Recently Outrighted Braves Reliever Signs With Astros

After the Atlanta Braves designated relief pitcher Enyel De Los Santos for assignment and outrighted him to Triple-A Gwinnett, De Los Santos elected free agency. It then didn't take long for him to find his next opportunity.

MLB.com's Brian McTaggart reported Thursday the Houston Astros signed De Los Santos to a Major League contract. The right-hander's transaction page on MLB.com confirmed the signing.

To clear room for De Los Santos, the Astros designated right-handed pitcher Luis Contreras for assignment and optioned fellow right-handed pitcher Nick Hernandez to Triple-A Sugar Land.

Astros have signed RHP Enyel De Los Santos to a Major League contract. He is scheduled to join the club in New York City in time for tomorrow’s series opener vs. the Yankees. De Los Santos, 29, was 3-3 in 43 relief appearances for the Braves in 2025 with a 4.53 ERA.

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— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) August 7, 2025

De Los Santos' tenure with the Braves ended on July 30 when the team acquired another right-handed pitcher, Tyler Kinley, from the Colorado Rockies. In 43 relief appearances with Atlanta, De Los Santos posted a 4.53 ERA and 1.305 WHIP with 38 strikeouts in 43.2 innings.

In his last outing before the designation for assignment, De Los Santos yielded three runs on four hits and a walk in 1.2 innings. He also gave up three earned runs while failing to record an out during a relief appearance versus the New York Yankees on July 19.

De Los Santos' statistics weren't great in Atlanta because of his inconsistency. He allowed multiple runs in six of his relief appearances. Those kinds of performances greatly elevate a relief pitcher's ERA.

In 32 of his other 37 appearances, De Los Santos didn't give up any earned runs.

The 29-year-old will arrive in Houston with a 4.47 career ERA in 272 appearances. He's started three games in his MLB career, but those were during his first two seasons in the league during 2018 and 2019.

In addition to the Braves, De Los Santos has pitched for the Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cleveland Guardians, San Diego Padres, New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox during his MLB career. Last season alone, he pitched for the Padres, Yankees and White Sox.

His best success over the past two seasons came in Chicago, where he posted a 3.63 ERA and 1.269 WHIP in 17.1 innings.

The Astros have added De Los Santos to their bullpen while in a race to win the American League West for the sixth consecutive season. Since 2017, Houston has won its division every year except the 2020 COVID-shortened campaign.

Houston leads the Seattle Mariners by 1.5 games entering play on August 8. The Texas Rangers are also in the race, sitting 4.5 games back of the Astros.