Dennis Santana has not had the type of season he likely wanted. After emerging as one of the best relievers in baseball in 2024 and 2025, he was ready to continue to serve as a high-leverage reliever in 2026. Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened, as Santana has a 5.95 ERA over 39 1/3 innings out of the Pirates’ bullpen this season. He has only struck out 20.3% of batters with an 11.9% walk rate. Santana’s fastball continues to decline in velocity, which is a cause for worry for the Pirates. He has topped out at 96 MPH this year. For reference, when Santana first joined the Pirates’ bullpen in 2024, his four-seamer averaged 95.8 MPH.
Unfortunately, the time to move on from Santana is now. His dip in velocity is unlikely to rebound, and the results from his declining stuff speak for themselves. However, there are a handful of pitchers at Triple-A who should replace Santana in the Pirates’ bullpen.
Candidates to Replace Dennis Santana in Pirates’ Bullpen
Noah Murdock
The Pirates recently added Noah Murdock to their 40-man roster to avoid his upward mobility clause, and there is a good reason why they did that. Murdock has pitched to a 3.74 ERA, 2.63 FIP, and 1.069 WHIP across three levels of the Pirates’ minor league system. He has struck out 31.1% of opponents, with a walk rate of just 7.4% over 33 1/3 innings pitched. Murdock has always induced a ton of ground balls, and 2026 is no different. His 65.8% ground ball rate is the fifth highest of any minor league pitcher who has tallied at least 30 IP.
Pirates Select Noah Murdock, Designate Davis Wendzel https://t.co/akREJUW5Ym pic.twitter.com/WvXFa7Tcsb
— MLB Trade Rumors (@mlbtraderumors) July 5, 2026
There’s never been much question of whether Murdock has the stuff to be an effective reliever. He flashed a mid-90s sinker and 105 Stuff+ in a brief look in MLB last year with the Athletics. However, he has consistently struggled to harness it. Murdock walked 20.4% of the batters he faced in his 17 2/3 innings pitched last year with the A’s. When the A’s returned him to the Kansas City Royals (he was a Rule 5 draft pick that prior offseason), he walked 13.1% of batters at Triple-A. It is currently the first time Murdock has had a sub-10% BB% in any season since 2019, his first pro season in Rookie ball.
Jose Urquidy
The Pirates signed Jose Urquidy to a one-year major league deal worth $1.5 million this past offseason. The right-hander had missed a good portion of the previous three seasons with a myriad of injuries. The signing looked even more questionable when Urquidy allowed six earned runs on 15 hits over 6 1/3 innings of work out of the Pirates’ bullpen. Those struggles led to Urquidy getting demoted to Triple-A Indianapolis before the end of April.
However, Urquidy has pitched much better since his demotion. His last 73 2/3 innings yield a 3.67 ERA, 4.14 FIP, and 1.059 WHIP. He is not inducing many strikeouts, with a 22.8% K% and 23.3% whiff rate; however, he has only walked 4.8% of batters. Urquidy has a solid 88.1 MPH exit velocity and 7.8% barrel rate, despite an unimpressive 1.27 HR/9. Since the Pirates already paid Urquidy, they should assess whether he can continue pitching well in the major leagues after excelling in Indy. Another multi-inning reliever could greatly help out the Pirates’ bullpen.
Jaden Woods
The Pirates’ bullpen recently lost an important arm, as breakout lefty Evan Sisk landed on the injured list with elbow inflammation. That should make Jaden Woods the next lefty reliever they call upon. Don’t be fooled by Woods’ 4.84 ERA over 37 1/3 innings between Altoona and Indianapolis. The young southpaw has excellent peripherals. Woods has struck out 34% of the batters he has faced this year, with only a 10% walk rate. His BB% since reaching Triple-A is just 6.5%. Woods has an excellent 24% K-BB% this year. Both his 3.23 FIP and 2.98 xFIP suggest some bad luck affecting his performance.
The Pittsburgh Pirates are promoting Jaden Woods to the Indianapolis Indians (AAA). pic.twitter.com/nRfvm8KUuC
— Milb Central (@milb_central) June 7, 2026
There are certainly reasons his ERA estimators better reflect his true performance than his bottom-line ERA does. Despite a 51% GB%, his HR:FB ratio comes in at 18.8%. Since reaching Triple-A, his HR:FB ratio is an unsustainable 33.3% rate, and even more so once you consider he has a 6.9% barrel rate at Indy. His batting average on balls in play on the year is .354, and .407 at Triple-A Indy. Both his walk and strikeout rates (and by proxy his K-BB%) are all career-bests minus the brief 14 1/3 innings he threw at Single-A Bradenton after the Pirates drafted him in 2023.
Main Photo Credit: David Dermer-Imagn Images
