Rudy Santin

Lazaro Rodolfo Santin

• Bats Both, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 187 lb.
• High School Rochester Adams High School

• Born 1960 in Cuba
• Died May 3, 2020 in Dominican Republic

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Rudy Santin pitched in the minor leagues from 1978 to 1980. He was an 8th round pick in the 1978 amateur draft by the Seattle Mariners and started his pro career that year with the Bellingham Mariners in the Northwest League, but after a few games he found himself with the unaffiliated Salem Senators in the same league. Between the two stops, he went 2-1, 4.78 in 8 games. In 1979, he was in the St. Louis Cardinals organization with the Johnson City Cardinals in the Appalachian League, with no decisions and an ERA of 6.75 in 6 games. In 1980, he found work with another unaffiliated team, the Macon Peaches of the South Atlantic League and went 0-1, 4.15 in 6 games. Born in Cuba, his family had fled to Miami, FL when he was a young boy. In high school, he had the rare ability to pitch ambidextrously.

After his playing career, he scouted for the New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants and Tampa Bay Devil Rays, being director of Latin American Operations for both the Giants and Devil Rays. He later was a player agent. As a scout, he signed Bartolomé Fortunato, Josh Pressley, Juan Salas and Ramon Soler. As an agent, he worked with Alexander Guerrero. He later ran a baseball academy in the Dominican Republic which trained future professional players Rafael Devers and Wander Franco. He is a member of the Professional Scouts Hall of Fame. He was sometimes tainted by controversy, as he was suspected of making illegal bonus payments while in the Yankees system, as detailed in the book The Duke of Havana about the signing of Cuban defector Orlando Hernandez which came out in 2001. He was also investigated for his role in the signing of another defector, Hector Olivera, as Olivera alleged that Santin signed him to an exclusive representation contract when he arrived in the D.R., charging him an exorbitant 37.5% of future earnings, something which Olivera later charged to have been done under duress. In turn, Santin alleged that he had been scammed by Greg Genske, who became Olivera's agent before he signed a lucrative contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In March 2020, with his health failing after a stroke, he decided to become a whistleblower, denouncing a widespread system of illegal agreements with underage players to ensure their future signing, but that leave them open to future exploitation. Part of that system includes providing loans to families that indebt them to shady lenders. He died on May 3rd, the victim of a heart attack while still cooperating with the FBI on their investigation into these illegal practices, including allegations of human trafficking. Others have denounced the system, including Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez.

Further Reading

• Will Hobson, Christian Red and Teri Thompson: "As feds probe MLB’s Latin American operations, a flashy scout and contested deal draw interest", The Washington Post, September 10, 2019. [1]
• Christian Red and Teri Thompson: "In Latin America, big league clubs are exploiting prospects as young as 12, whistleblower told feds", USA Today Sports, June 16, 2020. [2]