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2026 Fantasy Baseball Player Profile

Dennis Santana’s 2025 season was a masterclass in efficiency that saw him rise from a mid-2024 waiver claim to the anchor of the Pirates' bullpen. After stabilizing his command, Santana blossomed into one of the most reliable relievers in the National League, posting a career-best 2.18 ERA and a stifling 0.87 WHIP over 70.1 innings. While he lacks the triple-digit velocity of some of his contemporaries, his 96th-percentile chase rate—fueled by a devastating slider that he threw 46% of the time—made him nearly unhittable. When the Pirates moved David Bednar to the Yankees at the 2025 trade deadline, Santana stepped seamlessly into the ninth inning, converting 11 of his final 13 save opportunities.

Entering 2026, Santana is the presumptive Opening Day closer, though he is operating in a much more crowded high-leverage mix. In January, he avoided arbitration by signing a one-year, $3.5 million contract, securing his spot as the veteran leader of the relief corps. So far in spring training, manager Don Kelly has been non-committal about a fixed role, opting to pair Santana with newly acquired left-hander Gregory Soto in a "righty-lefty punch" for the late innings. Santana made his spring debut on February 23 against the Yankees, throwing a scoreless frame and showing the same "filthy" slider-sinker combo that defined his breakout.

For fantasy managers, Santana is a polarizing save source with an ADP around 166.