Last year, the Yankees cycled through 54 players on their quest toward an American League pennant. One of the more under-the-radar guys to suit up in the pinstripes during that time was relief pitcher Dennis Santana.
Santana signed with the Yankees on a minor league roster prior to the 2024 season and broke onto the roster when Jonathan Loaisiga suffered a flexor strain injury.
That injury led to Santana throwing 27 uninspiring innings with the Yankees before he was designated for assignment in the middle of June and claimed by the Pirates, which we all assumed would bring about the end to his Yankees career. But that may not be the case.
MLB insider Jon Heyman recently reported the Yankees were interested in some players on Pittsburgh's roster — one of whom was Santana.
Latest Yankees trade rumor highlights Dennis Santana reunion nobody would be on board with
While Santana’s Yankees tenure was unspectacular, he’s been the exact opposite with the Pirates, as he’s posted a 1.86 ERA in 86 2/3 innings with the club.
That’s a stark departure from how things have gone for him at every other spot. In fact, his time with the Pirates is the only juncture in his career where he’s been worth a positive bWAR. He had a 2.44 ERA in 44 1/3 innings last year and has a sparkling 1.49 ERA in 42 1/3 innings this year.
It’s not hard to think about how he’d help the Yankees, who entered play on Wednesday with a 4.05 bullpen ERA and a 6.14 ERA in 66 July innings. The bullpen has been a struggle all year for the Bombers thanks to Devin Williams’ early season struggles, but things have been especially bad as of late.
And while Santana alone wouldn't fix that problem, he’d definitely make things better. He’s throwing his slider more than ever and getting even more life out of his cutter, which could add some more wipeout stuff to a bullpen that doesn’t have a ton of guys with dominant arsenals.
He’s not without question marks, however. He hasn’t succeeded outside of Pittsburgh. He had never finished with an ERA under 5.00 in a season prior to last year, and struggled immensely with his command.
But that’s where we’re at in the Yankees season. Their bullpen looked like one of the team's strengths coming into the season, and now it looks like the front office is desperate to acquire a former castoff because ... that's how bad the unit is.
