Mariners’ Hector Santiago Receives 80-Game Suspension

Mariners left-hander Hector Santiago has been served an 80-game suspension from the league office for violating MLB’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. Per a press release from the league, Santiago tested positive for exogenous Testosterone. Santiago will be suspended without pay, and the suspension will begin immediately.

This marks the second suspension of note for Santiago this season alone. He was served a 10-game suspension for possessing a foreign substance. Santiago was adamant in his defense in that case, though the suspension was ultimately at the discretion of the umpires who made the call on the field.

The well-traveled veteran had been a solid contributor for the Mariners this season through 13 appearances. As a multi-inning option out of the pen, the 33-year-old pitched to a 3.42 ERA/3.12 FIP across 26 1/3 innings with a 25.6 percent strikeout rate, 9.4 percent walk rate, and 44.7 percent groundball rate. The strikeout rate was quite a bit higher than his 20.7 percent career average, though the improvement tracks back through the 2019 season as well. He did not pitch in 2020.

For his career, Santiago owns a 4.12 ERA/4.86 FIP across 947 innings for the White Sox, Angels, Twins, Mets, and Mariners. He was mostly a starter earlier in his career, making at least 23 starts in each season from 2013 to 2016. His success in that role was marginal, however, as he never again topped the 1.2 fWAR he put up for the White Sox in 2013.