The Pittsburgh Pirates have a little bit of a question mark with this group. Not as solid as the team’s group of starters, this crew is down previous bullpen mainstay David Bednar from the closer’s role, as he was sent off to the New York Yankees last year. That leaves Dennis Santana, who’s been a pleasant surprise since the Bucs claimed him from the Yankees in 2024, as the team’s likely closer. Santana took over the role last season after Bednar was dealt and performed admirably.
Since becoming a
Pirate, Santana has a 5-6 record to go along with a 2.28 ERA, a sparkling 0.890 WHIP, 110 strikeouts in 114 innnings pitched, as well as 17 saves, including 16 last year. The Bucs feel he’s locked in as the full-time closer, but the 29-year-old righty has never before held that role for an entire season. With the team hoping to add to their win totals this year, he’ll have plenty of opportunity to show it.
His primary setup man is 31-year-old Greg Soto, who came over as a free agent. He’ll have opportunities for saves, but his primary role is that of a power lefty with a high 90s fastball and swing-and-miss stuff. He had a 4.18 ERA last year, but struck out 70 batters in 60 innings.
Your middle guys look like righty Caremen Mlodzinski, righty Yohan Ramirez, righty Justin Lawrence, who is a veteran that could also be used as a set up option if he’s finally healthy, righty Kyle Nicolas, and lefty Mason Montogomery, who is one of the few lefties on this roster and should get plenty of opportunity due to that fact alone.
Other options on the 40-man right now include rightys Cam Sanders, Isaac Mattson, Ryan Harbin, Brandon Bidois and lefty Evan Sisk. Thomas Harrington is a bullpen option if the Bucs want him to get some innings. Obviously, you won’t be seeing all these guys regularly as some of them move up and down, but the organization is high on Bidois, who is a 24-year-old prospect from Australia, and Harbin has an upper 90s fastball, so there is some talent to keep an eye on here.
But the majority of this unit’s success relies on Santana and Soto. If Santana can pick up where he left off and extrapolate last year’s success into a full season of closing, and if the veteran Soto can show he has some juice left in the tank, this group is in good hands. If they struggle, where do the Bucs turn from there with any confidence?
