Rangers 40-Man Roster Wrap: Dennis Santana

InsidetheRangers.com will review each of the players on the Texas Rangers 40-man roster at the conclusion of the 2022 season.

P Dennis Santana

Statistics for 2022: Santana went 3-8 with a 5.22 ERA in 63 games (all but one appearance was in relief). He had 20 holds and one save. He pitched 58 2/3 innings, giving up 50 hits, 39 runs (34 earned), two home runs and 28 walks. He struck out 54. Batters hit .228 against him and he had a 1.33 WHIP.

Season Transactions: The Rangers put Santana on the injured list on March 21 and activated him on April 24. He went on the injured list on Aug. 3 with a right ankle sprain and went to Triple-A Round Rock for a rehab stint on Aug. 18. The Rangers recalled him on Aug. 23.

Season Summary: This was Santana’s second straight season with at least 54 innings pitched, but his 63 appearances was a career high. In fact, he’s made 118 appearances in the last two seasons. Overall, his numbers didn’t change, which is good in just about every area except his ERA, which went up by nearly a point from 2021. Santana was sharp for the first three months of the season. His ERA was under 2.00 in each of those three months and his opponent batting average was under .200. But in July his numbers ballooned. His ERA jumped by three points and he started giving up crooked numbers. His numbers didn’t stabilize until mid-September, as he threw shutout baseball in his final six appearances.

Contract Status: Santana is eligible for arbitration for the first time this offseason.

What’s next: Santana will be one of many bullpen arms the Rangers will look at going into 2023. What he has to show is that he can get his ERA down. With the power he has in his arm, a low ERA is paramount for him to take the next step.

2022 Texas Rangers 40-Man Roster Wraps:

Ezequiel Duran | A.J. Alexy | Josh Smith | Tyson Miller | Corey Seager | Joe Barlow | Leody Taveras | Brad Miller | Drew Strotman | Josh Jung | Jon Gray | Taylor Hearn | Mitch Garver | Kevin Plawecki | Mark Mathias | John King | Charlie Culberson | Adolis García | Andy Ibáñez | Cole Ragans | Kole Calhoun | Brett Martin | Jose Leclerc | Marcus Semien | Matt Moore | Glenn Otto | Eli White | Jesus Tinoco | Sam Huff | Ricky Vanasco | Jonah Heim | Meibrys Viloria | Jonathan Hernandez |