Veteran reliever Dennis Santana has inked a minor league deal with the Diamondbacks, per his MLB.com transaction tracker. The right-hander was designated for assignment by the Pirates in late July. Santana chose free agency instead of heading to the minors and has found a new organization.
After securing a career-high 16 saves in 2025, Santana entered this season as the presumed closer in Pittsburgh. It didn’t last long. The righty went 2-for-4 on save opportunities heading into May and was soon replaced by left-hander Gregory Soto. A 7.45 ERA in May relegated Santana to low-leverage work. He was bumped off the roster when the Pirates added Ron Marinaccio in a small trade with the Padres.
The 30-year-old Santana had been a fairly unremarkable reliever before coming to Pittsburgh in 2024. The club picked him up via waiver claim from the Yankees midway through that season. Santana put together a 2.44 ERA with a 29.1% strikeout rate across 39 games with the Pirates that year. He set up for David Bednar in 2025, then took over as closer after Bednar was dealt to the Yankees at the trade deadline. Santana struggled to miss bats but kept the ball in the yard and posted a 2.18 ERA last year.
Santana’s underwhelming strikeout rate last season deteriorated even further this year. He punched out opponents at a 19.9% clip, unbefitting of a high-leverage reliever. The righty also had a bloated 11.3% walk rate. After allowing five home runs in 2025, Santana was taken deep eight times in 41 2/3 innings this season. The unsurprising result of more walks, fewer strikeouts, and a bump in homers was an unsightly 6.05 ERA.
The stuff has ticked down slightly for Santana in 2026. He averaged a career-low 94.1 mph on his fastball. His slider sat at 85.6 mph, a 1.4 mph drop from 2025. The four-seamer/slider combo is Santana’s bread and butter, but it performed poorly this year. Opponents slugged .489 against Santana’s heater. His slider had a solid 37.6% whiff rate, but a -3 Run Value. The two pitches combined for 16 Run Value last season.
Arizona’s presumptive closer also scuffled this season. Right-hander Paul Sewald was bumped from the role after blowing his third save at the end of July. The veteran has a 6.23 ERA through 39 innings. The Diamondbacks, despite holding one of the Wild Card spots in the NL, did nothing to supplement the bullpen at the trade deadline. The organization largely held pat on Monday, outside of the addition of outfielder Lars Nootbaar.
Lefty Brandyn Garcia has emerged as a strong late-inning option for manager Torey Lovullo. The 26-year-old has a crisp 2.03 ERA with a 31% strikeout rate through 37 appearances. Garcia seems like Sewald’s replacement after picking up two saves to close July. He also finished off Monday’s win over the Padres with a four-run lead.
Garcia is the only high-leverage lefty in the Arizona bullpen, making him a less-than-ideal fit for the closer role. The job could eventually go to Justin Martinez. The hard-throwing righty started a rehab assignment this week. He’s working his way back from elbow surgery. Martinez has 13 saves since the start of 2024. Arizona signed him to a five-year, $18MM extension last season, so he’ll be a fixture in the ‘pen for the foreseeable future.
Photo courtey of Rafael Suanes, Imagn Images
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