Former Red Wing Hector Santiago becomes first pitcher ejected after umpires check for foreign substances

By CHUCKIE MAGGIO

Former Red Wings pitcher Héctor Santiago, who made seven starts for Rochester in 2017, was ejected during the fifth inning of Sunday’s Seattle Mariners game against the Chicago White Sox after being inspected for foreign substances. Santiago was the first player ejected under the new rule prohibiting the use of any substance other than rosin on the baseball and now faces a 10-game suspension pending MLB’s review.

Santiago said he only used rosin during his 2.1 innings of work, contending that the combination of rosin and sweat made his glove sticky. The glove is being investigated by MLB to determine whether Santiago used any foreign substances.

The rule was implemented in an effort to prohibit pitchers from increasing the ball’s spin rate to gain a competitive advantage.

Crew chief Tom Hallion told reporters the umpiring crew found the “sticky” substance on the inside palm of Santiago’s glove. Santiago and Mariners manager Scott Servais blamed the Chicago humidity and are confident Santiago will not be suspended.

“I wasn’t using anything besides rosin,” Santiago told MLB.com. “That’s what’s given to us, because going into this one, once it came up, I was just like, ‘I’m going to use rosin. That’s what we got. I don’t want this to be a big thing. I don’t want this to happen to me.’ And [home plate umpire Phil Cuzzi] said he just felt some stuff sticky on the inside of the glove. So all I used was rosin.”

Santiago compiled a 1-2 record and 5.32 ERA in Rochester, striking out 25 batters over 23.2 innings. His best outing came against Buffalo in June 2017, when he threw three no-hit innings in a rehab assignment.

An All-Star for the Angels in 2015, Santiago has earned over seven years of major league service time with the Mariners, Angels, Chicago White Sox, Minnesota Twins and New York Mets.