The Texas Rangers pitching carousel continues, especially with Leiter on the IL and it has brought another high-upside arm to Arlington.
The club announced Wednesday morning that they have officially recalled right-hander Winston Santos from the Double-A Frisco RoughRiders. The moment Santos steps onto the mound, it will mark his official Major League debut.
Originally signed by Texas as an international free agent on July 2, 2019, the 24-year-old native of the Dominican Republic is currently ranked as the organization's No. 5 overall prospect per MLB Pipeline. Santos has proved to be one of the most resilient and durable foundational arms in the system, according to the Texas Rangers, Santos has recorded the most wins and the most games started by any Rangers farmhand since 2021.
Over his minor league career, Santos has posted a 4.74 ERA in 410.0 innings. That path hasn't been without adversity, as he missed the vast majority of the 2025 season recovering from a stress reaction in his back.
This season with Frisco, Santos has put up a 7.44 ERA over 42.1 innings across 11 starts. While the surface run prevention has been a challenge in the Texas League, his raw stuff has still allowed him to miss plenty of bats, racking up an impressive 58 strikeouts against 21 walks for the RoughRiders.
With his fastball and high-strikeout mix, Santos gives the big-league club a premium arm. Santos was already on the Rangers 40-man roster so that played into this decision to recall him. It's also possible that Santos doesn't make an appearance in a game this time around and is sent back down.
Congratulations to Winston on earning the call!
