NEW YORK -- One has nothing to do with the other, Dennis Santana insisted.
But given the frustration Santana showed in the eighth inning Monday, yelling at Yankees shortstop José Caballero for taking too long to get in the batter’s box, it’s hard to believe it’s entirely independent of how he’s felt this season.
It’s been a disappointing year for Santana, who was tied for 10th in wins above replacement (per FanGraphs) among National League relievers from 2024-25, and the right-hander is painfully aware the results must improve.
“It’s been a tough season,” Santana said. “I know I’m not doing well. But that doesn’t have nothing to do with [Monday].
“[Monday] was a good day. I got a clean inning and look what happened.
“It's baseball. You're gonna be good. You're gonna be bad. You just gotta keep working, stay healthy, and you're gonna have the results.”
The Pirates suffered an 8-5 loss at Yankee Stadium because Braxton Ashcraft endured the worst start of his young career and Pittsburgh couldn’t mount a push after the Yankees’ second four-run rally.
But I’m equally as intrigued by what happened with Santana.
Not Caballero taking his sweet time getting ready to hit or the benches clearing, although it was certainly entertaining.
More what comes from this and whether Santana can use it as a flashpoint to get his season back on track.
The Pirates really, really need the version of Santana from the past two seasons, the one who produced a 2.28 ERA over 109 games (114 2/3 innings), walking 28 and striking out 110.
It’s crazy when you compare those numbers to what Santana has done this season: a 6.05 ERA over 44 outings (41 2/3 innings), walking 21 and striking out just 37. Already in 2026 Santana has allowed more home runs (8) than he did in those first 109 games (7).
Santana did have a solid outing against the Yankees, getting Caballero to bounce into an inning-ending double play for just his fourth clean inning in eight appearances this month. But it came two days after allowing a walkoff homer in Cleveland.
“He's a competitor, man,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said. “I think you saw that [Monday]. Found a way to work through that single.
“It gets frustrating, especially for him, not having the success that he's had. He's had two really great years for us. Just seems like the command, when he gets hit, it's balls that are over the plate that don't necessarily end up where he wants them to end up.”
The command issues have been especially evident with Santana’s slider. A year ago, the pitch netted a .157 batting average and .283 slugging percentage against. Those numbers have ballooned to .273 and .455 this year.
When it comes to Baseball Savant’s Run Value, Santana’s slider has gone from 7 in 2025 to -3 this season. He’s also throwing his changeup more than twice as often, and it’s getting hit hard (.280 batting average against, .680 slugging).
There has still been a similar amount of swing and miss with the pitch. Santana’s fastball velocity has also been fine. But he’s throwing the ball in the zone just 44.4% of the time — down from 50.2% and 54.9% the past two seasons — and allowing what Baseball Savant classifies as meatballs a career-high 9.3% of the time.
In other words, Santana hasn’t been nearly consistent enough when it comes to his location.
“When you miss your location in the big leagues, they make you pay,” Santana said.
Santana credited his teammates for keeping him upbeat during this tough stretch. He even referenced Barry Bonds as a way to say even the best struggle, though I’m not sure Bonds ever went through the pitching equivalent of this.
Bottom line, Santana was a huge part of the Pirates the past two seasons, their top reliever other than David Bednar, and his struggles have been felt by the group in 2026.
Caballero or not, it’s understandable why Santana would be frustrated. But the Pirates need him to channel that agitation in a productive way.
A year ago after Santana took a swing at a fan in Detroit, he buckled down and pitched to a 2.54 ERA with 12 walks and 35 strikeouts over the final 38 games (39 innings). That level of performance would be much-needed life raft for a Pirates bullpen that has been taking on water this season.
It looked like Santana was making progress when he produced a 3.46 ERA in 13 games from May 26-June 28, allowing just one home run. But he’s backslid in June, with a 12.28 ERA and four home runs allowed in just 7 1/3 innings.
Every once in a while we see the stuff. The fire was there Monday. The Pirates need Santana to put it all together pretty much immediately.
“I've got great teammates, and we have a great staff,” Santana said. “It's baseball. If I have a bad day in baseball, I don't take that to my house. Because this is a game. Life is not baseball.
“Like I say, even Barry Bonds, all the Hall of Famers, they have bad seasons, and they keep doing well. That's why they're Hall of Famers. So, we just gotta keep working, and things are gonna be good.”
Jason Mackey: Jason.Mackey@pirates.com @JMackey_PGH.