It is no secret that the Phillies are looking to bolster their relief corps before the trade deadline, and to that end, Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the Phils have asked the Pirates about relievers Dennis Santana and David Bednar. Santana has been of interest to Philadelphia “for quite some time,” Hiles writes, though Bednar’s recent strong play has also gotten him onto the NL East team’s radar. Andrew Fillipponi of 93.7 The Fan radio first mentioned the Phillies’ interest in Santana and Bednar last week, and noted that Philadelphia could look to acquire both relievers in a single trade.
MLBTR’s ranking of the top 40 trade deadline candidates features Bednar (3rd) and Santana (9th) both in prominent positions, speaking to both their impressive performances in 2025, the likelihood that the Pirates will indeed be deadline sellers, and the simple fact that basically every contender could use some bullpen help. The two right-handers are both scheduled to enter free agency after the 2026 season, so that extra year of arbitration control figures to up the Pirates’ asking price for either pitcher.
Santana’s rise from journeyman reliever to bullpen ace has been remarkable, as it was barely over a year ago that the Bucs claimed Santana off waivers from the Yankees in a transaction that drew little notice. After posting uninspiring numbers with four teams over parts of seven MLB seasons, Santana suddenly blossomed in Pittsburgh, with a 1.99 ERA, 25.16% strikeout rate, and 5.8% walk rate in 81 1/3 innings in a Pirates uniform. Santana has certainly been aided by a .206 BABIP this season since his 3.52 SIERA is over two runs higher than his 1.46 ERA, but Santana’s underlying metrics (particularly his walk rate and elite hard-contact rate) indicate that his success is no fluke.
Santana has mostly worked in a set-up role but briefly served as Pittsburgh’s closer when Bednar was optioned to Triple-A at the start of April. Between his struggles in 2024 and his early stumbles this year, Bednar looked miles removed from his past All-Star form, yet his brief stint in the minors got his career back on track. Bednar has a sparkling 1.88 ERA over the 28 2/3 innings since his recall, and his 34.7% strikeout rate is one of the best in baseball. On the other end of the batted-ball coin, Bednar had achieved this success despite a .343 BABIP, and his 2.27 SIERA is even lower than his full-season 2.73 ERA.
Either Bednar or Santana would be obvious upgrades for a Phillies team that ranks 24th of 30 teams in bullpen ERA (4.41). Closer Jordan Romano has somewhat righted the ship after some major early-season struggles but isn’t the most reliable of late-inning options, while Jose Alvarado won’t be back from his 80-game PED suspension until August (and of course Alvarado isn’t eligible for postseason play). Since Philadelphia has one of the sport’s best rotations and the lineup is still as dangerous as ever, a sturdier bullpen may be the final piece the Phillies need to finally break through for the club’s first World Series title since 2008.
Considering how the bullpen has been a constant target area for a few years now, landing controllable relievers like Santana or Bednar would help the Phillies address the issue beyond just this season. Last season’s deadline saw the Phillies acquire impending free agent Carlos Estevez to strengthen the pen, yet after Estevez left to sign with the Royals, Philadelphia was somewhat left back at square one.
Bednar is the pricier of the two pitchers, as he is set to earn the remainder of his $5.9MM salary in 2025 before earning a raise in his final arb year. Santana lost an arbitration hearing to the Pirates in February and thus earned a $1.4MM salary for 2025, making him quite the bargain given his production. This lower price tag could be one of the reasons why the Phillies (and surely other teams) have particular interest in Santana’s services. Because the Phillies are projected to be over the highest luxury-tax tier and this is their fourth year as tax-payors, any adds will come at over double the financial cost, given the associated 110% tax rate.
I believe Jeff Hoffman was already a Philly going into last year and wasn’t acquired at the deadline. They got Tanner Banks at the deadline last year.
Jeff Hoffman was signed as a free agent by the Phillies in March 2023, so he wasn’t a 2024 deadline trade acquisition. Just sayin’.
If you need something go get it. Never understood why GM’s wait til July to start zeroing in on trade targets. I know all the arguments for waiting and I disagree. S-+- or get off the pot. A GM should have a plan for the now and for the future
@BigV – It has nothing to do with having a plan, or “potluck”. It is simply the nature of the beast. There are fewer sellers this early, and those with assets will overprice them in a big way.
At the deadline however, there is more product out there as teams have made their decisions to buy / sell / hold, and the pressure moves back to equilibrium as the sellers know that if they don’t sell the player now they may get nothing. Human nature and supply and demand.
Human Nature says it all I suppose. It’s frustrating like the MLB off season drags on forever it seems
Sellers will usually put an unrealistic high price on decent players this early until deadline forces multiple legit offers from those who belatedly decide they are buyers…..unless seller receives somewhat close offer in lieu of amateurish insulting lowball attempts.
I think it has more to do with the teams that are selling rather than those that are buying. If you have an asset that the industry sees as valuable (relief pitching), unless a team blows you away with an offer, it’d make more sense to hold onto it and let them get in a bidding war later. I’m sure if the Phillies offered the Pirates Andrew Painter in May, both Santana and Bednar would be wearing Phillies uniforms.
What do the Phils have to offer in return? Pirates will want major league ready hitters,
They have a plethora of young outfielders, for one. I doubt very seriously if the Pirates are looking at “major league ready” before being a solid prospect. This team isn’t just a player or two away from contending.
Which NL team has given up the fewest runs/gm?
One that’s two hitters away from contending.
The same team that’s at or near the bottom in runs scored, batting averages, having been shut out and strikeouts. Two hitters away, you say?
Old timer..you are wrong..the pirates want major league ready players..nothing end prospects who might be a year ot 2 away
If they ask for Crawford then the phillies will say no. Crawford will be either playing CF or LF for the phillies after the trade deadline.
Then they don’t get Bednar.
Buuba, you may be right. I guess it comes down to the definition of “major league ready”
The Pirates have nothing coming up through the farm other than Griffin, and he’s a couple years away. So who knows what the definition is
The last couple of days, the PG has published articles about the Pirates at the trade deadline. They’ve done a deep dive with MLB scouts about what they’re hearing. Essentially, teams are interested in Keller, Bednar, Santana, Hayes, Reynolds and Cruz, and Cherington is listening. To me at least, if that’s true it dispels the idea of being “a couple players away” and suggests yet another rebuild
Who knows? Its a revolving door here
Bad take.
Allow me to add, cheap major league hitters. Can’t see them getting value for either.
They won’t get that with Bednar or Santana. Both are relievers and will get a prospect like Carson DeMartani or Gabriel Rincones Jr
Lol
They don’t have to trade either.
Especially not for that garbage.
Rincones would look nice hitting balls over the Clemente wall
You won’t like my answer as a Phils fan. When it comes to the bullpen, there are very few bullpen arms that are worth a premium value in my ever so humble opinion. They are just too inconsistent from year to year and month to month to give up prospects from the top tier. Bednar and Santana are clear examples of those inconsistencies.
As a package or alone, they both have value for sure but I would not give away anything from the top 8 in the Phils system for any but the most elite of bullpen arms. There are some real talents just outside of that to choose from as a package and some fast risers that are making an impact now. Nori / Burkholder / DeMartini / Keaton / Spikerman…maybe even Otto Kemp for an already there guy.
As I Pirate fan I agree and disagree (ha). I believe in relievers value as you described, where I disagree (kind of) is in the expected trade return. It seems to me teams wanting top relievers (which this year both of these men qualify) tend to end up over paying vs. what I feel is the worth. I see no reason why the Pirates shouldn’t wait or demand the overpay since that precedent (IMO) has been repeatedly set in previous trade deadline reliever trades. Net: I would wait for a much better offer than the list you provided given reliever trade history.
@SouthernBuc – I certainly believe that the Bucs should wait for the best offer…just saying that I do not believe in vast overpays for inconsistent relief pitchers. But I am not DD.
@PFan1981 – Same answer as above. But to flesh it out, my previous answer was acknowledging that guys such as Rincones and DeMartini would be in the proffer pile as potential choices. Just not going to the level of Painter / Crawford / Miller etc.
It is one thing to overpay for controlled stud position players or rotation arms, but from my perspective I would not do the same for the vast majority of bullpen arms.
We are agreeing from a personal opinion standpoint on relievers values, I just think the historical market runs counter to our shared opinion and since Pirates are selling in this instance I hope history repeats itself.
@SouthernBuc – We have just run a short course on why it is so difficult to make trades. Every year we have long lists of the top trade candidates at the deadline, and every deadline most of them are not traded.
Added to that mix – as fans we talk about this stuff in a way that doesn’t apply to the real world anyway. What DD and the Phils player development staff (or that of any other team) see and how they value guys based upon hands on current evaluations is different than our own resources allow. They might have an internal evaluation, for example, that they want to sell high on Justin Crawford right now as they are not completely sold on him, whereas most fans just look at his ranking and perhaps a highlight or two. So we are all just spit-shining on here anyway.
DeMartani is ranked 10th in the latest rankings. Rincones is ranked 15th. Rincones is a long shot to make the majors right now. He isn’t hitting at the moment and best case scenario, he could be ready by mid summer next year. DeMartani is 2-3 years (pending his progress in the minors) away from the MLB.
Regardless of player, trades are usually lopsided and prospects that have some value are dealt. Phillies are not in a position to offer less for Bednar or Santana when there are 20 teams trying to improve their bullpen. This is the time of year when returns are “overpay”. DeMartani and Rincones are two guys the Pirates would be looking to get in return. It’s how this system is designed. Look back at the famous Pirates and Rays trade years ago with Chris Archer. It’s only one example of a team making a move to attempt to be competitive. There have been more recent lopsided trades outside of Juan Soto. That Chris Sale trade last year still has to sting on top of Mookie Betts trade in 2020 for the Red Sox. Not saying Santana or Bednar will win a World Series with the Phillies, but it will improve their odds. The Pirates will get a prospect with uncertainty they can hack it at the MLB level.
I am not discrediting your input on this, but being a “voice of reason” here. Pirates wouldn’t get both guys, but those two would be on their radar to get at least 1 of Rincones or Demartani
Those outside the top 8 include a lot of guys who aren’t hitting. Some never have.
Good luck getting anything decent with that mess
@VealParm – Well given that I see Bednar and Santana as having strong mess potential, we have a deal. ; )
The Phillies suspects are a mess. In reality.
In reality, bednar was reliever of the month, and Santana has been great for a year.
Beats hitting 206 in A ball like Nori, doesn’t it?
@carverandrews I think Demartani has more upside than Rincones if you personally ask me. Rincones looks to be a 4th or 5th OF in the future. He really doesn’t hit the ball consistently and that is a red flag for a team like the Pirates who should be looking to boost the offense before Skenes is traded away in a few years. But Ben Cherington has done some questionable trades and wouldn’t be surprised if they would get Rincones over Demartani. If the Pirates get Demartani, it would mean they are restocking the system and won’t be competitive until final year of Skenes in Pittsburgh. If I was looking to boost the system and major league roster immediately, I’d look past a trade with Phillies. My job is on the line and I’d look to get a better package deal with Santana/Keller or Bednar/Cruz deal. They have a better chance of landing a MLB ready player. Baltimore would be my first call and check in on Colby Mayo.
Your approach to an argument is akin to that of the red-hatted boobie echo chamber. It is worthless to engage any further with you, but I certainly hope for the sake of Pirates fans everywhere that they receive a greater return than I would allow for given the incredibly spotty history of both Bednar and Santana and bullpen pieces in general.
@PFan – Yeah, I would lean DeMartini. Rincones is trending down but they still like the upside…the path is not linear. He looks more like a platoon OF bat if he gets there however..
If Cherington is packaging then you can do better than the Phils for the most part. We need bullpen help but should not be desperate enough to value Bednar and Santana as anything approaching elite arms.
if the pirates want crawford then it’s no deal
Kemp isn’t going in any trade. He is the best rh hitting prospect, that is ready now in the Phillies system.
@baseball – I tend to think that you are correct in that he is useful now, and I like the kid. But let’s not overvalue him either; he is hardly a surefire stud.
He is holding his own right now, and his growth has been notable as an undrafted FA. That bodes well for his ability to continue to adjust and he would make a nice story if he can carve out a role for the next few years.
Then your not getting any reliever of any consequence
The minute either of them put on a Philly uniform they will be the worst relievers in the game. WHP guaranteed
Phillies should also be looking at Caleb Ferguson, a lefty reliever on the Pirates who’s a free agent at the end of the season
Pirates need to sell Bednar now. He’s peaking, need to obtain a good return
Would Mick Abel and AAA power bat Gabriel Rincon do it?
I’d hate to sacrifice Miller or Crawford for just these two relievers. Maybe add Crawford if the Bucs added top catching prospect Omar Alfonso.
It would absolutely do it for the Pirates. That would be a very high price for the Phillies to pay.
@ctyank – way too much. Abel is a hard guy to determine value, but having seen him and not just looked at numbers, the talent is huge. Two years from now he could be a washout, or he could front a rotation. The progress that he made this year is encouraging. So while I would trade him, it would not be in a mixed bag relief pitching trade but only for controlled young bats. His downside is probably as a back of the pen stud himself where he would be filthy.
To get both relievers? It’s not enough. The Bucs need hitters. They don’t need Abel and Rincon is a #11 prospect with a .215/.358/.348 batting line. His previous years aren’t much better. These are the 2 top relievers on the list. If you want both it’s gonna hurt.
Santana- PEDs?
If the pirates ask for Crawford then it’s no deal
I think the Pirates would ask for Crawford. You have to start high.
they can get it done without giving up Crawford
Then the Phillies don’t get Bednar.
I love the fanbase back and forth trade commentary: “All of your prospects are slop; all of our mediocrities are diamond-encrusted bars of gold. And vice versa. Trades are hard to put together.
Given the structure of the Pirate team (focus on pitching and defense, not offense), I do not think it is in the Pirates’ interests to trade either.. while the Pirates could definitely use more offense, they are being built to win low scoring games where their pitching dominates. Trading away the back end of your pitching, especially if the return is only prospects, will probably increase the number of runs surrendered by Pirate pitching. Unless someone grossly overpays or the Pirates find a unicorn, the additional offense will probably not account for the additional runs given up.
Most fans, especially those posting, are trade happy and seem to think all teams have to win in the same way.
The Pirates will want near MLB-ready offense. Considering that the majority of the Phillies lineup has been either by trade or free agency, that speaks volumes about the quality of the position-player talent in the minors. The Phils have nothing to offer the Pirates that they would be interested in.
I would not be surprised if the Phils overpay. These two players could be the difference between being in the World Series or watching it on TV.