With Dennis Santana injured against Reds, Pirates' bullpen looks for more middle relief

A Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen already battling injuries suffered another setback Monday night when right-handed reliever Dennis Santana exited their game at Cincinnati with a right arm contusion.

With two-time All-Star closer David Bednar, righty Hunter Stratton and lefty Ryan Borucki all on the 15-day injured list and Santana’s status considered day-to-day, the Pirates are now even more short-handed.

That’s especially true with a bullpen start planned for Wednesday’s matinee, which could take Carmen Mlodzinski and Luis Ortiz out of consideration for Tuesday’s game against the Reds.

Pirates manager Derek Shelton said there is a need for middle relief help after starter Bailey Falter lasted only four innings in Monday’s 11-5 loss to the Reds at Great American Ball Park. That required relievers Justin Bruihl, Santana, Daulton Jefferies and Josh Fleming to cover the final four innings. All four threw at least 11 pitches, with Jefferies throwing 39 over two innings.

“When you’re going to your bullpen in the fifth and you’re having to cover multiple innings, it’s a little challenging,” Shelton said on the SportsNet Pittsburgh postgame show. “Then Santana gets hit, which takes him out of covering. He could have covered another inning, maybe two, depending on how efficient he was. That was a situation where we had to go even deeper into the ‘pen.”

The Pirates claimed the 28-year-old Santana off waivers from the New York Yankees on June 11 and activated him two days later. He has allowed six runs on six hits and two walks with two strikeouts in 3⅓ innings over four appearances.

Santana replaced Bruihl with one out in the fifth inning. After Spencer Steer singled to drive in a run, Tyler Stephenson followed with a line drive that hit Santana in his throwing arm. Santana fielded the ball for a groundout, then was checked by assistant trainer Tony Leo. Santana remained in the game, striking out Stuart Fairchild to end the inning, but was removed after he returned to the dugout.

“We went out to check on him, and he said he was OK but then he came in and he stiffened up,” Shelton said. “He said on the last pitch he couldn’t get much extension. … He’s going to be pretty swollen because he got hit pretty flush.”

With Bednar (right oblique strain) not eligible to return until July 5 and Borucki and Stratton still weeks away from being ready, the Pirates could require a roster move to bolster the bullpen.

The most likely move would be to recall righty Ryder Ryan, who made the Opening Day roster but has been optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis four times this season. Ryan, who is on the 40-man roster, is 1-0 with a 3.46 ERA and 1.23 WHIP in 13 innings over 11 appearances for the Pirates this season.

Another healthy pitcher on the 40-man roster is 24-year-old right-hander Braxton Ashcraft, who has made two starts for Indianapolis since being promoted from Double-A Altoona on June 11. Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said Saturday that Ashcraft is “putting himself in a position to help us at some point,” but added that the club plans on developing him as a starting pitcher.

It also could affect how the Pirates use the back end of their bullpen. Lefty Aroldis Chapman and righty Colin Holderman are expected to handle the high-leverage innings, while rookie right-hander Kyle Nicolas has finished 14 games this season but has shown he is capable of covering multiple innings with four outings of two or more innings.

“With David being down, everybody’s got to slide into different spots,” Shelton said. “We have to cover innings. Those guys are going to have to kind of step up into different roles. Everybody is going to have to step up into different roles.”