The Padres returned the right-hander Randy Vásquez on the 15-day casualty list and designated provider Ron Marinaccio per share, according to the group announcement. Marinaccio’s selection leaves an opening on San Diego’s 40-man roster. In a different direction, to the left Wandy Peralta was returned to the list of the dead, while the right-hander Johnny Brito optioned to Triple-A El Paso.
Vásquez is coming back after suffering a minor right ankle sprain. He was a serviceable starter in 2025, posting a 3.70 ERA in 129 innings with no rotations (his other 4 2/3 innings coming out of the bullpen). Unfortunately, he took a step back in 2026. Vásquez owns a 4.71 ERA in 84 innings this year, and his expected ERA of 7.12 suggests he’s lucky to even reach that mark. The righty’s 7.3% walk rate is better than average, but he isn’t striking out batters and has already given up 14 home runs, or 1.50 HR/9. Vásquez allowed 16 home runs in over 50 innings last year (1.08 HR/9).
It doesn’t appear he’ll be rejoining anytime soon, as Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that Vásquez is slated for the bullpen for now. This is because the club has five healthy players. After the staff ace Michael Kingthis group Griffin Canning, German Marquez, JP Searsagain Walker Buehler all painting begins at the moment. None of the last four worked particularly well.
Vásquez may be calling his time in the fold for now, then rejoining the lineup rotation. Sears has an option remaining and could be demoted due to his poor performance, namely a 5.03 ERA in four starts. It is also possible that Vásquez will face problems after the trade deadline. San Diego has lost its first two games since the All-Star break. President of baseball operations AJ Preller told reporters last week that the team is on the phone about whether to buy or sell. Canning, Márquez, and Buehler are all upcoming free agents, and while they won’t have a lot of trade value, even one of them being sent to the trade area will open up space for Vásquez.
Turning to other names, Marinaccio loses his roster spot after posting the worst numbers of his career 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 number increased to 4.79 in 47 innings in 2026. now. The righty’s 18.7% strikeout rate and 1.72 HR/9 are both career worsts, and it didn’t help that Marinaccio was suspended for two games in June for intentionally throwing against the Orioles. Gunnar Henderson.
Marinaccio can be controlled until 2029, or he will need to show improvement to stick in the Majors long term. He has been nominated twice in the past, but has never been removed, as those nominations resulted in a waiver claim and a trade, respectively. It’s possible that teams will look past his five-run blast against the Dodgers on June 27 (he has a 3.97 ERA otherwise) and file a waiver claim. Since he had no direct assignments and less than three years of service, Marinaccio cannot directly refuse the assignment if he resigns.
Brito underwent an internal surgery in May 2025 and began this season on IL for 60 days while rehabbing. He took office on June 5 and has been elected and re-elected twice, counting today. He made three relief appearances in those optional assignments, pitching 5 1/3 innings while allowing two earned runs. Brito figures to continue that pattern of being recalled as a new arm, then picked up after an appearance.
Photo courtesy of William Navarro, Imagn Images
