Pirates transfer Steven Brault to 60-day IL, claim Enyel De Los Santos from Phillies

The Pittsburgh Pirates announced earlier today that they have claimed right-handed pitcher Enyel De Los Santos off waivers from the Philadelphia Phillies.

De Los Santos, 25, was signed as an international free agent by the Seattle Mariners in 2014 and made his Major League debut with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2018. In that season, he went 1-0 with a 4.74 ERA in 19 innings.

This year, he went 1-1 with a 6.75 ERA in 26 games with the Phillies.

He found varied success in the Minor Leagues prior to his debut, going a perfect 6-0 with the Mariners’ rookie and Low-A teams, but given his three-pitch arsenal with a heavy reliance on his four-seam fastball, De Los Santos struggled throughout the late 2010s.

According to Baseball Savant, he’s thrown his fastball 70.7 percent of the time, something hitters caught on to over the recent years as his hard-hit rate jumped from 28 percent in 2018 to 43 percent this year. However, he was able to improve in other areas, such as getting hitters off-balance at the plate.

From 2018 to now, De Los Santos increased hitters chase rates by 4 percent and decreased zone contact by approximately 11 percent.

Given his age and Ben Cherington’s plan of giving younger players second chances, this should go as another potential Dillon Peters project.

While one pitcher looks to get a second chance at a Major League run, another will look to prepare for next year, as Steven Brault’s season comes to an end after being transferred to the 60-day injured list.

Brault left Friday’s game against the Washington Nationals with discomfort in his throwing arm and imaging showed that he strained his latissimus dorsi.

He missed most of the 2021 season after injuring a back muscle during Spring Training and rejoined the team in August, where he went 0-3 with a 5.86 ERA in seven starts.