The Rangers announced they’ve acquired right-hander Dennis Santana from the Dodgers in exchange for left-handed pitching prospect Kelvin Bautista. To create 40-man roster space for Santana, Texas designated left-hander Hyeon-jong Yang for assignment. Texas optioned Santana to Triple-A Round Rock.
The Dodgers designated Santana for assignment last week. The 25-year-old saw big league action in each season between 2018-21. Across 40 2/3 MLB innings, Santana has only managed a 6.42 ERA/4.88 SIERA with worse than average strikeout and walk rates (18.7% and 11.9%, respectively). He’s fared particularly poorly this season, allowing eleven runs (ten earned) on eighteen hits and eleven walks with just eight strikeouts across fifteen frames.
To Santana’s credit, he has induced ground balls at a robust 54.9% clip in 2021. That’s a new development but not all that surprising for a pitcher who leans primarily on a 95 MPH sinker. Santana, though, throws an extremely high-spin sinker. Unlike with four-seam fastballs, sinkers tend to fare better as low-spin offerings, since higher-spin heaters can resist gravity and be less likely to dive down towards the bottom of the strike zone.
Nevertheless, Santana’s three-pitch mix (he throws a slider and changeup with relatively equal frequency) has long intrigued scouts. Entering the year, Baseball America ranked Santana the Dodgers #19 prospect, praising his repertoire but questioning his command. The Rangers will now attempt to actualize that upside. Santana is in his final minor league option year, so he can be sent back and forth between Arlington and Round Rock without being exposed to waivers for the remainder of this season. While all 32 of his MLB appearances have come in relief, Santana has started the majority of his minor league games, so it’s possible the Rangers could try to lengthen him back out as rotation depth.
Yang loses his roster spot after eight appearances (four starts). Signed to a minor league deal over the winter after a lengthy, successful career in the Korea Baseball Organization, the 33-year-old was selected to Texas’ MLB roster in late April. Yang struggled in 29 big league innings, working to a 5.59 ERA with a subpar 15% strikeout rate and an elevated 11.8% walk rate. The Rangers will have a week to trade him or place him on outright waivers.
Bautista signed with the Rangers as an amateur out of the Dominican Republic during the 2017-18 international signing period. Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs ranked Bautista the #62 prospect in the Texas farm system last month, noting that the diminutive southpaw throws in the mid-upper 90s with a promising but inconsistent curveball and subpar command.
Phillies should take a look at Yang as an upgrade over Hale/Anderson/Moore
Don’t understand this one. Looks like Rangers gave up more than they received, talent wise.
Welcome to trading with the dodgers
Santana still has a lot of promise. He should try to add a 2 seamer imo with high spin
The Rangers are the land of Dodger cast offs
Facts
Opinions.
Hopefully this is another ninja pickup the FO is tends to luck out on
Bautista will be 21 in July, and hasn’t pitched above the DSL. Not much of a price. No doubt the Dodgers had scouted him as an amateur, and like all good organizations, kept an eye on him (they don’t throw the paperwork away after the Draft or International Signing period; especially not these days when data is so storable). They must see something they like.
Yordan Alvarez says hi.
Alvarez was 17 and never played any professional games before his trade. Bautista was ranked 62nd in a mediocre farm system, but is 21 and still in the DSL
There’s nothing parallel here
TX has 4th worst winning %. Good addition for BP to sabotage late leads for a better draft pick.
An enlightened post.
Yang what a deal
I suggested LA trade Santana for Ian Kennedy, yesterday.
So close
Gonna have to give up a lot more than Santana for Kennedy
Ton of bad blood between Kennedy and the Dodgers based on past hit batsmen. Never gonna happen.
Joe Kelly plunked a red-hot Hanley Ramirez, then Yasiel Puig, and Dodgers fans despised him.
Then the Dodgers signed him.
It can happen.
There were more pieces involved.
I still think they might align on a Kennedy trade though.
Cue the Gallo to the Padres!
Anyone else misread it as Danny Santana at first. Lol
I wish it was Danny Santana to the Dodgers… or anyone
Man, I wish it was Danny Santana too! Franchy is tearing it up in AAA and Jarren Duran (aka Golden Boy) is ready to make the jump to the majors. I can’t see Santana lasting too much longer in Boston with his BA hovering around .100. I’m so happy that Boston was able to find a taker for Weber recently; maybe they can luck out and find a new home for Santana too. Nothing in return besides salary relief required!
A question: If Santana had an option remaining, why did the Dodgers not option him rather than DFA? Easier to trade with an option than without?
40 man roster spot needed to be cleared for other addition hence the dfa
Makes sense, thanks.