New York Yankees Could Have X-Factor In Injury Riddled Bullpen

The New York Yankees have called this former setup man from the minor leagues, who could make a big impact in their injury riddled bullpen.

Apr 15, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; New York Yankees relief pitcher Ron Marinaccio wearing number | Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Yankees' bullpen has been slammed by the injury bug in the early portion of the 2024 regular season.

In less than a month, the Yankees have lost relief pitchers Jonathan Loaisiga and Nick Burdi the injured list. Loaisiga, who was expected to be the main eighth inning arm, underwent Tommy John surgery, which means his season is over. The team is also without Tommy Kahnle, Lou Trivino and Scott Effross until the summer.

As a result, they called right-handed reliever Ron Marinaccio back up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Marinaccio, 28, was once an anchor for the Yankees' bullpen as a setup man back in 2022. In 44 innings, the righty posted a sparkling 2.05 ERA to go along with 56 strikeouts, 1.05 WHIP and a .149 opposing batting average.

This season since being called back up, Marinaccio has looked sharp for the Yankees. In five innings, the Toms River New Jersey native of italian descent has posted a 1.80 ERA, five strikeouts, 0.80 WHIP, a .133 opposing batting average while allowing just two hits and one run.

The Yankees are going to need this type of production out of Marinaccio if they hope to survive without Loaisiga this season. They also lost Michael King and Wandy Peralta to the San Diego Padres, who had been their two best relievers not named Clay Holmes over the course of the past three seasons.

Marinaccio struggled in 2023, posting a 3.99 ERA in 47.1 innings, which resulted in a demotion to the minor leagues. But after working on his changeup and the rest of the pitches in his arsenal down in Scranton, Marinaccio is now back and looks like the high-leverage reliever he was for the Yankees back in 2022.