Former Yankees Reliever Claimed Off Waivers By NL Club

Dennis Santana has a new team as a National League club picked him up off waivers from the New York Yankees.

May 24, 2024; San Diego, California, USA; New York Yankees relief pitcher Dennis Santana (53) throws a pitch during the seventh inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. / David Frerker-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Yankees won’t get pitcher Dennis Santana back as he was claimed off waivers on Tuesday by the Pittsburgh Pirates, the team announced.

The Yankees designated Santana for assignment on Sunday to make room for pitcher Ron Marinaccio. New York was waiting to see if he would clear waivers, which might have allowed them to re-assign him to the minors, if he was willing to accept the assignment.

To make room for Santana on their 40-man roster, the Pirates designated pitcher Jose Hernandez for assignment.

That brought Santana’s short stint with the Yankees to an end. New York signed the 28-year-old to a minor league contract in the offseason after he pitched nine games across town for the New York Mets last season.

He didn’t make the team coming out of spring training and was assigned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. But, he didn’t stay long. The Yankees called him up on April 5 when Jonathan Loáisiga was placed on the 60-day injured list.

The right-hander managed two saves and a hold for New York, along with a 2-0 record and a 6.26 ERA. He appeared in 23 games, gave up 19 runs and 10 walks, along with striking out 19. Batters hit .262 against him, which was up from his .242 with the Mets last season. It was his highest opponent batting average since the .300 he allowed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2019.

The Pirates hope they’ll get the effective reliever Santana was with the Texas Rangers in 2022. While he went 3-8 with a 5.22 ERA, he made a career-high 63 appearances and 20 holds, while he struck out 54 and walked 28. He allowed batters to hit a career-low.224 against him.  

He has a career record of 10-14 with a 5.34 ERA in 166 games with three saves in nine changes and 30 holds. He has struck out 159 and walked 89 in 177 innings.

Originally signed as an international free agent out of the Dominican Republic by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2013, he made his MLB debut 2018 with Los Angeles.