Tony Santillan DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Cincinnati Reds relief pitcher Tony Santillan picked up his first save of the season in Monday's 2-0 win over the Giants. Santillan entered the game in the bottom of the ninth inning up by two with two outs and runners on first and second. He allowed hard contact to Heliot Ramos, but the game ended on a diving catch by Jacob Hurtubise. Santillan is now one of three Reds relievers to see a save opportunity and he has yet to allow a run in 5 2/3 innings of work to go with seven strikeouts and three holds. Manager Terry Francona alluded to Santillan being a potential option for saves at the beginning of the season, but he also expressed that Santillan may be best suited in a fireman's role. He may not be a consistent source of saves, but Santillan has pitched well out of the bullpen throughout his career and may be the best bullpen arm the Reds currently have, making him worth a look in deeper roto leagues.

Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona said on Wednesday that he honestly doesn't know who the closer will be for Opening Day on Thursday against the visiting San Francisco Giants with Alexis Diaz (hamstring) on the injured list. "It depends on how we get there," Francona said. However, the skipper also said that "Tony Santillan is an easy choice, but he might be too valuable getting to the ninth." The Cincinnati Enquirer's Charlie Goldsmith notes that Francona has pretty much always had a set closer on his roster, but it's truly up in the air in 2025 with no real clear-cut answer to the ninth inning. Other than Santillan, Emilio Pagan, Taylor Rogers, Scott Barlow and Graham Ashcraft could all receive consideration for save chances in the early going, and it might be anyone's best guess as to who comes out leading the group by the end of the year.