There were a LOT of transactions that took within the Pirates organization yesterday, particularly in the pitching department.
But amidst all those moves, the team added a lot of new arms to the organization.
A day after designating Ben Heller (who racked up a 49.50 ERA in 2.0 innings) for assignment, the team DFA’d another reliever, claimed one off waivers, and signed two to minor league deals. The biggest surprise was probably the DFA’ing of Jose Hernandez.
With the Pirates claiming Niko Goodrum off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels, Ben Heller was the corresponding move, with the veteran righty being DFA’d after a horrid two games with the team.
So, when the Pirates claimed Dennis Santana off waivers from the New York Yankees, another move had to take place to open up a slot for him. That move surprisingly became reliever Jose Hernandez, who was DFA’d himself by the team.
It was quite the shock to see Hernandez be the one to go: he’s a 26-year old lefty, which is not a type of pitcher you usually see on the waiver wire. Last season for the Pirates, his first in the majors, Hernandez pitched 50.2 innings, but struggled with 4.97 ERA.
This year, Hernandez got very limited action with the Bucs; he did not make the Opening Day roster (and only played because Roansy Contreras, who was also eventually DFA’d, was on the Paternity List). In all, he pitched in 5.1 innings for the Pirates and was shuttled between Pittsburgh and Indianapolis often.
Something just isn’t adding up on the Hernandez thing. Either there was some sort of conflict within the clubhouse, or there is an impending arm injury that the Pirates know about and we don’t. Hernandez did struggle in Triple-A, pitching to a 7.04 ERA in 15.1 innings.
However, that’s all the speculating that I will do on Hernandez, because I do not know why that move was made. I do, however, want to introduce you to the new guys the Pirates have brought in.
Dennis Santana
Let’s start with the guy we will see wearing a Pirates jersey the fastest.
Dennis Santana was claimed off waivers from the New York Yankees, after the team designated Santana for assignment back on June 9th. Santana, in his first season as a Yankee, posted a 6.26 ERA in 27.1 innings for New York.
June was a particularly rough month for Santana. He went through April and May with a 4.50 ERA before he gave up 2+ runs in three of his four games with the Yankees this month.
However, if you are looking for positives (and there aren’t many), Santana’s walks per nine innings and home runs per nine innings are both the lowest of his major league career (excluding his 1-game 2018 season). Santana is walking 3.3 batters per nine and allowing 0.7 homers per nine.
Santana is no stranger to the waiver wire; Pittsburgh’s move to get him was the righty’s third time being claimed off waivers. A waiver claim by the Mets saw Santana first arrive in New York before signing down the street with the Yankees.
So despite Santana having a career 5.34 ERA in 177.0 innings, there clearly is something about him that makes teams want to pick him up if they get the chance. I’ll just be completely honest, I’m not sure why – especially after the disastrous run he had with the Yankees.
But, after the Pirates were forced to end the Ben Heller experiment, things can’t possibly go any more south with a new reliever…right?
Jake Woodford
A recently DFA’d righty has found a new home in Indianapolis. The Pirates signed Jake Woodford to a minor league deal after Woodford successfully cleared waivers, and elected to go to free agenty.
The former White Sox arm earned a brief call up to the bigs this season, but in 2 starts (8.1 innings) Woodford surrendered 10 earned runs before he was shown the door.
Woodford did have some good years with the St. Louis Cardinals; in 2021, Woodford put up a 2.23 ERA in 48.1 innings, which followed up a sub-4.00 ERA season in 2020.
He has been used as both a starter and a reliever in his career, but it should be noted that over his time in the major leagues, he performed far better as a reliever.
It should be interesting to see how the Pirates plan to use Woodford in Indianapolis. The Pirates aren’t really in need of a starting pitcher (except in the case of injuries), but the bulk of Woodford’s action over the last few years, whether in the majors or minors, has been as a starter.
His Triple-A action this season with the Charlotte Knights saw him start 10 games, going 1-3 with a 5.62 ERA, 1.389 WHIP, and 2.47 K/BB ratio.
Luis Cessa
A former big leaguer with the New York Yankees and Cincinnati Reds, Luis Cessa spent the 2024 season in Triple-A with the Omaha Storm Chasers, the Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals.
Cessa signed a minor league contract with the Royals ahead of this season, and with Omaha he went 2-2 with a 3.89 ERA and pitched 39.1 innings (11 games, 10 starts).
He was released by the Royals organization back on June 1st. He now finds himself on a minor league deal with Pittsburgh.
Cessa’s last major league action came in 2023, when he struggled mightily with the Reds. He posted a 9.00 ERA in 26.0 innings, meaning he gave up, on average, a run every single inning he pitched. He also had a K/BB ratio of under 1.00.
That does not mean that Cessa hasn’t had past major league success, however. The 32-year old had 2.51 ERA season in 2021, split between the Yankees and Reds.
However, it’s been hard to come by in recent years; Cessa’s ERA with Omaha this season was the lowest he has posted, at any level, since his 2021 stint with the Reds.
(Featured photo by Brandon Sloter/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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