Santiago Casilla (born July 25, 1980) is a Dominican former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2004 to 2018 for the Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants. Casilla threw four pitches: a fastball, slider, curveball, and changeup.
Casilla originally signed with Oakland under the name of Jairo Garcia, listing his birthdate as 1983. He debuted with Oakland in 2004, pitching briefly for them that year and the next. In January 2006, he revealed his true name and age. 2007 marked the first time he pitched more than four games in a year for Oakland; he an initial boost to their bullpen but missed the latter part of the season with an injury. He appeared in 51 games in 2008, then was allowed to become a free agent after posting a 5.96 earned run average (ERA) in 2009.
The Giants signed Casilla in 2010; after starting the season in the minor leagues, he was called up in May and remained with the team for the rest of the season. Casilla won the World Series with the Giants that fall; he also won World Series championships in 2012 and 2014, one of only eight players with the team for all three championships. He replaced Brian Wilson as the closer for the Giants in late 2011 and again at the beginning of 2012, when Wilson was injured. Sergio Romo replaced him as the closer halfway through 2012, but Casilla reclaimed the role in 2014, holding it until the end of 2016. Three times with the Giants, he posted an ERA under 2.00.
After Casilla struggled in 2016, he became a free agent. The Athletics signed him in 2017, and he closed for them until they acquired Blake Treinen in August. He pitched the first half of 2018 with them, then finished the year in the minor leagues for the Colorado Rockies.
Early life Santiago Casilla was born on July 25, 1980, in San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic. He attended high school in Sabana Grande de Palenque. Casilla wanted to be a baseball player, but he was still unsigned at the age of 19, and most Major League Baseball (MLB) scouts in the Dominican Republic were more interested in signing younger prospects. Obtaining false papers from a friend, Casilla began pitching under the name of Jairo Garcia, listing his birthday as March 7, 1983. On January 31, 2000, he was signed as an amateur free agent by the Oakland Athletics.
Professional career Minor leagues Casilla made his professional debut with the rookie league Dominican Summer League Athletics in 2000. Appearing in 11 games, 10 of which he started, he had a 6–2 record and a 3.26 earned run average (ERA). (Note: May need to click "View More Bio Info+" to see some of the information.) In 2001, he pitched in 12 games (7 starts) for the rookie league Arizona League Athletics, posting a 4–2 record, a 2.85 ERA, 50 strikeouts, 7 walks, and 37 hits allowed in innings pitched.
When the 2002 season began, Casilla remained with the Arizona League Athletics. In 13 games (8 starts), he had a 2–1 record, a 2.44 ERA, 66 strikeouts, 17 walks, and 56 hits allowed in 59 innings pitched before getting promoted to the Vancouver Canadians of the Single-A short season Northwest League on August 24. He finished the year with three starts for the Canadians, losing all of them and posting a 7.30 ERA.
Casilla participated in extended spring training in 2003, delaying the start of his minor league season until May 19, when he was assigned to the Kane County Cougars of the Single-A Midwest League. He pulled his left hamstring in July and was on the disabled list from the 12th to the 29th. In 14 games (9 starts), he had an 0–1 record, a 2.55 ERA, 28 strikeouts, 19 walks, and 40 hits allowed in innings pitched.
Oakland Athletics, first stint (2004–2009) 2004 In 2004, Casilla became a full-time relief pitcher. Starting the season with Kane County, he was used as the Cougar closer, recording 16 saves while posting a 1–0 record, an 0.30 ERA, 49 strikeouts, 6 walks, and 16 hits allowed in 25 games (30 innings pitched). On June 24, he was called up by the Double-A Midland RockHounds of the Texas League. In 13 games, he had a 2–0 record, two saves, a 1.50 ERA, 32 strikeouts, 15 walks, and 10 hits allowed in 18 innings pitched. On July 30, he was promoted to the Sacramento River Cats of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League (PCL); he made three appearances for them before getting called up to Oakland for the first time on August 9.
Casilla made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut that same day, holding the Minnesota Twins scoreless for the final 2 innings of an 8–2 victory. He appeared in two more games before being sent back to Sacramento on August 18. In 11 games for Sacramento, he had a 1–2 record, 1 save, a 3.95 ERA, 21 strikeouts, nine walks, and 10 hits in innings. The Athletics called him back up in September, but he only appeared in one more game. In his four outings for Oakland, he had no record, no saves, a 12.71 ERA, five strikeouts, nine walks, and five hits allowed in innings.
2005 Casilla started the 2005 season with Midland. Serving as their closer, he recorded six saves in 10 games, with a 1.08 ERA, 30 strikeouts, nine walks, and nine hits allowed in innings. On May 10, he was promoted to the River Cats, where he also served as the closer. The Athletics called him up on June 17, and he faced the Philadelphia Phillies that evening in his lone appearance before getting returned to Sacramento four days later. In 44 games with Sacramento, he had a 3–6 record, 20 saves, a 4.47 ERA, 73 strikeouts, 20 walks, and 45 hits allowed in innings pitched. Promoted to Oakland again in September, he pitched in two more games before the end of the year. In his three total appearances for Oakland, he had a 3.00 ERA, 1 strikeout, 1 walk, and 2 hits allowed in 3 innings pitched.
2006 In January 2006, during the MLB offseason, Casilla's agent had him tell the Athletics his real name and age. "It certainly changes what you ultimately think his upside would be," said Athletics assistant general manager (GM) David Forst, though Forst also observed that the ability to throw kept Casilla a viable MLB prospect. Due to U.S. security concerns over the name change, Casilla was a month late reporting to spring training and was instantly assigned to work with the minor leaguers. Called up from Sacramento on May 21, he appeared in two games, posting an 11.57 ERA before getting returned to Sacramento on May 27. His season ended on June 21 because of a right shoulder strain. In 25 games for Sacramento, he had a 2–0 record, 4 saves in 8 opportunities, a 3.27 ERA, 32 strikeouts, 10 walks, and 25 hits allowed in 33 innings.
2007
In 2007, Casilla was recalled by the Athletics on June 3 after going 2–1 with a 4.13 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 24 innings for Sacramento. He stepped into a depleted bullpen that had lost Huston Street, Justin Duchscherer, and Kiko Calero to the disabled list. Casilla started off well, going 2–1 with two saves and an 0.43 ERA in his first 17 games. He picked up his first MLB save on June 6, retiring Manny Ramirez on a fly ball to end the eighth inning and pitching a scoreless ninth in a 3–2 win over the Boston Red Sox. On June 19, he entered a game against the Cincinnati Reds with the bases loaded and struck out Brandon Phillips to keep a run from scoring. He then struck out three batters in a scoreless top of the ninth inning, pumping his fist as he walked off the mound, though the Athletics failed to rally in the bottom of the inning and lost 5–2. Starting on July 15, however, he had a 7.28 ERA in 29 games over the remainder of the season. Umpire John Hirschbeck ejected Casilla from a game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on August 23 for throwing a pitch at Brendan Harris. In 46 games for Oakland, he had a 3–1 record, two saves, a 4.44 ERA, 52 strikeouts, 23 walks, and 43 hits allowed in innings pitched.
2008 Casilla opened the season on a major league roster for the first time in 2008. He pitched well in his first 21 games, posting an 0.93 ERA and limiting hitters to a .185 batting average against. Then, he was on the disabled list from May 16 through June 19 with right elbow soreness. In 30 games after returning, he recorded a 5.81 ERA, and opponents batted .353 against him. He appeared in a total of 51 games, posting a 2–1 record, two saves, a 3.93 ERA, 43 strikeouts, 20 walks, and 60 hits allowed in innings. Over the offseason, he made nine appearances for the Leones del Escogido of the Dominican Winter League, allowing no earned runs and collecting 4 saves.
2009 A member of Oakland's Opening Day roster again in 2009, Casilla posted a 1.59 ERA and .079 opponent batting average in his first 9 games. Then, he was on the disabled list with a sprained right knee from May 2 through May 15. His ERA was 7.30 thereafter, and the Athletics only used him eight times in the season's final 58 days. In 46 games, he had a 1–2 record, 0 saves, a 5.96 ERA, 35 strikeouts, 25 walks, and 61 hits allowed in innings. After the season, the Athletics chose not to offer him a contract, making him a free agent on December 10. He again pitched for the Leones in the offseason, this time making 15 appearances. Casilla posted a 1–1 record and a 2.51 ERA, recording three saves.
San Francisco Giants (2010–2016) 2010
Casilla signed a minor league contract with the San Francisco Giants on January 2, 2010. Visa problems delayed his return to the United States for a month, and he began the season with the PCL's Fresno Grizzlies. In four games for Fresno, he allowed no runs and recorded two saves. On May 21, he was recalled by the Giants when Brandon Medders was placed on the disabled list. He made his Giants debut on May 21 against his former team in Oakland, striking out the only batter he faced (Daric Barton) in a 6–1 defeat. On June 6, after Giants closer Brian Wilson had blown a save against the Pittsburgh Pirates but San Francisco had retaken the lead in the 10th inning, Casilla relieved Wilson with one out and runners on first and second, retiring both batters he faced to earn his first National League (NL) save. After he allowed three runs and blew a lead against the Arizona Diamondbacks on July 23, though the Giants still won the game 7–4, his ERA rose from 2.25 to 3.48. However, in his final 28 games of the season, Casilla's ERA was 1.04. On August 10, he set a career high with three innings pitched, allowing no runs, though the Giants lost 8–6 to the Chicago Cubs. In 52 games, he had a 7–2 record, two saves, a 1.95 ERA, 56 strikeouts, 26 walks, and 50 hits allowed in innings pitched. On Casilla's success with the Giants, sportswriter Carl Steward observed that the Giants' signing of him "turned out to be the biggest theft [Giants GM] Brian Sabean ever made against his cross-bay counterpart Billy Beane".