The Padres made a series of roster moves this weekend that quietly reshape how they're managing pitching down the stretch. Randy Vasquez, who'd been on the shelf with a right ankle contusion, got reinstated from the injured list, while reliever Ron Marinaccio was designated for assignment to clear his roster spot.
Padres Reinstate Randy Vásquez From IL, Designate Ron Marinaccio t.co/ABFrEmShCB
Vasquez has spent most of this year in San Diego's rotation as a back-end starter, but his numbers took a real step back in 2026 after a solid 2025 campaign. So when he came back off the IL and got deployed out of the bullpen instead of straight back into a rotation slot, it wasn't nothing — it's a live signal the Padres might be leaning toward using him in relief while he sorts himself out, at least in the short term.
And the early returns were exactly what San Diego needed to see. Vasquez went out and tossed 3 scoreless innings in relief in his first outing back, giving the bullpen a fresh multi-inning arm at a moment when the Padres are managing workloads and looking for stability heading into the trade-deadline stretch.
Randy Vasquez tossed three scoreless innings of relief in his return from the #Padres' injured list: t.co/CLFEm5ggrZ
Marinaccio, on the other hand, is the odd man out. He'd appeared in 33 games for San Diego this season, but a 4.79 ERA and 1.45 WHIP made him an easy call once the Padres needed the roster space. DFA doesn't necessarily mean he's gone for good — teams can trade, release, or outright him within the waiver window — but for now his run in San Diego's bullpen is effectively over.
The bigger picture here is about bullpen depth with the trade deadline bearing down. Every contender is auditioning arms right now, trying to figure out who they can trust in high-leverage innings versus who needs to be moved off the 40-man to make room for reinforcements. If Vasquez keeps stacking scoreless outings in relief, it gives San Diego a cheap, controllable multi-inning option and takes some pressure off whatever they end up doing on the trade market for bullpen help.
Worth watching over the next couple weeks: whether the Padres stick with Vasquez in relief or slide him back into the rotation mix once he proves he's fully healthy, and whether Marinaccio catches on somewhere else before the deadline shakes the league's rosters up even further.