The Pirates are back in the same uncomfortable place they were a year ago, only now the comparison makes the whole thing sting even more.
On Thursday, Pittsburgh designated Dennis Santana for assignment, cutting loose a reliever who had looked like one of the club’s best arms in 2025. Santana posted a 2.18 ERA over 70 1/3 innings that season and earned a $3.5 million salary through arbitration for 2026. But the follow-up has been rough: a 6.05 ERA in 41 2/3 innings, a strikeout rate that slipped from 22.2% to 19.9%, and a walk rate that climbed from 6.3% to 11.3%.
That alone would have been notable. Put it next to David Bednar, and it turns into a brutal reminder of how these bullpen calls can come back around.
Last year’s trade deadline forced Pittsburgh to decide between two relievers heading in opposite directions. Santana was coming off his breakout, while Bednar - the hometown closer, a two-time All-Star for the Pirates - had fallen hard from grace. The Pirates chose Bednar, sending him to the New York Yankees for Rafael Flores Jr., Edgleen Perez and Brian Sanchez.
A year later, the snapshot is hard to ignore. Bednar has a 2.53 ERA with 18 saves for New York. Santana is the one on the way out.
It’s easy now to say Pittsburgh should have sold high on Santana and kept Bednar. That version of the story writes itself. But that only works if you forget how shaky Bednar had become before the deal.
In 2024, Bednar put up a 5.77 ERA and blew seven saves after returning too quickly from a lat injury. The problems carried into the next season, to the point that the Pirates did something almost unthinkable with a two-time All-Star closer: they optioned him to Triple-A Indianapolis.
That move helped Bednar get back on track. It also showed just how risky it was to trust a volatile reliever, especially one nearing free agency.
Santana’s case wasn’t exactly simple either. His 2025 numbers pointed to some regression - a .211 BABIP and an 80.7% strand rate were never likely to hold - but a collapse like this wasn’t the only possible outcome.
That’s the trap with relievers. They can look like anchors one year and vanish the next.
So the Pirates are left with the kind of result that makes every front-office debate feel worse in retrospect. Bednar is thriving in New York.
Santana is off the roster. And the decision that once looked like a defensible bet now sits there as a reminder that bullpen value can turn fast, and usually in the least forgiving way possible.
In Other News...
Pirates Suddenly Look Serious About A Bullpen Move Fans Have Wanted
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The next step is less about one rehab box score than about how Rodrguez holds up as the workload increases. Pittsburgh wants him fully ready before he rejoins the major league club, and the club will keep easing him along while the catching picture shifts around him, giving him a path back without rushing the process. [Read more 🡒]
Pirates Make Another Lineup Tweak With Bats Under Pressure Again
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The alignment was built with Chicago left-hander Shota Imanaga in mind, and Pittsburgh is hoping the new look can do more than just patch together a batting order for one night. Jacob Gonzalez, acquired from the White Sox on July 10, is making his fourth start at shortstop while filling in for injured Konnor Griffin, and the Pirates are leaning on a setup they already used in a 7-1 win over Cleveland on July 19. [Read more 🡒]