The Diamondbacks made a bullpen swap before today’s game, bringing up right-hander Dennis Santana from Triple-A Reno and designating left-hander Philip Abner for assignment.
Santana signed a minor league deal with Arizona on August 6 and arrives after a rough run with Pittsburgh. The Pirates designated him for assignment in July and later released him, and his 2026 numbers tell the story: 41 2/3 innings, a 6.05 ERA and a 4.61 SIERA.
He wasn’t getting the same ground-ball results that made him useful in earlier seasons, either, as his 29.6% ground ball rate sat well below the 41.6% league average. He also allowed eight home runs after giving up only five in nearly 30 more innings in 2025.
That said, Santana wasn’t always this version of himself. He was a real weapon for Pittsburgh in 2024 and 2025 after the Yankees struggled with him early in 2024 and the Pirates picked him up on waivers that June.
Over 44 1/3 innings in black and gold, he put up a 2.44 ERA and a 22.7% K-BB rate. He stayed sharp in 2025 too, logging a 2.18 ERA across 70 1/3 innings while keeping walks down to 6.3% and generally limiting the long ball.
Even with a 3.50 expected ERA and a .218 opponents’ average on balls in play pointing toward some regression, Santana’s 2026 slide has been dramatic. Arizona, sitting at 66-58 and holding an NL Wild Card spot, is clearly looking at him as a short-term bullpen option rather than someone it needs to lean on for the stretch run. The club has also gotten strong work from Gerardo Carrillo, Taylor Clarke and Juan Morillo, all of whom have ERAs under 1.00 since the All-Star break.
Abner, meanwhile, is off the 40-man roster and into DFA limbo for the first time in his career. The 24-year-old lefty has bounced between the majors and minors several times this season, and the results in Arizona just haven’t clicked.
He made eight appearances for the Diamondbacks and posted a 6.28 ERA in 14 1/3 innings, walking more hitters than he struck out. Most of the damage came in a five-run outing against the Nationals on June 5, but his 6.91 xERA in 10 2/3 innings after that still wasn’t encouraging.
His 5.01 ERA with Reno this year hasn’t helped his case much, either.
A sixth-round pick in 2023, Abner did show promise in the minors last year with a 3.07 ERA and strong strikeout and walk numbers. That could be enough for another team to take a look if he hits waivers. If he clears, he’d have to accept an outright assignment to Reno before Arizona could select his contract again.
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