Yankees get Ron Marinaccio boost at the opportune moment

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Ron Marinaccio was a big surprise last season, at least for those who hadn’t seen him play well in the minors in 2021 or on the 40-man roster in the offseason after that. The way he pitched in the Yankees’ Opening Day shutout of San Francisco at Yankee Stadium on Thursday, his return to the big stage came for the team at an opportune moment.

Fans expect the Yankees to repeat their first World Series win, which happened exactly 100 years ago, and bring another trophy to the Bronx. For this, they need their bullpen to batter the opposition’s hitmen. Ron Marinaccio’s opening-day exploits fit the bill. He finished the game with two scoreless innings. He only walked one batter, which was Marinaccio’s only way to get a runner on base. This showed how valuable Ron Marinaccio can be to a bullpen that might not have any stars but has some good arms.

The pitcher had a fantastic strikeout rate last season — only Michael King and Gerrit Cole had a superior record — and opposing batters failed to go past .146 average against Ron Marinaccio. This makes the right hander the best among Yankees pitchers in 2022.

Even though he had trouble with control, Ron Marinaccio was great when he was healthy last year. His season was hurt by a shin injury that kept him out of the playoffs. So it was good to see how Ron Marinaccio pitched in the Yankees’ season-opening shutout win over the Giants at the Stadium on Thursday. He finished the game with two scoreless innings.

Ron Marinaccio upgrades a feeble Yankees bullpen

This also came at a time when left-handed pitchers Chapman, who went to Kansas City, and Zack Britton, who tried and failed to come back from elbow surgery last season, are no longer with the team. RHP Scott Effross is out for the season after having Tommy John surgery. The Yankees have high hopes from Tommy Kahnle but he is on the injured list. Lou Trivino is out with an elbow strain.

This means that the Yankees have to rely on relatively untested right-handers Albert Abreu and Jimmy Cordero to back up a bullpen comprising King, Clay Holmes, Jonathan Loaisiga, and left-handed Wandy Peralta.

Aaron Boone hinted Thursday that the bullpen would get a new member, and after the game, the team announced that they had bought right-handed pitcher Colten Brewer from the Rays. The 30-year-old has been mostly good in 81 major league games over parts of four seasons.

However, the Yankees have been able to turn struggling relievers, such as Holmes, Peralta, and Lucas Luetge, into good pitchers in recent years.

A healthy Ron Marinaccio will help a pitching staff that is also missing key starters like Carlos Rodon, Luis Severino, and Frankie Montas.

Ron Marinaccio pitched two innings four times last season, but only once after he got back from having inflammation in his right shoulder in late July.

He did well for most of spring training, even though the Yankees took it slow with him after he hurt his shin, which bothered Ron Marinaccio for most of the second half. The 27-year-old pitcher was still very good. In 7 1/3 Grapefruit League innings, he struck out 15 batters and walked four.

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