The Reds have a reliable veteran who deserves appreciation.
The Cincinnati Reds have several young studs who are playing well, such as star shortstop Elly De La Cruz, first baseman Sal Stewart, and starting pitcher Chase Burns. However, reliever Tony Santillan has also been crucial to their success.
The 29-year-old blew his second save of the season in Tuesday's 3-2 loss to the Chicago Cubs, but he's logged 13 scoreless appearances out of 16 outings thus far. 13 of his first 14 games were scoreless before giving up a run in Sunday's 1-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates and on Tuesday.
This type of production is nothing new for Santillan, as he notched a 2.44 ERA over 80 games last season and has a 3.01 ERA over 175 career games (five starts). However, it's been even more important for the Reds this year given closer Emilio Pagan's struggles.
The latter pitcher has six saves out of nine opportunities, but has a 6.43 ERA over 15 appearances. He's also on the 15-day IL with a hamstring strain and isn't expected back until June or July, per MLB.com. He got hurt in the ninth inning on Tuesday.
Santillan has picked up the slack, as he leads the Reds with nine holds while right-hander Graham Ashcraft (1.93 ERA) is second with seven. The latter player also faltered on Wednesday after a torrid start to the campaign, as he blew a save in the ninth by giving up a two-run homer to Cubs star Pete Crow-Armstrong. That tied the game 6-6, and Cincinnati reliever Brock Burke walked in a run in the 10th to end the game.
Tony Santillan Builds on Strong 2025 Campaign
Cincinnati Reds pitcher Tony Santillan (64). © Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn ImagesSantillan is showing that last year's performance was no fluke. The 6-foot-3, 285-pounder never had more than 29 outings in a season before that, so he's still proving himself as a long-term piece.
The Reds drafted Santillan in the second round in 2015 and called him up to the big leagues for the first time in 2021. He notched a 2.91 ERA over 26 outings (four starts) that year, but logged a 5.49 ERA over 21 games in 2022. He then pitched just three games in 2023 due to back and knee injuries and logged a 3.00 ERA over 29 games (one start) in 2024.
Cincinnati's bullpen must bounce back after three straight walk-off losses to Chicago, and Santillan will likely be part of that formula. Up next is the series finale against the Cubs on Thursday at 2:20 p.m. ET.