3 months ago
The Diamondbacks are taking a low-risk shot on veteran reliever, signing right-hander Dennis Santana to a minor league deal two weeks after he was designated for ******* ignment by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Santana was dominant with the Pirates last season, logging a 2.18 ERA in 70 appearances out of their bullpen while converting 16 of 19 save chances. He was not the same reliever this year, pitching to a 6.05 ERA in 41⅔ innings.
Santana has an intriguing connection to the Diamondbacks: He crossed paths in Pittsburgh with Diamondbacks ******* istant general manager Jeremy Bleich, who until December had been the Pirates' director of pitching development.
"Obviously, have history with player, but I think we would do the same move with anyone in this sort of script," Bleich said. "Obviously, the reliever pool is extremely volatile. He was good in Pittsburgh and he had a tough year this year. We have found a few things that are different from last year, so I think in this context anytime you can get a pitcher who has had real success at the major-league level and you can find a specific thing or two that you can try to improve in a short period of time, it's worth the investment in resources to do."
Asked what specifics the organization will try to adjust with Santana, Bleich kept it vague.
#bleich #league
Santana was dominant with the Pirates last season, logging a 2.18 ERA in 70 appearances out of their bullpen while converting 16 of 19 save chances. He was not the same reliever this year, pitching to a 6.05 ERA in 41⅔ innings.
Santana has an intriguing connection to the Diamondbacks: He crossed paths in Pittsburgh with Diamondbacks ******* istant general manager Jeremy Bleich, who until December had been the Pirates' director of pitching development.
"Obviously, have history with player, but I think we would do the same move with anyone in this sort of script," Bleich said. "Obviously, the reliever pool is extremely volatile. He was good in Pittsburgh and he had a tough year this year. We have found a few things that are different from last year, so I think in this context anytime you can get a pitcher who has had real success at the major-league level and you can find a specific thing or two that you can try to improve in a short period of time, it's worth the investment in resources to do."
Asked what specifics the organization will try to adjust with Santana, Bleich kept it vague.
#bleich #league
