Reds designate RHP Ron Marinaccio for assignment, select Kent Emanuel

Right-handed reliever Ron Marinaccio was designated for assignment by the Pittsburgh Pirates on August 3rd as the NL Central rivals of the Cincinnati Reds needed 40-man roster spots for other acquisitions. The Reds, meanwhile, had openings on their own 40-man roster after dealing away Caleb Ferguson and Nathaniel Lowe, and scooped up Marinaccio off waivers to help add depth to their beat-up bullpen.

That marriage simply did not work out.

The Reds themselves designated Marinaccio for assignment on Monday morning, doing so after the righty walked 3 and served up a dinger in an ugly 5-run 9th inning performance on Sunday in the series finale against the Miami Marlins. He allowed earned runs in each of his four appearances with the Reds (10 ER total in just 5.1 IP), and now finds himself back on the waiver wire.

The Reds announced the move prior to Monday’s doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals, noting that they were adding reliever Zach McCambley to the roster as the 27th man for the day while adding lefty Kent Emanuel to both the 40-man and active rosters to replace Marinaccio.

Emanuel, 34, is a veteran of two separate big league seasons with two different clubs. Back in 2021, he broke in with the Houston Astros and pitched to a 2.55 ERA (albeit with a 5.49 FIP), in a small 17.2 IP sample. He bounced through the systems of the Philadelphia Phillies, Pirates, and Marlins after that before returning to the big leagues with Miami for another 17.2 IP stint in 2024. He threw in indy ball in 2026 before landing with Louisville for a single 6.0 IP outing, and now finds himself back in the bigs with Cincinnati.

Emanuel will start the first game of Monday’s doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals as the two clubs begin a five-game series.

The state of the pitching staff right now is, shall we say, not very bueno.