball. Lol