Former Padres reliever’s fall from grace complete after being DFA'd by Yankees

While the San Diego Padres' bullpen has been a strength of the roster in 2024, Enyel De Los Santos was decidedly not a reason why. In 44 appearances with the Padres this season, he posted a 4.46 ERA which was honestly lucky considering his 5.38 FIP and has given up a ton of hard contact this year.

Ultimately, the Padres decided that with all of the new bullpen arms they were bringing in, De Los Santos was expendable and he was traded to the Yankees along with Thomas Balboni Jr. in exchange for outfield prospect Brandon Lockridge.

The hope for New York was that De Los Santos' swing-and-miss stuff would remain and that he could find a way to avoid barrels with the Yankees. Unfortunately, that is not what happened, and after just five appearances the Yankees decided to designate De Los Santos for assignment.

Padres News: Enyel De Los Santos DFAed by Yankees just two weeks after San Diego traded him

The Yankees' calculation here is pretty straightforward. They needed a roster spot for Will Warren, who was called up to make a spot start and with a lack of relievers in the Yankees' bullpen with minor league options, someone was going to lose their job. Unfortunately, De Los Santos had only managed to post a dreadful 14.21 ERA in small sample of playing time in New York, which made him an easy target for a roster cut. Plus, his blowup against the White Sox pretty much solidified his fate.

Given that De Los Santos has struggled as much as he has in 2024, it feels likely that he will clear waivers and stay in the Yankees' farm system. New York has a chance to make some noise this season and it doesn't feel likely that he will want to squander that chance and try to catch on somewhere else.

For the Padres, this is obviously a great outcome. They turned a reliever of questionable quality into an outfield prospect in Lockridge, who has been raking in Triple-A and got off to a fast start since coming over to the Padres at the trade deadline. Sometimes, you just have to know when to move on.

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