The Minnesota Twins quietly announced the signing of former New York Yankees right-handed reliever Ron Marinaccio , according to MiLB.com's transactions log . The Twins mark the right-hander's fourth organization since July. The San Diego Padres traded him to the Pittsburgh Pirates for future considerations in late July . In early Aug., the Cincinnati Reds claimed Marinaccio on waivers. The Reds designated him for assignment on Aug. 17, and the right-hander elected free agency after clearing waivers, allowing him to sign with the Twins.
Minnesota's bullpen has been in a pretty good spot since general manager Jeremy Zoll acquired right-handers Jeff Hoffman and Tommy Nance from the Toronto Blue Jays and left-hander A.J. Minter from the New York Mets before the trade deadline. The bullpen notably stepped up before that, too, as Minnesota's relievers rank fifth among all 30 MLB teams in ERA (3.13) since July 1.
The Twins don't really need more bullpen help, but it doesn't hurt to add an experienced reliever in Marinaccio to the organization for depth reasons. Now, if one or two Twins relievers land on the IL before the end of the season, Minnesota can call up Marinaccio.
Marinaccio made his MLB debut with the Yankees back in 2022. He immediately emerged as a strong bullpen option for New York, recording a 2.05 ERA with a 1.05 WHIP and 56 strikeouts over 44 innings during his rookie year.
The right-hander posted a 3.99 ERA over 47 1/3 innings in 2023 and a 3.86 ERA over 23 1/3 innings in 2024. The Yankees let him go toward the end of the 2024 season by designating him for assignment on Sept. 20, 2024. The Chicago White Sox claimed him off waivers and then traded him to the Padres for cash on Jan. 24, 2025.
Marinaccio spent most of the 2025 season in the minors but was effective in his short time in the majors, recording a 0.84 ERA with a 0.94 WHIP and 12 strikeouts over 10 2/3 innings.
The Padres gave Marinaccio a bigger role at the beginning of the 2026 season, but that obviously didn't work out, considering San Diego designated him for assignment. In 47 innings with the Padres this year, Marinaccio posted a 4.79 ERA. He went on to record a 6.75 ERA over 5 1/3 innings with Pittsburgh and a 16.88 ERA over 5 1/3 innings with Cincinnati.
Again, this isn't the most exciting acquisition for the Twins, but it's a decent depth move. Marinaccio relies on four pitches: a mid-90s four-seamer (42.6%), a low-80s changeup (27.3%), a high-80s cutter (20.8%) and a low-80s sweeper (9.3%).
This article was originally published on www.puckettspond.com as Twins bolster bullpen depth by signing former Yankees rookie standout to minor-league deal .
