Diamondbacks Select Dennis Santana, Designate Philip Abner For Assignment

The Diamondbacks are swapping out a pair of relievers before today’s game. The team announced that right-hander Dennis Santana has been selected from Triple-A Reno. Left-hander Philip Abner has been designated for assignment in a corresponding move. Santana joined Arizona on a minor league deal on August 6th. He had spent most of 2026 with the Pirates before they designated him for assignment in July and ultimately released him. In 41 2/3 innings for the Bucs, Santana had a 6.05 ERA and a 4.61 SIERA that hinted at some bad luck, but not enough to make him an effective pitcher under the surface. He excelled at generating ground balls from 2021-22, but he ran just a 29.6% ground ball rate this year, well below the 41.6% league average rate. Santana has also given up eight home runs after allowing only five in nearly 30 more innings in 2025. More to come. View Comments (1)