Padres’ Ron Marinaccio trade looks genius after Pirates’ 12-day experiment

The Padres didn’t receive a prospect or major-league contributor when they traded Ron Marinaccio. But they did receive $500,000 in international bonus-pool space for a reliever they had already removed from their roster. Less than two weeks later, that return kind of looks like a steal.

Marinaccio was DFA’d on July 19 after reinstating Randy Vásquez from the IL. The right-hander had given the Padres 47 innings across 33 appearances, finishing his run with a 4.79 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 38 strikeouts and 18 walks.

Those numbers weren’t enough to protect his roster spot. And he lacked minor-league options which made the decision even easier. Once the Padres decided better arms deserved those innings, the relationship had reached a natural expiration.

The easy outcome would’ve been losing Marinaccio on waivers and receiving nothing, but A.J. Preller found something better.

Pittsburgh sent them $500,000 in international spending capacity to jump the waiver line and secure Marinaccio.

Padres extracted Ron Marinaccio’s remaining value at exactly the right time

Marinaccio made three appearances for the Pirates. He covered 3 1⁄3 innings, allowed two earned runs, three hits and one walk while striking out two. Ten outs later, the Pirates DFA’d after the trade deadline.

The Reds then claimed Marinaccio off waivers, acquiring him without surrendering a player or international bonus-pool space.

Looking back at it, the sequence hurts Pittsburgh. They gave up $500,000 in spending capacity for three appearances, watched Marinaccio occupy a roster spot for less than two weeks and then lost him to a division rival for nothing in return.

International bonus money doesn’t produce any immediate satisfaction of a prospect ranking update or a new player in the clubhouse. But its value comes down the road. It gives Preller another chance to sign a young player, strengthen an international class and their farm system.

The organization repeatedly uses the international market to restock their farm drained by aggressive trades. That’s the flexibility that they’re looking for.  The Padres essentially converted the final days of a replaceable reliever’s tenure into another swing at future talent. Some trades require years of revisiting to see which side came out on top. This one only needed 12 days.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow