‘It’s confusing’: Mariners’ Servais discusses process surrounding LHP Santiago’s suspension

Mariners reliever Hector Santiago has suddenly become one of the biggest names in baseball after he was ejected from Sunday’s game against the Chicago White Sox due to umpires finding a substance in his glove.

O’Neil: MLB’s handling of Mariners LHP Santiago’s suspension is all wrong

On Tuesday, Santiago was hit with a 10-game suspension, which he is appealing. If the suspension is upheld, not only will Santiago be out for 10 games, but the Mariners will not be able to replace his roster spot until he is reinstated.

Santiago’s suspension comes as MLB is trying to crack down on pitchers using foreign substances and “sticky stuff” to get better grips on baseballs and increase spin rates. What’s happening now is umpires are checking the gloves, hats and belts of starting pitchers after their first inning and checking those same accessories for relievers when their day is done. Santiago is the first pitcher to both be ejected and suspended since the new protocols were put in place.

After throwing 2 1/3 innings in Chicago, umpires checked his glove, hat and belt, and after finding something they felt shouldn’t be there in his glove, he was ejected from the ballgame and his glove was taken away and was to be sent to New York to MLB’s office to examine the substance.

Mariners pitcher Hector Santiago is the first player to get ejected for a foreign-substance violation since MLB's crackdown.

(via @NBCSWhiteSox)pic.twitter.com/E6E3eXzBZ5

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 27, 2021

Because of that, it was a bit of a surprise that Santiago was slapped with a suspension without the glove being tested. It was later reported that the suspension is automatic as a result of Santiago’s ejection, meaning that on-field umpires essentially have all say in whether or not a pitcher used a substance and will be suspended.

On Tuesday, Mariners manager Scott Servais joined 710 ESPN Seattle’s Jake and Stacy as well as Mariners insider Shannon Drayer for the weekly Scott Servais Show. Santiago’s suspension, which came down roughly an hour before the show, was naturally a big topic of conversation.

Servais noted multiple times in the interview that they’re waiting on Santiago’s appeal process to go through, but he did share his thoughts on the situation and how the new rules are being enforced. It’s pretty clear that Servais isn’t a fan of how this situation has played out, even if he agrees with MLB cracking down on pitchers using foreign substances.

“I’m just – if I’m being honest – confused by this,” he said. “… Shocked, I think, is the best word I can use to describe this. I didn’t expect this to happen at all.”

The biggest reason Servais was shocked?

“(Santiago) wasn’t using any foreign substance,” he said. “He was using rosin that is legal by the terms of baseball.”

Pitchers are allowed to use the bag of rosin located on the back of the mound during games. After Sunday’s game, Santiago shared what he was told by umpires in regards to rosin.

“What he told me was you can’t use rosin on the arm, your glove hand,” Santiago said. “When I use rosin, I dab it on both sides, keep it dry. That way I’m not having a sweat coming down the hands. I didn’t know that you couldn’t. The umpire said you couldn’t use it on your glove hand so I don’t know.”

Servais said the whole situation is a “headscratcher” because Santiago of all people is the first pitcher to get in trouble since MLB’s changes.

“The craziest thing about it is Hector’s got experience in this league and has been talking to all our guys about ‘let’s do the right thing’ leading up to this,” Servais said. “… He’s been a very big proponent of it and for him to be the guy, that because he was using rosin and it got sticky, that they’re going to try to put a suspension on him is crazy.”

Plus, Servais said, Santiago doesn’t need to use any foreign substance to help his spin rate because of how he pitches.

“The funny thing is Hector has probably the lowest spin rate of anyone on our team – he really doesn’t throw breaking balls, he’s a fastball-changeup guy – so he has no benefit at all trying to create more spin because it really doesn’t help him,” he said.

Servais said that rosin is on the field to be used, so Santiago getting suspended for it doesn’t make sense.

“If rosin is going to be the thing that gets you suspended … it probably should not be on the field,” he said.

The process with which MLB is conducting this crackdown has been scrutinized heavily by many fans and analysts. From pitchers being checked after innings to now learning that umpires have final say in whether a player gets suspended and that the league doesn’t have to inspect any equipment further after the fact, the enforcement of baseball’s new rule is…

“It’s confusing, there’s no doubt about it,” Servais said. “When this rule was put in place, I knew there were going to be issues whether it’s rosin or (anything else). And I totally understand. We’re trying to make a level playing field and I understand why it was put in place and why it was put in place at this point in the season.”

Servais said that he put his hand in Santiago’s glove and what he felt was just rosin mixed with sweat.

When asked whether MLB has indicated what it believes the substance is or whether the Mariners can ask more about that, Servais pointed to Santiago saying it was rosin and sweat and nothing more.

“Our guys are following the rule,” Servais said. “Obviously this one is a little bit vague with the rosin situation and whatnot and I don’t really want to go down a rabbit hole without knowing everything and how it’s all going to play out, so we’ll just leave it at that.”

Listen to The Scott Servais Show at this link or in the player below.

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