This story was excerpted from Alex Stumpf's Pirates Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
There are two pitchers who played an instrumental role in helping Dennis Santana go from a midseason waiver wire pickup to one of the Pirates¡¯ top late-inning relievers. One is Frankie Montas, who helped him develop a cutter in January of 2024, giving him a pitch that plays perfectly off of his slider.
The other pitcher is his former teammate, Aroldis Chapman. The hard-throwing veteran lefty is now with the Red Sox, but his impact is still felt in Pittsburgh, especially with Santana, who found a mentor with whom he still FaceTimes three to four times a week.
¡°I bet he¡¯s seen a lot of talent like me, not just with the Pirates, but the places he¡¯s been before,¡± Santana said about what drew him to Chapman initially. ¡°He [can] take me under his wing, teach me everything, and sometimes we meet people who see what we can do. He was there for me and was like, ¡®You gotta do things this way or this way.¡¯ I thank him a lot.¡±
Santana has a lot of people to thank for his success with the Pirates, ranging from the coaching staff for helping to make tweaks, to the analytics department who identified him as a potential diamond in the rough if he leaned on his cutter more. The ideas worked, and Santana went from being waived by the Yankees to posting a 2.44 ERA with 50 strikeouts and a 0.92 WHIP over his 44 1/3 innings with the Pirates last season.
But Santana might not have been able to bring it all together had it not been for Chapman, who offered him two things he sorely needed: a routine and a workout plan. Chapman can hit 105 mph on the radar gun in large part due to the work he does in the weight room. Santana admits he never heard of a player showing up to the gym at 7:30 a.m. before they pitched in a night game, but decided to follow Chapman¡¯s model and has put on 10 lbs. as a result, giving him extra strength.
¡°Doing that routine every day, it didn¡¯t matter, good day or bad day, I just kept the same routine because at the end of the day, the bad results are going to come,¡± Santana said. ¡°But if you keep doing your routine, it¡¯s going to get better.¡±
A stronger, more confident and well-focused Santana showed he could be an impact arm out of the bullpen last year, going 16 straight outings from Aug. 8-Sept. 15 allowing no runs with no more than one hit allowed in each appearance (totaling 19 1/3 innings). It was a type of stretch that only power arms like Chapman can normally do, making it fitting that his protege accomplished it.
¡°He was kind of having a tough year with the Yankees,¡± Chapman told MLB.com¡¯s Ian Browne, via interpreter Carlos Villoria. ¡°When he got there, I was trying to talk to him, trying to mentor him, trying to work out with him. Talked about game situations, talking about the game and being that person for him when he needed it. For me, it was very special to be able to help him.¡±
Manager Derek Shelton often refers to Santana¡¯s success with the Pirates as a ¡°holistic organizational win,¡± and ¡°dominating¡± the Chapman workout plan is part of the equation.
¡°I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ve ever met anybody that¡¯s been more diligent about their work, how they go about their work,¡± Shelton said about Chapman. ¡°The dedication to it is something that¡¯s never wavered.¡±
For Chapman, being able to mentor a young pitcher like Santana is one of the rewards of being able to pitch for 16 years.
¡°I'm very proud to be in this position to be able to help young kids, to be able to mentor them,¡± Chapman said. ¡°For me, it's very special to be able to help, and for me to be in this position helping them, it means a lot.¡±
Santana is going to be one of the Pirates¡¯ go-to late-inning arms early this year, alongside David Bednar and Colin Holderman. He bounced around with five teams over a four-year stretch, searching for a routine and a home. It looks like he¡¯s found both in Pittsburgh, so he¡¯s not sweating what his exact role will be.
¡°Any role they give me, I¡¯m just here to help the team,¡± Santana said. ¡°Wherever they need me, I¡¯m going to go out there and do my job.¡±