Padres Reinstate Randy Vásquez From IL, Designate Ron Marinaccio

The Padres have reinstated right-hander Randy Vásquez from the 15-day injured list and designated reliever Ron Marinaccio for assignment, according to a team announcement. Marinaccio’s designation leaves an open spot on San Diego’s 40-man roster. In separate moves, lefty Wandy Peralta was reinstated from the bereavement list, while right-hander Jhony Brito was optioned to Triple-A El Paso.

Vásquez returns after a near-minimum stint for a right ankle contusion. He was a serviceable back-end starter in 2025, posting a 3.70 ERA in 129 innings out of the rotation (his other 4 2/3 innings coming out of the bullpen). Unfortunately, he’s taken a step back in 2026. Vásquez owns a 4.71 ERA in 84 innings this year, and his 7.12 expected ERA suggests he’s been fortunate to achieve even that mark. The righty’s 7.3% walk rate is better than average, but he doesn’t strike hitters out and has already given up 14 home runs, or 1.50 HR/9. Vásquez allowed 16 home runs in about 50 more innings last year (1.08 HR/9).

It doesn’t appear that he will immediately rejoin the rotation, as Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that Vásquez is slated for bullpen work for the time being. That’s mostly due to the club already having five healthy starters. Behind staff ace Michael King, the group of Griffin Canning, Germán Márquez, JP Sears, and Walker Buehler are all drawing starts at the moment. None of the latter four have been particularly effective.

It’s possible that Vásquez bides his time in the ‘pen for now, then rejoins the rotation down the line. Sears has an option remaining and could be demoted for his poor performance, namely a 5.03 ERA in four starts. It’s also possible that Vásquez will get bumped up after the trade deadline. San Diego has lost their first two games out of the All-Star break. President of baseball operations A.J. Preller told reporters last week that the team is on the fence about whether to buy or sell. Canning, Márquez, and Buehler are all impending free agents, and while they won’t have much trade value, even one of them getting shipped out in a selling scenario would open up a spot for Vásquez.

Turning to the other names, Marinaccio loses his roster spot after posting career-worst numbers out of the ‘pen this year. While he kept his ERA under 4.00 with the Yankees from 2022-24 (and under 1.00 in 10 2/3 innings for the Padres last year), that figure has ballooned to 4.79 in 47 innings in 2026. Marinaccio’s 43.1% ground ball rate is just above-average, but that’s about all he has working in his favor right now. The righty’s 18.7% strikeout rate and 1.72 HR/9 are both career worsts, and it also didn’t help that Marinaccio got suspended for two games in June for intentionally throwing at the Orioles’ Gunnar Henderson.

Marinaccio can theoretically be controlled through 2029, though he’ll need to show improvement in order to stick in the Majors long-term. He has been designated for assignment twice in the past, but never outrighted, as those designations resulted in a waiver claim and a trade, respectively. It’s possible that teams will look past his five-run blowup against the Dodgers on June 27th (he has a 3.97 ERA outside of that) and put in a waiver claim. Having no prior outright assignments and less than three years of service time, Marinaccio would not be able to reject an outright assignment if he clears waivers.

Brito underwent an internal brace procedure in May 2025 and started this season on the 60-day IL while rehabbing. He was activated on June 5th and has since been optioned and recalled twice, not counting today. He’s made three relief appearances around those optional assignments, tossing 5 1/3 innings while allowing two earned runs. Brito figures to continue that pattern of getting recalled as a fresh arm, then getting optioned after making an appearance.

Photo courtesy of William Navarro, Imagn Images