The New York Yankees don't just "sign" players. They find projects. When news broke that the club snagged Enyel De Los Santos off waivers from the San Diego Padres mid-season in 2024, the reaction from the Bronx faithful was a collective shrug mixed with a bit of "Who?" It wasn't exactly the blockbuster trade for a frontline starter everyone craved. But if you've followed Brian Cashman and Matt Blake over the last few years, you know they have a Type.
De Los Santos fits that Type perfectly. High strikeout potential. Frustratingly inconsistent. A "stuff" profile that looks better on a spreadsheet than it does on a scoreboard during a blowout.
Watching him pitch is an exercise in patience. One minute he's painting the corner with a mid-90s heater that has late life, and the next, he’s hanging a slider that ends up in the second deck. It’s the classic Yankees reclamation project. They love guys like this. They see a specific tweak—maybe a grip change or a slightly different release point—and they bet the house that they can turn a 5.00 ERA pitcher into a high-leverage weapon.
The Weird Path of Enyel De Los Santos to the Bronx
He’s a journeyman. At this point, that’s just the reality. Since 2018, De Los Santos has bounced around the Phillies, Pirates, Guardians, White Sox, and Padres. He’s seen a lot of clubhouses.
When the Padres DFA’d him in August 2024, it was because the wheels had basically fallen off. He had a 4.46 ERA in San Diego, which doesn't tell the whole story. The real issue was the home runs. He was giving up bombs at an alarming rate. For a guy playing in a pitcher-friendly park like Petco, that’s a massive red flag.
So why did the Yankees bite?
Matt Blake. Honestly, that’s the answer. The Yankees’ pitching coach has built a reputation for taking guys with high spin rates and "flat" fastballs and making them elite. Think Clay Holmes. Think Michael King. De Los Santos has a four-seam fastball that generates a lot of swings and misses when it's elevated. The problem is when he misses his spot, it’s a meatball.
The Yankees saw a guy who was striking out over 10 batters per nine innings. In the modern game, if you can miss bats, someone will give you a job. New York just happened to be the one with an open roster spot and a bullpen that was looking a little thin due to injuries.
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Breaking Down the "Stuff"
What are we actually looking at here?
De Los Santos primarily relies on two pitches: the four-seam fastball and the slider. He’ll occasionally throw a changeup, but it’s mostly a two-pitch mix.
- The Fastball: It sits around 95-96 mph. It has decent "rise" to it, which makes it effective at the top of the zone.
- The Slider: This is his primary out-pitch. When it’s on, it’s a tight, sweeping breaker that righties can’t touch. When it’s off, it’s a spinning dot that stays right in the hitting zone.
The analytics guys love his "Vertical Approach Angle" (VAA). Basically, because of how he releases the ball, his fastball looks like it’s rising more than it actually is. This creates that "whiff" effect where hitters swing under the ball. If the Yankees can get him to tunnel that slider off the high fastball more effectively, he becomes a nightmare for the seventh inning.
But there’s a catch.
Control isn't just about walks. For De Los Santos, it's about "command"—the ability to put the ball exactly where he wants it. He doesn't walk a ton of guys, but he leaves the ball over the heart of the plate way too often. In Yankee Stadium, with that short porch in right field, that’s a recipe for a very short outing.
Why the Yankees Bullpen Needed a Wild Card
The 2024 season was a roller coaster for the Yankee relief corps. Clay Holmes had his stretches of dominance followed by heart-stopping blown saves. Tommy Kahnle’s changeup was as filthy as ever, but you can’t pitch him every night.
They needed a "bridge" guy.
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They needed someone who could come in when the starter gets pulled in the fifth inning and just overpower the bottom of the order. Enyel De Los Santos was brought in to be that bridge. Is he a closer? No. Is he a primary setup man? Probably not. But in a 162-game season, you need arms that can eat innings without being a total disaster.
The Yankees' strategy under the current regime is to maximize "stuff" and hope the results follow. They’ve moved away from the old-school philosophy of "proven veterans" and moved toward "projectable metrics." De Los Santos is the poster child for this. His expected FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching) has often been lower than his actual ERA, suggesting he’s been a bit unlucky or held back by poor defense behind him.
The Risks of the Pinstripe Pressure
Let’s be real. Pitching in New York isn't like pitching in San Diego or Cleveland. The lights are brighter. The boos are louder.
We’ve seen it before—pitchers come to the Bronx, have one bad outing, and the fans turn. If De Los Santos gives up a three-run homer in a tie game against the Red Sox, "metrics" won't save him from the back page of the Post.
The mental side of the game is where the Yankees have to do the most work with him. It’s about confidence. When he gets behind in the count, he tends to get tentative. He starts "aiming" the ball instead of throwing it. You can't do that in the AL East. The hitters are too disciplined. They will wait him out and then punish the mistake.
Comparing De Los Santos to Past Yankee Experiments
He reminds me a bit of Lou Trivino or maybe even Jonathan Loáisiga in his early days. Pure, raw talent that just needs a bit of seasoning and a clear role.
The Yankees have this "Pitching Lab" in Tampa where they use high-speed cameras and bio-mechanical sensors to map out every movement a pitcher makes. They likely saw something in De Los Santos' mechanics that was causing his slider to "pop" out of his hand, making it easier for hitters to identify.
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If they fixed that? Look out.
But if he’s just a guy who throws hard and misses spots, he’ll be off the roster by next spring. That’s the life of a middle reliever. You’re only as good as your last clean inning.
What the Data Says About His Future
Looking at the Statcast data, De Los Santos has always been in the upper percentiles for strikeout rate and whiff percentage. That’s the "floor." He’s always going to get his strikeouts.
The "ceiling" depends on the barrel rate. In 2024, before joining the Yankees, his barrel rate was nearly 12%. That’s catastrophic. For context, the league average is usually around 7-8%. If he’s giving up hard contact that often, he’s basically a human batting practice machine.
The Yankees' goal is to get that barrel rate down to 8% or lower. They do this by changing the pitch sequence. Instead of going Fastball-Fastball-Slider, maybe they go Slider-Slider-High Fastball. It’s about keeping the hitter off-balance.
Practical Takeaways for Fans
If you're watching a game and you see #62 (or whatever number he’s sporting) jogging out from the pen, here is what you should look for:
- First Pitch Strike: This is huge for him. If he’s 0-1, he can use that slider to expand the zone. If he’s 1-0, he’s forced to throw a "get-over" fastball, and that’s when he gets hurt.
- Fastball Location: Is it at the letters or at the belt? Anything at the belt is going to be a long fly ball. Anything at the letters is going to be a swing-and-miss.
- The "Sweeper" Action: Does his slider have horizontal movement or is it just falling vertically? The Yankees love the "sweeper" right now. If they’ve taught him that, his value triples.
Enyel De Los Santos might not be the name on the back of the jersey you buy this year. He might not even be on the team in twelve months. But he represents the modern Yankees' philosophy: find the talent, trust the lab, and see if you can strike gold in the waiver wire bin.
It’s a low-risk, high-reward move. If it fails, you cut him and move on to the next guy with a high spin rate. If it works? You’ve found a cheap, controllable arm that can help you win a pennant.
Next Steps for Following the Yankees Bullpen:
Keep an eye on the transaction wire during the offseason. The Yankees often move guys like De Los Santos in "minor" trades for international bonus pool money or low-level prospects if they feel they've hit a ceiling with them. Also, watch the Spring Training velocity readings; if De Los Santos shows up with an extra 2 mph or a completely new grip on his breaking ball, that’s your sign that the Matt Blake "magic" is taking hold. Check his situational stats—specifically how he performs with runners on base—as that will determine whether Aaron Boone trusts him in tight spots or relegates him to "mop-up" duty.