The New York Yankees are getting closer to returning stud rookie relief pitcher Ron Marinaccio from shoulder inflammation. Marinaccio last pitched against the Cleveland Guardians on July 2 before hitting the injured list.
The 27-year-old bullpen arm was initially assigned to Triple-A Scranton to start a rehab assignment but was moved to Double-A Somerset on Friday to get a bit more action before making his return to the big leagues.
Marinaccio hosts a 2.33 ERA this season with 10.71 strikeouts per nine, a 77.3% left on base rate, and 40.5% ground ball rate over 19.1 innings. He’s been fantastic ever since a tumultuous April to start his rookie campaign.
In fact, Ron hasn’t allowed an earned run since April 28 against the Baltimore Orioles. He’s gone 15.1 innings, giving up just one hit, which is unbelievable.
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Per the Yankees:
Today, the Yankees transferred the rehab assignment of RHP Ron Marinaccio from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to Double-A Somerset.
Additionally, the Yankees transferred the rehab assignment of C Ben Rortvedt from High-A Hudson Valley to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
The Yankees are also gearing up to get catcher reinforcements. In the trade that brought Josh Donaldson and Isiah Kiner-Falefa to the Bronx, they also acquired Ben Rortvedt, who’s been dealing with a myriad of injuries, including an oblique and knee.
Ben, 24, made his last appearance with Minnesota last season, hitting .169 with a 23% on-base rate over 39 games. He is Tanner Swanson’s protégé, who joined the Yankees as their catching Coach this past off-season. Rortvedt has spent six games in Low and High-A. Over 15 plate appearances in High-A, he tallied three runs, hitting .083 with a 26.7% on-base rate. The sample size is far too small to make any assumptions, but he should get more opportunities with Scranton in the coming days.
Given that the Yankees have both Jose Trevino and Kyle Higashioka manning the catcher spot, it is unlikely that Rortvedt will get any opportunities with the bigs unless injury hits.