Reality has set in for former NY Mets player whose awesome Pirates run has gone cold

One of the hottest New York Mets rumors this offseason was the idea of Mark Vientos getting traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates. A deal never went beyond the rumor mill, trying to fit Vientos in as a third baseman for the hot corner-needy Bucs.

The idea, for many, was to swap Vientos for some pitching help. A target for many Mets fans was a guy who had a brief stint in Queens before, Dennis Santana. 9 games and a 5.91 ERA in 2023, he was already a journeyman at that stage. However, in the middle of the 2024 campaign, he landed with the Pirates and was suddenly setting sail as one of the league’s better relievers.

A 2.44 ERA in 44.1 innings in 2024 and even better 2.18 ERA in 70.1 innings in 2025 while serving as the team’s closer for 16 saves, Santana was a late-blooming bullpen stud. With walks up, strikeouts down, and an ERA floating closer to making him average than above it, reality has set in for Santana whose time as a desirable trade target for the Mets and everyone else appears to have run out.

Former Mets pitch Dennis Santana looks more like his old self again

Santana got lit up on Friday and saw his ERA jump up to 5.48 on the year. 3 earned runs in an inning of work, his first 21.1 innings for the Pirates this year haven’t even included all that many positive peripherals. At 6.3 K/9 with 4.2 BB/9 compared to last year’s 7.7 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9, he’s also dealing with a 9.3 H/9 rate to add some extra insult.

Just because Santana has declined doesn’t mean a team wouldn’t take a chance on him. However, with Pittsburgh right there in the NL Wild Card race and not buried in the NL Central either, they’d have little reason to trade him until they fall out of the running.. Santana is a free agent after this season and would certainly fit the bill as the type of player the Mets might look to acquire as a free agent. Players coming off of a bad year with success a season prior fit David Stearns’ modus operandi.

Relievers who come out of nowhere and thrive like Santana are a dime a dozen. Reed Garrett is a recent Mets example. We can even consider Austin Warren to be one of those players as well. Only 30-years-old this season, Santana will be a fascinating free agent at season’s end. No longer a looming candidate to get a multi-year deal, he’ll be a one-year flier who could always convince a free-spending club like the Mets to pay him a little extra.

After his fastball, which has been effective this year, Santana’s next three most frequently used pitches have batting averages in the .300s against them. The downfall of his slider, which had a .157 average against last year is one of the more noticeable dips. Hitters have a .333 average against it this year.

The phrase “flash in a pan” could apply here. His candle has stopped burning. His ship has been wrecked.

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