Giants end ex-White Sox reliever's latest chance to live up to breakout season

The breakout of reliever Gregory Santos was one of the lone bright spots during an otherwise bleak 2023 season for the White Sox. After winning 93 games and the division title in 2021, the White Sox underperformed in 2022, finishing 81-81. They added Andrew Benintendi and hoped for a bounce-back season under new manager Pedro Grifol in 2023, but ended up with a disastrous 100-loss campaign. 23-year-old reliever Gregory Santos, who the team acquired in a deal with the Giants, posted a 3.39 ERA in 60 appearances in the bullpen, and White Sox fans felt he’d be a young bullpen arm to build around. 

In a somewhat surprising turn of events, the White Sox traded Santos to the Mariners before 2024, landing OF Zach DeLoach, RHP Prelander Berroa, and a compensation pick in the deal. Santos has struggled to find his footing in the years since the deal, and he's once again run into a roadblock after being designated for assignment by the Giants this week. 

Gregory Santos has yet to recreate his breakout 2023 season

Santos looked to be a big part of the Mariners bullpen in 2024, but struggled with injuries and was limited to just eight games. It was more of the same in 2025, and Santos appeared in just eight games for the second straight season. The Mariners non-tendered Santos after the 2025 season and he inked a minor league deal to rejoin the San Francisco Giants, the team who originally signed him out of the Dominican Republic. Despite a 6.27 minor league ERA, Santos got the call to the big leagues, allowing two earned runs in five innings before being designated for assignment. 

Santos has always had impressive stuff. His fastball and sinker sit in the upper-90s, and his upper-80s slider is his premiere out pitch. The injuries have been a big concern, and he’s struggled to throw strikes consistently, walking 14.3% of hitters in Triple-A before his call-up. 

Despite Zach DeLoach no longer being in the White Sox organization, the trade still could work out for the south siders. Prelander Berros is working his way back from Tommy John surgery and could factor into the bullpen mix when he returns. The White Sox used the compensation pick acquired in the deal to draft LHP Blake Larson, who has returned to the mound after surgery and the team believes has a lot of upside. 

The jury remains out on whether the White Sox landed any impact talent in a deal that was controversial at the time, but with Gregory Santos struggling to stick in the big leagues for the third year in a row, it’s starting to look like a win for the White Sox.

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