Yankees lose reliever Ron Marinaccio to new team on waivers

Former Yankees reliever Ron Marinaccio was claimed by the White Sox off waivers on Monday.

Marinaccio was designated for assignment by the Yankees on Friday, a corresponding move to make space for right-hander Cody Poteet’s return to the 40-man roster after a lengthy stint on the 60-day injured list.

Chicago had first dibs on the waiver wire as they have the worst record in MLB this season. Their loss on Sunday was their 120th of the year, matching the 1962 Mets for the most losses in a single season in baseball’s modern era (since 1901).

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Marinaccio was promptly optioned to Double-A Birmingham by the White Sox, Chicago announced.

This marks the end of an eight-year tenure within the Yankees organization for Marinaccio, a 19th-round selection in the 2017 MLB Draft out of Delaware. A native of Toms River, N.J., Marinaccio grew up a Yankees fan and flashed his potential in pinstripes after making his debut in 2022, posting a 2.05 ERA over 40 appearances out of the bullpen.

“Really tough call,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters in Oakland after Marinaccio was DFA’d. “Just with the way our 40-man is right now, I think they just felt like this was the right thing to do at this time.

“It’s always a tough call, especially when you have good people on your roster like Ron.”

Marinaccio’s numbers regressed last year. He had a 3.99 ERA over 45 games. This season, he’s been relegated to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for much of the campaign, pitching in a Yankees uniform only 16 times. He had a 3.86 ERA with the Yankees and a 2.04 ERA across 35 outings with the RailRiders.

“I think he’s done a lot of really good things this year both in Triple-A and with us,” Boone said. “But sometimes when you have a full roster of good players, it can cost you some people.”

Max Goodman may be reached at [email protected].