Pirates add Ron Marinaccio, designate Dennis Santana for assignment

The Pirates acquired right-handed reliever Ron Marinaccio from the Padres on Thursday for international signing bonus pool considerations and designated Dennis Santana for assignment to clear a roster spot. The deal gave Pittsburgh a 31-year-old right-hander from Toms River, New Jersey, and cost the club one of its more established late-inning arms.

For a team still trying to steady its season in July, the move reads as more than a paper transaction. Pittsburgh added a pitcher who can work against right-handed hitters and fill multiple relief roles, a useful profile when starters do not get deep and the bullpen has to cover high-leverage innings. The Pirates did not pay with a prospect or a major league starter; they used international bonus pool space, a limited resource that points to a front office looking for help without taking on a heavier long-term commitment.

Marinaccio’s recent big-league track record gives the pickup some substance. The Padres recalled him from Triple-A El Paso on July 3, 2025, and MLB video clips showed him in action later that season, including a save-clinching out on July 27 and another appearance on Sept. 7 that sealed San Diego’s 8-1 win over the Rockies. Baseball Almanac’s 2025 pitching logs list him in seven major league games during the regular season, a small sample but enough to show Pittsburgh a reliever who had already been usable at the top level.

The Pirates’ decision to move Santana for assignment sharpened the message. Rather than treating Marinaccio as a depth flier, Pittsburgh made room by removing a reliever who had mattered in 2024-25, betting that bullpen flexibility and matchup coverage carry more value in late July than holding every familiar arm. It also preserved the possibility of more roster maneuvering later, with the club balancing immediate innings coverage against future international spending room. In that sense, the Pirates acted like a team that still sees enough season left to justify stabilizing the bullpen, not one simply auditioning names for the next turn of the roster.