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Hector Santiago

Tigers Sign Hector Santiago

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The Tigers have announced a minor-league deal with lefty Hector Santiago. He’ll receive an invitation to participate in MLB Spring Training.

Santiago had some rather productive campaigns earlier in his career. But at 32 years of age, he has settled into the existence of a journeying southpaw swingman.

Over the past three years, Santiago has transitioned from membership in a 5-man rotation to long relief duties. He carries only a 5.20 ERA in the 206 innings he has thrown during that span. Santiago has struck out 8.5 batters per nine over that time but has also handed out excessive numbers of walks (4.9 per nine) and home runs (1.7).

It’s tough to imagine Santiago having much of a shot at the Detroit rotation in camp. But he could challenge for a bullpen role or otherwise slot into the Triple-A staff to provide depth.

White Sox Purchase Contract Of Hector Santiago

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The White Sox announced today that they have purchased the contract of lefty Hector Santiago. He’ll take the 40-man spot of fellow southpaw swingman Manny Banuelos, who was moved to the 60-day IL to make way.

In other news, backstop Welington Castillo was reinstated from the family medical emergency leave list. He’ll technically serve as the 26th man in today’s doubleheader, meaning that the team will have to make a further active roster move thereafter.

Santiago, 31, is in his third stint with the Chicago organization. He opened his career on the South Side and also pitched there last year. Santiago struggled in a brief MLB stint earlier this year with the Mets. In eighty total frames at Triple-A in 2019, he carries a 4.50 ERA with 71 strikeouts and 32 walks.

White Sox Sign Hector Santiago

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The White Sox have signed left-hander Hector Santiago to a minor league contract, according to Roster Roundup. Santiago was most recently with the Mets, who designated him for assignment last Friday.

This will be the third White Sox tour for Santiago, whom the team selected in the 30th round of the 2006 draft. Santiago wound up pitching with the White Sox from 2011-13, during which he notched a 3.41 ERA/4.49 FIP in 224 2/3 innings.

Chicago dealt Santiago to the Angels in a noteworthy three-team trade heading into the 2014 campaign. After stints with the Halos and Twins, Santiago returned to the Sox on a minors deal in February 2018. He went on to throw 102 innings (49 appearances, seven starts) of 4.41 ERA/5.09 FIP ball with 9.09 K/9 and 5.29 BB/9 at the big league level last season.

Now, Santiago will once again try to turn a minors pact with the White Sox into a major league opportunity. He’ll have to perform better than he did as a Met, though. While Santiago did log a 3.35 ERA over 43 innings with the Mets’ Triple-A affiliate this year, his run prevention success came with far less encouraging peripherals. The 31-year-old then fell flat over eight innings with New York, where he gave up six earned runs on 10 hits and five walks (with six strikeouts).

Mets Designate Hector Santiago

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The Mets have designated left-hander Hector Santiago for assignment, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com tweets.

A former starter for the White Sox, Angels and Twins, the 31-year-old Santiago joined the Mets on a minor league deal over the winter. Santiago didn’t crack the Mets’ roster at first, instead opening the year at the Triple-A level. He logged a 3.35 ERA/4.94 FIP with 7.95 K/9 and 4.81 BB/9 in 43 innings as a member of New York’s top affiliate before the club summoned him to the majors in late May.

While Santiago has worked as a starter in the minors this season, he functioned exclusively as a reliever with the Mets before they cut him from their 40-man. In eight innings, Santiago allowed six earned runs on 10 hits and five walks (against six strikeouts). Santiago could end up heading back to Syracuse next, though he’ll be able to reject an outright assignment to the minors if he wants.

Mets Place Seth Lugo On Injured List, Select Hector Santiago

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The Mets announced that they’ve placed right-hander Seth Lugo on the 10-day injured list due to tendinitis in his right shoulder and selected the contract of southpaw Hector Santiago to take his spot on the active roster. They’ll need to make a corresponding 40-man roster move, although that could be accomplished by simply shifting Jed Lowrie from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day injured list, as Lowrie has already missed nearly a full 60 days.

There’s no timetable for how long Lugo is expected to miss. The right-hander himself told reporters that the plan is to rest for a few days, adding that he’s hopeful this can be a relatively short absence (Twitter link, with video, via Anthony DiComo of MLB.com). The discomfort in his shoulder began in his most recent outing and is only something he feels when pitching, per Lugo.

It’ll be another hit to the Mets’ pitching staff, as Lugo has arguably been their best setup reliever, pitching to a 3.12 ERA with 11.8 K/9, 2.1 BB/9, 1.04 HR/9 and a 43.9 percent ground-ball rate in 26 innings so far in 2019. Only fellow righty Robert Gsellman, the team’s other top setup option, has logged more innings (27 1/3) out of the bullpen so far.

Meanwhile, free-agent signee Jeurys Familia, brought back to solidify the team’s late-inning mix, has struggled and already spent a bit of time on the IL himself. With Lugo sidelined for at least 10 days, Familia will have to take on a larger role. To his credit, however, Familia has tossed a pair of shutout innings since returning from that short stay on the injured list.

As for Santiago, he’ll join the club after logging a 3.35 ERA in 43 innings of Triple-A ball (seven starts, one relief outing). Solid as that number appears, Santiago is toting an unsightly 38-to-23 K/BB ratio in that time and has benefited from a .235 average on balls in play while pitching for Syracuse. Santiago struggled with similar control issues for the White Sox last year when he averaged 5.3 BB/9 over 102 innings, en route to a 4.41 ERA.

Although Santiago has been starting in the minors, he won’t get the ball for tonight’s game. That nod will go to Wilmer Font, the team announced an hour ago. The Mets had originally indicated that Drew Gagnon would start tonight, but they announced earlier this morning that Gagnon wouldn’t take the ball to open the game after all.

Mets Assign Six NRI Veterans To Minor League Camp

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The Mets have cut several veterans at Spring Training on minor league contracts from their Major League camp.  Carlos Gomez, Adeiny Hechavarria, Rajai Davis, Hector Santiago, Ryan O’Rourke, and Devin Mesoraco are the non-roster invitees who have all been told they aren’t making the Opening Day roster.  (Tim Healey of Newsday was one of several reporters who passed on the news.)  Of note, Mesoraco didn’t have an opt-out clause in his contract, though the Mets said that the catcher is “reassessing his situation” with the organization.

Mesoraco, Hechavarria, and Davis each had upward mobility clauses in their contracts that went into effect last Wednesday, though there hasn’t been any word on whether any other teams had interest in any of the trio.  This doesn’t appear to have been the case for Mesoraco, as Mike Puma of the New York Post reports (Twitter link) that Mesoraco has informed the Mets that he won’t go to Triple-A, and wants to be released.  Mesoraco is even prepared to retire if he isn’t granted his release, according to MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo (via Twitter).

Mesoraco’s situation is perhaps the most surprising, as indications were that he would serve as the backup catcher, since Travis d’Arnaud is likely to begin the season on the injured list.  This could mean that a change in d’Arnaud’s status, or that the Mets would simply instead prefer to use another internal candidate in Tomas Nido as Wilson Ramos’ backup.

The Mets’ outfield situation was already pretty crowded, so Gomez and Davis faced something of an uphill battle in winning jobs.  Brandon Nimmo and Michael Conforto have everyday jobs spoken for, while Jeff McNeil will get at least a share of the left field playing time, with Keon Broxton and Juan Lagares serving as backup outfielders.

O’Rourke pitched quite well in camp while Santiago struggled, though in the end, the Mets chose to take neither left-hander on their Opening Day roster.  This will leave Justin Wilson and Luis Avilan (another minor league signing who is likely to make the team) as the southpaw options out of New York’s bullpen.

The Hechavarria news bodes well for Luis Guillorme’s chances of winning the utility infield job.  McNeil will also see some time in the infield mix when he isn’t playing left field, and J.D. Davis looks to be the team’s top option at third base for the time being.  Of course, the Mets’ infield situation will be in flux once Todd Frazier and Jed Lowrie are healthy.

NL East Notes: Phillies’ Outfield, Mets’ Bullpen, Solis, Lopez

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Offseason additions of Bryce Harper and Andrew McCutchen have left the Phillies with an overcrowded outfield mix that will likely lead to some roster shuffling. As The Athletic’s Meghan Montemurro examines at length (subscription required), the Phils now have five outfielders — Odubel Herrera, Roman Quinn, Nick Williams, Aaron Altherr and Dylan Cozens — all on the 40-man roster beyond their two big-name pickups. Both Herrera and Quinn are currently nursing minor injuries, but they’re also the two most logical options for center field. Williams, meanwhile, isn’t viewed as an option in center, per manager Gabe Kapler, which severely clouds his future with the team. Williams does have minor league options remaining, but he could also hold appeal as a trade asset marketed to other clubs in search of outfield help. (The same could be true of Herrera, but he’s owed $24.5MM through 2021 and had a down season in 2018.) Of the Phillies’ current outfielders, both Altherr and Quinn are out of minor league options, which only enhances the likelihood of some roster moves in the next couple of weeks.

Elsewhere in the division…

  • Because of the numerous off-days baked into the early-season schedule, the Mets are likelier to open the season with seven relievers than they are with eight, tweets Mike Puma of the New York Post. Edwin Diaz, Jeurys Familia, Justin Wilson, Robert Gsellman and Seth Lugo are locks to hold down five of those spots, and Puma adds that non-roster lefties Luis Avilan and Hector Santiago are strong candidates to claim the other two slots. Both veterans signed minor league contracts with invites to Spring Training, and both have thrown quite well to open camp. That’d give manager Mickey Callaway three lefties to utilize out of the ’pen early in the season, although it wouldn’t leave the team with too much in the way of roster flexibility. With so many veteran relievers on board, the only three pitchers of that bunch who could technically be optioned to the minors would be Lugo, Gsellman and Diaz — none of whom would figure to be sent down to the minors at any point. If the Mets do eventually shift to carrying eight relievers, they’d be able to use that final ’pen slot to shuffle some fresh arms back and forth between the Majors and Triple-A Syracuse.
  • Left-hander Sammy Solis was caught “completely off guard” by the Nationals’ decision to release him, the pitcher tells Richard Justice of MLB.com. Solid seemingly took the abrupt and unexpected news in good stride, thanking the organization and expressing some disappointment over having to say goodbye to longtime teammates. As manager Dave Martinez explains, the move was made with an eye toward giving Solis a chance to find another organization before the season begins. “For me, it was more about giving Sammy an opportunity to latch on with another team and get a chance to have that Spring Training elsewhere,” said Martinez. The Nats also shed $713K in salary with the move, which surely played a factor as well. The 30-year-old Solid has had a pair of unsightly seasons over the past two years, including a 2017 campaign that was shortened by elbow troubles. He maintains that he’s healthy now, though, and one would imagine that a lefty who averaged nearly 94 mph on his fastball to go along with a 12.9 percent swinging-strike rate in 2018 will garner interest — even if only on a minor league contract.
  • Right-hander Pablo Lopez is making a strong case to open the season in the Marlins’ rotation, but manager Don Mattingly said this weekend that no decisions have been made as to who’ll round out the rotation behind Jose Urena and Dan Straily, per Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald. Lopez tossed four perfect innings and picked up four punchouts in his most recent outing against a Nationals lineup featuring many regulars. He’s now allowed just one run on three hits and a walk with eight strikeouts in nine spring frames. Wei-Yin Chen’s contract — he’s owed $42MM over the next two seasons — makes him a likely candidate to get a long look, while other rotation hopefuls include Sandy Alcantara, Trevor Richards and southpaw Caleb Smith.

Mets, Hector Santiago Agree To Minor League Deal

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Jan. 7: Santiago’s deal comes with a $2MM base salary in the Majors and allows him to earn an extra $100K for every fifth start up through 25 total starts, tweets Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The contract contains an out clause that stipulates the Mets will release Santiago on July 31 if he’s not on the MLB roster and if another club is willing to put him on its 25-man roster.

Jan. 5: The Mets have reportedly picked up some rotation and bullpen depth, adding veteran left-hander Hector Santiago on a minor league deal. He’ll head to Major League Spring Training as a non-roster invitee. Santiago is repped by Excel Sports.

Santiago, 31, appeared in 49 games (7 starts) for the White Sox last season, pitching to a sub-replacement-level 4.41 ERA/5.09 FIP/5.38 xFIP in 102 IP. The journeyman lefty apparently brought back one of the league’s only screwballs last season – which he featured regularly in his first stint on the Southside – in an effort to rejuvenate a floundering career. He was, yet again, quite homer-prone, surrendering 1.41 big flies per nine, a mark just slightly above his career average of 1.37 HR/9 a season.

The lefty has shown occasional aptitude for the strikeout over the course of his career, but it’s too often been offset by command issues – Santiago walked 5.29 men per nine last season, and has yet to finish a single big-league campaign with a total under 3.5 BB/9 in that category. He’ll look to compete for the 5th-starter role in the Mets’ rotation, currently occupied by Jason Vargas, with Seth Lugo, Corey Oswalt, and others – P.J. Conlon, Drew Gagnon, Chris Flexen, and more – also in the mix.

In 887 career MLB innings pitched with the ChiSox, Angels, and Twins, Santiago sports a career 4.05 ERA/4.88 FIP/5.05 xFIP.  The lefty, it should be noted, is one of the rare pitchers to outperform his fielding-independent marks in every career season, owing in large part to his stellar 77% career strand rate.

Rich Mancuso first reported that the Mets and Santiago had a deal (Twitter link), and SNY’s Andy Martino clarified that it was a minor league pact (Twitter link).

Notable Roster Decisions: Wednesday

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The latest noteworthy roster decisions across Major League Baseball as Opening Day draws ever closer…

  • The Brewers announced that they’ve selected the contract of Ji-Man Choi, who’ll make their Opening Day roster. (Sung Min Kim of Fangraphs and River Ave. Blues first tweeted that Choi had made the roster.) That means both Choi and the out-of-options Jesus Aguilar will make a roster which also includes first base options Eric Thames and Ryan Braun. However, as Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel points out (via Twitter), the composition is likely to change quickly — possibly as soon as Friday. Choi has an option remaining, Haudricourt notes. More interestingly, Haudricourt adds that the Brew Crew is pursuing an external pitching addition, and if said move goes through, then Choi could quickly be optioned to Colorado Springs to clear a 25-man roster spot. Also of particular note for the Brewers is that Wade Miley was reassigned to minor league camp and won’t be making the club.

Earlier Decisions & Moves

  • The White Sox have selected the contract of left-hander Hector Santiago, giving them a full 40-man roster, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times was among those to report on Twitter. In other moves, the club sent southpaw Carlos Rodon (left shoulder rehabilitation) and catcher Kevan Smith (left ankle sprain) to the 10-day disabled list, retroactive to March 26. Santiago will now officially begin his second major league stint as a member of the White Sox, with whom he started his career in 2011 and stayed with through 2013. Santiago was successful during that span, but his career has trended downward lately – particularly last season as a Twin – which prevented him from landing a major league contract over the winter. The minors deal the 30-year-old signed with Chicago includes a $2MM salary in the bigs, which he’s now in position to earn. Santiago’s a longtime starter, but he’ll open 2018 in the Sox’s bullpen.
  • The Dodgers have optioned outfielder Andrew Toles, as Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reports (Twitter link). Toles’ demotion means Joc Pederson is likely to be the Dodgers’ Opening Day left fielder, DiGiovanna notes. Toles had been part of a crowded corner outfield battle during spring action alongside Pederson, Matt Kemp, Enrique Hernandez, Alex Verdugo and the just-jettisoned Trayce Thompson. The fact that Toles had options remaining – unlike the expensive, apparently immovable Kemp – probably didn’t do him any favors in his bid to make the Dodgers. The 25-year-old Toles has been successful in Los Angeles since debuting in 2016, having batted .294/.341/.483 with 2.1 fWAR n 217 plate appearances. He missed all but 31 games last season, though, after suffering a torn ACL in May.
  • Outfielders Gregor Blanco and Gorkys Hernandez will open the season with the Giants, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle writes. The Giants signed Blanco, 34, to a minors pact back in January. Per that deal, he’ll earn a $1MM salary in the majors and have a chance at $500K in incentives in San Francisco, with which he previously played from 2012-16 and won a pair of World Series. Hernandez is out of options, so he was also in a do-or-die position this spring. The 30-year-old rose to the challenge, though he’ll surely need to improve on last season’s showing (.255/.327/.326 line with no home runs in 348 PAs) to keep his roster spot for all of 2018.
  • Outfielder Matt Szczur and righty Jordan Lyles will be part of the Padres’ Opening Day roster, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com tweets. The out-of-options Szczur, 28, will continue to provide outfield depth in San Diego after coming over in a trade with the Cubs last summer. Lyles, meanwhile, spent a bit of time with the Padres in 2017 and then re-signed on a major league contract in the offseason. The deal also features a club option for 2019 for Lyles, who’ll begin the year in the Friars’ bullpen. Having pitched to a 5.43 ERA/4.55 FIP across 681 combined innings (182 appearances, 107 starts) with the Astros, Rockies and Padres, Lyles hasn’t lived up to the billing he had as a prospect. He’s still just 27, however.
  • Catchers A.J. Ellis and Raffy Lopez will also be on the Padres’ roster, the team announced. Those two and starter Austin Hedges will give the Padres three backstops on their 25-man roster. Ellis, an established veteran backup, is now set to make $1.25MM after signing a minor league deal in the offseason. The 30-year-old Lopez, who brings just 83 PAs of MLB experience, also signed a minors pact over the winter.
  • The Marlins will add catcher Bryan Holaday to their 40- and 25-man rosters, per Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. Holaday, 30, signed a minor league deal with the Marlins in the offseason. He’ll be one of three catchers on their season-opening roster, joining Tomas Telis (out of options) and Chad Wallach, son of bench coach Tim Wallach. It’s not an ideal setup for Miami, which won’t have standout starter J.T. Realmuto at the outset of the season. Realmuto is on the DL with a bone bruise.
  • The Twins will roster outfielder Ryan LaMarre to open the year, Phil Miller of the Star Tribune tweets. LaMarre, an offseason minor league signee of the Twins, spent last year with the Triple-A affiliates of the Angels and Athletics, combining for a meager .628 OPS. He’s a lifetime .268/.335/.388 hitter at the Triple-A level (954 PAs) who has seen very brief MLB action with the Reds, Red Sox and A’s.
  • The Tigers announced that they’ve selected infielder Niko Goodrum’s contract, which puts their 40-man roster at capacity. Goodrum, who signed a minors deal with Detroit in November, spent 2010-17 with the Minnesota organization and batted .250/.333/.379 in 2,796 minor league PAs. He saw minimal big league action with the club (18 PAs, all of which came last season).
  • The Mariners made the DL placements of Erasmo Ramirez, Ben Gamel and David Phelps official, and they also announced that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Casey Lawrence, who will return to the team after spending parts of the 2017 campaign on Seattle’s big league roster. The M’s also optioned infielder/outfielder Taylor Motter to Triple-A Tacoma.

Central Notes: Brewers, Gallardo, White Sox, Cubs

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In the wake of Wade Miley’s multi-week injury, the Brewers have set their season-opening starting five, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel relays. Brent Suter and Brandon Woodruff will fill out the rotation behind Chase Anderson, Zach Davies and Jhoulys Chacin, manager Craig Counsell announced Saturday. That spells bad news for offseason signing Yovani Gallardo, who won’t make the team, Haudricourt tweets. A highly successful Brewer from 2007-14, Gallardo rejoined the club for a non-guaranteed $2MM in December after spending time with the Rangers, Orioles and Mariners. The 32-year-old’s future is now in question. The Brewers could still trade Gallardo, according to general manager David Stearns. However, if no deal comes together by Monday, they’ll have to release him, per Haudricourt.

More on Milwaukee and a couple other Central teams…

  • The Brewers wouldn’t have had two open spots in their rotation if not for the right shoulder injury top starter Jimmy Nelson suffered late last year. Nelson continues to make progress in his recovery from September surgery and could start working from the mound again as early as mid-April, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports. Meanwhile, catcher Stephen Vogt – out since February with a shoulder issue of his own – is aiming to return to game action by May 1.
  • Like Milwaukee, the White Sox have also established their rotation for the beginning of the season. Righty Carson Fulmer has beaten out lefty Hector Santiago (who’s likely to stick around as a long reliever) for the No. 5 spot, Alyson Footer of MLB.com writes. Fulmer will round out a starting staff that’ll also feature James Shields, Lucas Giolito, Miguel Gonzalez and Reynaldo Lopez. Santiago, 30, signed a minors deal in February with the White Sox, with whom he pitched from 2011-13. Although Santiago has functioned as a starter for the majority of his career, he’s content to work in a relief role in his second go-round with the South Siders. “I’m open to whatever,” he said. “As long as I have a uniform on my back, I’m happy with the job that they give me. Right now, it’s in the bullpen as a long guy and I’ll be ready for any role.”
  • The Cubs are going with Victor Caratini, not Chris Gimenez, to back up starting catcher Willson Contreras, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. Thanks to his well-known rapport with new Cubs right-hander Yu Darvish from their days in Texas, Gimenez seemed like the front-runner for the job at the outset of spring training; instead, he’ll head to Triple-A Iowa, per Wittenmyer. The 24-year-old Caratini, whom MLB.com ranks as the Cubs’ No. 8 prospect, hit .254/.333/.356 across 66 plate appearances during his first MLB action last season.
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