The Pittsburgh Pirates have acquired right-handed relief pitcher Ron Marinaccio from the San Diego Padres, the team announced Thursday. The Padres received international signing bonus pool considerations in exchange for Marinaccio.
Marinaccio, 31, joins the Pirates to provide depth to a bullpen that has recently been without pitchers Chris Devenski and Evan Sisk. This season, Marinaccio has posted a 4.79 earned run average with 38 strikeouts over 47 innings pitched. His MLB tenure, since being called up by the Yankees four seasons ago and prior to his 2026 season, includes a career 3.02 ERA and 149 strikeouts in 125⅓ innings pitched from 2022-25.
To make room on the roster for Marinaccio, the Pirates designated Dennis Santana for assignment. Santana had a 6.05 ERA in 44 appearances this season. The move comes three days after Santana was involved in an on-field altercation with Yankees infielder Jose Caballero during Monday's game. The incident occurred in the eighth inning after Caballero hit a ground ball to first base. Both players and their respective benches and bullpens cleared the field as the two exchanged words and had to be restrained by teammates.
Caballero stated that he was focused on winning his individual battles in the box, telling reporters, "If you get frustrated, I’m winning." Santana, however, attributed his frustration to the pace of play, not Caballero. "It was the game speed. I’m not used to that," Santana said. "People waiting too much at home plate. It frustrated me a little bit. With baseball, you have to be quick. It’s nothing against him. It’s just a game. I got caught up in the game."