Padres News: Randy Vásquez Returns, Jhony Brito Optioned, Ron Marinaccio DFA’d

The Padres shuffled their pitching staff again over the weekend. They reinstated Randy Vásquez from the 15-day IL, DFA’d Ron Marinaccio, activated Wandy Peralta from the bereavement list and optioned Jhony Brito to Triple-A El Paso. 

Vásquez had been sidelined since early July with a right ankle contusion, while Brito had only returned to the majors a few days earlier as the temporary replacement for Peralta. It was a lot of movement for a pitching staff that still has the same basic problem.

This version centers the section on how well Vásquez pitched while making it clear that his bulk-relief role says plenty about the state of the rotation.

Randy Vásquez gives the Padres another way to patch together innings

Vásquez could not have made a much cleaner return from the IL. He entered behind Germán Márquez on Sunday and tossed three scoreless innings in the Padres’ 19-2 shellacking of the Kansas City Royals. Vásquez allowed three hits, didn’t issue a walk and struck out two while working as the bulk reliever.

Pairing him with Márquez and using both pitchers to piece together the game worked well considering how unreliable the rotation has been. It may be the most practical way to use the available arms right now.

San Diego has spent much of the season cycling through injuries, ineffective veterans and temporary solutions. Vásquez may be able to give the Padres another option for easing that burden in a role where he can start, follow an opener, or piggyback another starter.

Jhony Brito barely had time to unpack before Padres sent him back down

Brito is stuck in a fringe spot in the bullpen. The Padres recalled him when Peralta went on the bereavement list. Peralta returned, so Brito went back to El Paso. This was always the likely outcome because Brito still had minor-league options and the Padres didn’t need to remove him from the organization to create a roster spot.

Still, it’s difficult not to feel like Brito remains stuck in an awkward place. He worked his way back from UCL internal-brace and flexor-tendon surgery, returned to game action and pitched well enough in the minors to become a legitimate option out of the pen.

Since then, he’s been sent up and down from the major league roster to El Paso. Some of that is simply how roster management works. Brito’s option status makes him an easy player to move whenever San Diego needs a temporary arm. That flexibility is valuable to the Padres, but it is not necessarily helping Brito establish a meaningful role.

Ron Marinaccio became the expendable arm

Marinaccio didn’t have the same flexibility as Brito and now enters DFA territory. The Friars will have a limited window to trade him or place him on waivers, where another organization could decide his strikeout ability is worth a look.

He has always been an intriguing but frustrating reliever. Marinaccio owns a strong career strikeout rate, but walks have repeatedly prevented him from becoming a dependable late-inning option. Before this season, he had recorded a 3.22 ERA and a 28.2 percent strikeout rate across 114 2/3 major league innings, along with a concerning 12.6 percent walk rate.

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