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Edgar Santana

Braves Release Edgar Santana

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The Braves announced this afternoon that they’ve released reliever Edgar Santana. The move clears space on the 40-man roster for southpaw Tucker Davidson, who was added to the World Series roster in place of the injured Charlie Morton. Davidson had been on the 60-day injured list since late June. Players on the 60-day IL don’t count against a team’s 40-man roster, so Atlanta needed to open a 40-man spot to formally activate Davidson before tonight’s contest.

Santana has been on the injured list himself, landing on the 10-day IL with an intercostal strain during the final week of the regular season. Injured players can’t be placed on outright waivers, so the Braves had to release Santana to remove him from the 40-man roster.

The Braves acquired Santana from the Pirates in early April. He was optioned on and off the active roster a few times but ultimately logged 42 2/3 innings over 41 outings. The righty pitched to a solid 3.59 ERA, actually the highest mark he’s posted in three big league seasons. That came without many punch-outs, as Santana only fanned 18.9% of opponents and benefited from batters’ .244 batting average on balls in play against him. The 30-year-old did avoid walks and induce grounders at an above-average clip, though, and his 12.4% swinging strike rate checked in a touch above the league average for relievers.

Santana now finds himself on release waivers. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected him to receive a salary around $1MM if tendered an arbitration contract. That’s not an onerous figure, so it’s at least possible someone puts in a claim with an eye towards keeping him around for 2022. Should Santana pass waivers through unclaimed, he’d be a free agent.

Braves Reinstate Ian Anderson, Option Edgar Santana

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The Braves have reinstated right-handed pitcher Ian Anderson from the injured list, per a team announcement. Fellow righty Edgar Santana was optioned as the corresponding move.

The return of Anderson should give further momentum to a Braves club that has been surging of late. After hovering around .500  for most of the season, the club has gone 17-6 so far in August and vaulted up to first in the NL East, currently sitting 4 1/2 games ahead of the Phillies and 7 1/2 ahead of the Mets.

Anderson’s season hasn’t been quite as brilliant as his 2020 debut, but has been excellent nonetheless. After putting up a 1.95 ERA across 31 1/3 innings last year, the righty has an ERA of 3.56 in 96 innings in 2021. However, he was stalled by right shoulder inflammation and landed on the IL July 16th. Now that he’s healthy again, and combined with the recent return of Huascar Ynoa, the Atlanta rotation is now the strongest it has been in months, as they try to defend their perch atop the division over the season’s final weeks.

For Santana, this continues his yo-yo season, as this is his third time being optioned since being acquired from the Pirates in April. When in the big leagues, he’s been a serviceable member of the bullpen, throwing 37 2/3 innings with an ERA of 3.82. He’s done that despite a below average strikeout rate of 20.3%, but an excellent walk rate of 5.9%.

 

Braves Place Huascar Ynoa On 10-Day Injured List

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Braves righty Huascar Ynoa is headed to the injured list after suffering a broken right hand, manager Brian Snitker told MLB.com’s Mark Bowman and other reporters.  The Braves made the official announcement shortly after Snitker’s meeting with the press, as Ynoa was placed on the 10-day IL and righty Edgar Santana was called up from Triple-A.

Ynoa broke his hand after punching the dugout in frustration following a tough outing yesterday against the Brewers, and will now spend approximately two months or more in recovery.  It’s a very unfortunate setback for a player who has become an unexpectedly big part of Atlanta’ rotation this season.

Even after yesterday’s struggles against Milwaukee (five earned runs allowed on nine hits and two walks over 4 1/3 innings), Ynoa still had a 3.02 ERA/3.28 SIERA over 44 2/3 total frames of work for the Braves.  Though Ynoa has been allowing a lot of hard contact, he has delivered an above-average 27.9% strikeout rate and 6.1% walk rate.

Considering Ynoa had only a 7.30 ERA in 24 2/3 innings for the Braves in 2019-20, his emergence was a major plus for an Atlanta pitching staff that has struggled to stay healthy and pitch effectively.  Since Mike Soroka’s timetable to return from the IL is still uncertain, the path was clear for Ynoa to remain in the rotation prior to his own injury.  With Ynoa out, the Braves could turn to some combination of rookie southpaw Tucker Davidson (who was called up earlier today), Bryse Wilson, or Kyle Wright to fill the open spot in the rotation.

Braves Activate Sean Newcomb, Transfer Mike Soroka To 60-Day IL

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The Braves announced this morning that lefty Sean Newcomb has been reinstated from the Covid-19 injured list. To open a spot on the 40-man roster, righty Mike Soroka was transferred to the 60-day injured list. Atlanta also recalled righty Edgar Santana and optioned both Bryse Wilson and Johan Camargo to their alternate site.

The Soroka portion of the announcement may cause some alarm among fans, but that 60-day term refers to the total number of days he must spend on the injured list — including days already spent there. In other words, it’s 60 days from his initial placement on Opening Day — not 60 days from today. Soroka will be eligible to return at the end of May, but the latest reports out of Atlanta suggest he’s not likely to be ready to return to the roster until mid-June anyhow. It’s a largely procedural move.

Newcomb, 27, got out to a fast start this season but has been sidelined since being placed on the Covid list back on April 17. The starter-turned-reliever has pitched 5 1/3 innings and allowed just one run while striking out a whopping 12 of the 22 hitters he’s faced. Granted, he’s also walked four batters and hit another, but the early uptick in strikeout rate, average fastball velocity (95.2 mph, up from 93.6 mph in 2020) and swinging-strike rate (14 percent, up from seven percent in 2020) are intriguing small-sample things for Braves fans to keep an eye on.

The 23-year-old Wilson started last night’s game, so he’ll head down to the alternate site as a means of getting some fresh arms into the ’pen. Santana will be making his club debut when he first gets into a game. The former Pirates righty missed the 2019 season due to an elbow injury that eventually required Tommy John surgery. He didn’t make it back to the big leagues in 2020 due to that surgery and an 80-game PED suspension. The Braves picked him up earlier this month in exchange for cash. Prior to surgery, he sat 95 mph with his heater and carried a career 3.31 ERA with a sub-par 21 percent strikeout rate but a 6.8 percent walk rate that was much better than the league average.

Braves Acquire Edgar Santana From Pirates

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9:27 am: Santana’s suspension has been served and he is eligible to return to the active roster, per David O’Brien of the Athletic (Twitter link).

8:05 am: The Braves are acquiring right-hander Edgar Santana from the Pirates in exchange for cash considerations, per Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Twitter link). Pittsburgh designated Santana for assignment earlier this week.

A few years ago, Santana looked to have solidified himself as a reliable bullpen arm in Pittsburgh. In 84.1 innings between 2017-18, he managed a solid 3.31 ERA/3.77 SIERA. Santana didn’t miss many bats for a reliever (21.0% strikeout percentage), but he was quite good at avoiding free passes (6.8% walk rate) and racked up ground balls at a decent 45.6% clip.

Unfortunately, Santana suffered a torn UCL and required Tommy John Surgery in October 2018. The timing of the procedure cost him the entire 2019 season. Santana was then hit with an 80-game PED suspension last June, keeping him out of action for all of last year’s abbreviated season.

Nearly three years removed from his most recent game action, it’s unclear whether Santana will be able to recapture any of his former promise. He does still have a pair of minor-league option years remaining, so he’ll give the Braves some additional bullpen flexibility if the front office is sufficiently impressed with his current form to keep him on the 40-man roster. Atlanta freed up a 40-man spot (and thinned out its righty bullpen depth) in the Orlando Arcia trade earlier this week, so no corresponding move is necessary to accomodate Santana’s arrival.

Pirates Acquire Kyle Keller, Designate Edgar Santana

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The Pirates have acquired right-hander Kyle Keller from the Angels in exchange for cash considerations, both teams announced.  To create roster space, the Pirates noted that right-hander Edgar Santana has been designated for assignment.

Keller hit the DFA wire himself earlier this week, and the 27-year-old now finds himself traded for the second time in 15 months, after joining the Angels in a swap with the Marlins in January 2020.  Keller has appeared in each of the last two seasons, with a 4.15 ERA over 13 MLB innings with Miami and Los Angeles, striking out 12 batters but also walking ten.

Working almost exclusively as a reliever throughout his pro career, Keller has a 3.53 ERA and 31.8% strikeout rate over 249 2/3 career innings in Miami’s farm system.  Control wasn’t nearly as much of a problem in the minors (8.9% walk rate) was it was at the big league level for Keller, and the Pirates are hoping he can provide some bullpen depth for a pitching staff that has lost both some starting and relief candidates to injury in the early going.

Santana is no stranger to injuries, having undergone Tommy John surgery in September 2018.  The rehab process cost Santana all of the 2019 season, and he then missed all of 2020 due to an 80-game PED suspension.  As per the terms of the suspension, Santana still had to sit out the first 20 games of this season before being eligible to return to the field.

Before his career was put on pause, Santana delivered solid results in his first two MLB seasons.  The right-hander posted a 3.31 ERA/3.77 SIERA over 84 1/3 innings out of Pittsburgh’s bullpen in 2017-18, with an impressive 6.8% walk rate but a below-average 21% strikeout rate.

Pirates’ Edgar Santana Issued 80-Game PED Suspension

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Pirates right-hander Edgar Santana has been suspended for 80 games for violating the Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program, as per a league press release.  Santana tested positive for the performance-enhancing substance Boldenone, and will now miss the entire 2020 season as well as the first 20 games of the 2021 campaign.

Santana posted a 3.31 ERA, 3.08 K/BB rate, and 7.9 K/9 over 84 1/3 innings for Pittsburgh in 2017-18, all as a relief pitcher.  This promising beginning to his big league career was cut short by Tommy John surgery in September 2018, which sidelined him for the entire 2019 campaign.

During Spring Training, Santana appeared to be in good form returning from that long layoff, tossing five scoreless innings in Grapefruit League action prior to the league shutdown.  There was plenty of opportunity for a healthy Santana to re-establish himself in the Pirates’ bullpen and set himself up for his first arbitration-eligible year in 2021, though he’ll now his service clock stalled while also forfeiting his salary for the 2020 season.

Pirates Option Cole Tucker, Six Others

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The Pirates have optioned seven players, the team announced on Twitter. They include relief pitchers Geoff Hartlieb, Sam Howard, Edgar Santana and Yacksel Rios, as well as outfielder Jason Martin and third base prospect Ke’Bryan Hayes. But the most notable name in the bunch is shortstop Cole Tucker. The 23-year-old had been hitting well in spring training before the league-wide shutdown, putting up a slash line of .296/.387./.667, much better than his 2019 big league output of .211/.266/.361.

Tucker was a well-regarded prospect going into 2019, coming in at #83 on the FanGraphs Top 100 Prospects. He went on to have an up-and-down year, getting called up and making his big league debut on April 20 before being optioned and recalled twice more as the season wore on. He ended up getting into 56 games and producing a lackluster 61 wRC+ at the plate , but balancing that out with solid enough defense at short to break even in the WAR department with 0.0, according to FanGraphs. The numbers at Baseball Reference are slightly kinder, pegging him at 64 OPS+ and 0.2 WAR.

The shortstop position in Pittsburgh is currently occupied by Kevin Newman, who put together a very nice season in 2019, with a wRC+ of 110 and 2.4 fWAR. Erik Gonzalez should be slotted into the backup role, although JT Riddle could also play some shortstop in a pinch. It seems the team thinks the best path forward for Tucker is to get regular playing time in AAA and try to force his way into the picture. “We definitely believe in Cole as an every-day player”, said Pirates general manager Ben Cherington, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports on Twitter. “He’s young enough where we think he should be playing every day still. Certainly see him contributing at the major league level really soon.”

Pirates Place Lonnie Chisenhall On Injured List, Select Contract Of Melky Cabrera

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2:33pm: Bucs trainer Todd Tomczyk told reporters, including Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic (Twitter link), that it’s “inaccurate right now” to suggest Chisenhall will miss four-to-six weeks. The issue appears to be in his finger; for the time being, he’ll be shut down for ten days before being reevaluated.

10:21am: The Pittsburgh org has now announced the rest of its roster moves, as MLB.com’s Adam Berry covers (Twitter links). Jordan Lyles will also open the season with an IL stint owing to discomfort in his right side. He’ll be joined there by fellow reliever Dovydas Neverauskas, catcher Elias Diaz, corner infielder/outfielder Jose Osuna, and Polanco.

The club will indeed add Shuck, Cabrera, and lefty Francisco Liriano to the 40-man. To create roster space, righty Edgar Santana was placed on the 60-day IL while recovering from Tommy John surgery and the team designated relievers Jake Barrett and Aaron Slegers for assignment.

10:09am: Pirates outfielder Lonnie Chisenhall has been diagnosed with a broken hand, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). He’s expected to miss four to six weeks of action to open the season. The team has also announced it’s Opening Day roster, which as expected includes veteran outfielder Melky Cabrera.

It’s a tough-luck development for the 30-year-old, who was hit by a pitch late in camp. This is hardly the way he hoped to begin an effort at a bounceback season after an injury-marred pair of seasons.

Chisenhall inked a one-year, $2.75MM deal with the Bucs over the winter. The hope was that he’d serve as the primary option in right field while Gregory Polanco is working back to full health. Instead, he’ll have to do the same before he can contribute.

To open the year, at least, Cabrera will get a run instead in the corner outfield. It seems he’ll be joined in the mix by JB Shuck, another minor-league signee who spent camp with the Pittsburgh organization, though that has yet to be announced.

Pirates Outright Nik Turley

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The Pirates have outrighted left-hander Nik Turley off the 40-man roster, per John Dreker of PiratesProspects.com. He’ll presumably become a minor league free agent.

The 29-year-old Turley was claimed off waivers from the Twins last November. He enjoyed an outstanding year with Minnesota’s Triple-A affiliate, pitching to a 2.66 ERA (2.84 FIP) with 10.5 K/9, 2.9 BB/9, 0.53 HR/9 and a 33.7 percent ground-ball rate in 67 2/3 innings. Turley was clobbered in his big league debut with the Twins, though that came in a small sample of 17 2/3 innings. Turley, though, has a history of stymieing left-handed opponents in the upper minors, and the Bucs likely viewed him as a potentially affordable bullpen option.

However, the organization never got much of a chance to see whether Turley could contribute. The left-hander was slapped with an 80-game PED suspension in late January after testing positive for Ipamorelin. Upon being reinstated from the restricted list, Turley was immediately placed on the 60-day disabled list due to an elbow strain. It’s not clear at this point whether he’s expected to be healthy enough to take the mound come Spring Training, but it’s certainly not surprising to see the Pirates jettison him from the 40-man roster after that lost season.

In further Pirates news, the team announced this afternoon that right-hander Edgar Santana underwent successful Tommy John surgery today. The organization announced late last month that Santana would require the procedure after an MRI revealed a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.

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