After years of speculation, the Pirates traded their closer at this past summers deadline. was shipped off to the Bronx for a three-player package headlined by catching prospect . That opened the ninth inning for breakout setup man , who got an extended run as a closer for the first time in his career. Santana has been a revelation since the Pirates claimed him off waivers from the Yankees in June 2024. The Dominican-born righty to sed 44 1/3 innings of 2.44 ERA ball down the stretch that year, earning some stability with the fifth team of his big league career. He began this season in a setup role, then briefly took over as closer when Bednars early-season struggles got him demoted to Triple-A. Bednar was back in the ninth by the end of April, but the closer role became Santanas for good after the deadline. The various roles didnt slow him down. The 29-year-old Santana turned in 70 1/3 frames with a career-best 2.18 earned run average. He recorded 16 saves and 12 holds while only relinquishing three leads all season. Santana had a le s impre sive 3.75 ERA after the trade deadline, yet thats Miguel Tejada Jersey mostly attributable to a five-run blowup at Coors Field on August 1. He worked to a 1.90 ERA while holding opponents to a .152/.236/.291 slash in 23 appearances after that. Santana doesnt have the usual closer profile. He struck out 22.2% of batters faced, right around the league average for big league relievers. His 94.7 MPH average fastball speed is fine but not exceptional for a late-inning arm. Santanas wipeout slider is his bread-and-butter offering, a pitch that gets enough whiffs that teams could project his strikeout rate to climb by a couple percentage points. Hes never going to be , though, and most clubs would probably project Santana more as the second or third-best arm in a contending bullpen. Pittsburgh received trade interest in Santana at the deadline. The Phillies were the only team specifically known to have checked in, but it stands to reason the Bucs heard from at least a handful of clubs. They clearly didnt find an offer to their liking. Theyre now down to their final season of contractual control. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz Santana for a $3.4MM salary that easily fits within the budget of any team, even one that runs payrolls as low as the Bucs do. The Pirates arent intentionally rebuilding, but theyre coming off a 71-91 season that represented a step back from their consecutive 76-win campaigns before that. Should the Pirates view this offseason as a sell-high opportunity while letting , and compete for the ninth? Will they? on our . Skye Bolt Jersey