Among the early standouts for the Los Angeles Dodgers in Spring Training is Dennis Santana, who has allowed just one hit with three strikeouts across three scoreless Cactus League appearances.
The right-hander is now another year removed from the significant shoulder injury he sustained in 2018 and has caught the eye of Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “I just think he’s really healthy and has gotten a lot more physical,” Roberts said.
“He put in a lot of good work this past winter and with the delivery, I think he’s able to hold positions throughout the delivery with core and lower-half strength. It’s just allowing him to execute pitches consistently. He has as good of command as he’s had since I’ve seen him.”
Though a starter by trade, Santana has received most of his big league opportunities as a reliever thus far. He made 12 appearances out of the bullpen last season, pitching to a 1-2 record, 5.29 ERA, 5.72 FIP and 1.29 WHIP in 17 innings of work.
Of those 12 outings, Santana logged more than one inning in seven of them, demonstrating his value as a multi-inning reliever.
With one of the deepest starting rotations in all of baseball, Santana could fill a similar role for the Dodgers this season. “He’s got a good opportunity. I think if you’re talking about Dennis it’s in the ‘pen,” Roberts said.
“It’s a guy that gets left and right out with his changeup to the lefties, and can take down a couple innings and potentially three innings. Obviously we’re very fond of Dennis. He’s doing everything he can to this point.”
Santana similarly impressed Roberts in 2020 Spring Training, Summer Camp
Prior to MLB cancelling the final two weeks of 2020 Spring Training because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Santana had put himself on the Dodgers’ radar with his excellent work in camp.
He followed that up with a solid Summer Camp to earn himself a spot on the Opening Day roster as a reliever. Roberts regularly praised Santana and on one occasion singled him out as the “star of the day” in a loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
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