Santana’s impact for Pittsburgh includes occasional saves as part of a broader closer-by-committee, with wins in extra innings signaling his nuanced role.

Santana remains the Pirates’ closer, delivering a steady week with saves and keeps the role in place. Even without a strong save week, his reliability and matchup handling keep him on rosters looking for saves as the playoff chase tightens.

Santana has quietly piled up saves for the Pirates, reaching 13 on the season with a strong late-season run (four saves in his last four appearances and only one hit allowed across those outings). His growing reliability in the ninth inning makes him a must-roster in standard leagues, especially as the Pirates push toward playoff implications and value a stable closer at the end of the bullpen.

Santana, closing for Pittsburgh, faced LA in the ninth, walking Rojas and yielding an RBI double to Ohtani before retiring the side. The brief hiccup yielded a run, but he shut the door after, preserving the win odds for the Pirates late in the game.

Santana’s ninth-inning slider to Burleson produced a walk-off loss for the Pirates, highlighting the volatility of late-inning relievers. This outing may influence bullpen trust and leverage going forward, with fantasy managers eyeing matchup-based usage.