PITTSBURGH -- The Pirates must fix their bullpen issues to break their 11-season playoff drought. They took a step in finding a cure Thursday evening, acquiring right-hander Ron Marinaccio from the Padres and designating Dennis Santana for assignment.
Santana tallied a 6.05 ERA in 41 2/3 innings this season, while Marinaccio has a 4.79 mark in 47 innings. Santana was lights-out in his previous two seasons in Pittsburgh, recording 16 saves and a 2.18 ERA in 2025. Though as the Pirates surge toward the postseason, changes were made.
“I think the world of Dennis, as a human and as a pitcher,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said. “And what he's meant the last couple years. This year, unfortunately, just couldn't get it back on track. I wish him the best going forward. He's such a great guy, great teammate. Had some really huge seasons for us here in the Pirates uniform, and just struggled to help him get him back on track this year.”
With Santana out of the picture, there’s a clear void for right-handed leverage arms. Pittsburgh will likely add more before the Aug. 3 Trade Deadline, though the recent success of right-hander Yohan Ramírez makes him a likely option to fill some innings in the meantime. Kelly didn’t commit to Marinaccio seeing time in those positions.
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The 31-year-old was designated for assignment by San Diego on July 19, and was working out in Florida while waiting for his next destination. Kelly did say Marinaccio’s ability to go more than one inning is extremely useful. He’s gone more than one inning in 17 of 33 appearances in 2026.
“That's kind of what I pride myself on,” Marinaccio said. “I like to be available every day, whatever it might be. Over in San Diego, we had a pretty veteran bullpen there, guys who are pretty established. So I kind of fell into that long man role. I like to pitch as consistently as I can, so whether that's longer, shorter -- I'll be ready whenever.”
Marinaccio pointed out his four-seam fastball and changeup as his “bread and butter” while incorporating sweepers and cutters. His changeup usage is up from 21.3% to 30.4% since last season.
With a stretch of 17 games in 17 days for Pittsburgh amid the postseason push, Marinaccio’s length could be key to keeping other arms fresh. He played with Ryan O’Hearn in the postseason last year with the Padres. Now, he hopes to do the same with the Pirates.
“I think that's just fun,” Marinaccio said. “That's what we play for, to play in these big games and be in big spots. Whatever that might be, whatever my role falls into here -- I'll be ready to go.”
Marinaccio is 7-5 with a 3.50 ERA in 141 relief appearances with the Yankees and Padres across five big league seasons.