Yankees reliever Ron Marinaccio expects to be ready for season opener
Yankees relief pitcher Ron Marinaccio delivers against the Orioles during the seventh inning of an MLB game at Yankee Stadium on Oct. 2, 2022. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
TAMPA, Fla. — Michael King wasn’t the only high-leverage reliever missing from the Yankees’ bullpen at the end of last season.
Rookie righthander Ron Marinaccio, who developed into a bullpen stalwart after somewhat surprisingly earning a role with a standout spring training, missed the entire postseason with a shin injury that cropped up in September.
Marinaccio posted a 2.05 ERA in 40 appearances and struck out 56 batters in 44 innings. He said while his offseason workout regimen and throwing program was delayed somewhat, he expects to be ready for the Yankees’ season opener on March 30 against the Giants at the Stadium.
“That’s always been the plan and we haven’t had to slow that down at all,” Marinaccio said Thursday. “Shooting for that. Getting enough reps in spring training is going to be the key, and we still have plenty of time for that.”
Marinaccio, who only recently returned to the mound (he has thrown all of six bullpen sessions), is supposed to take a significant step Tuesday when he’s scheduled to face hitters for the first time.
“We can try to simulate that as much in a bullpen as possible . . . but you can’t replicate trying to put a fastball by a big-league hitter or any hitter in general,” Marinaccio said. “So that’s obviously the last step and we’re progressing to that next week.”
Fond memories of Tim
Aaron Boone recalled his many interactions with Tim McCarver, who passed away Thursday morning. McCarver enjoyed a distinguished 21-year big-league career as a catcher before his second career as an TV analyst landed him in Cooperstown as a Ford Frick Award winner.
McCarver played with the Phillies from 1975-80, his career in Philadelphia overlapping with that of Boone’s father, Bob, a Phillie from 1972-81.
“Timmy was such a charismatic guy, and me growing up in the clubhouse with him when he was a catcher with my dad in Philadelphia,” Boone said. “Just remember his charisma, even as a little kid, it was something that struck me. Awesome guy . . . one of the all-time greats in that analyst role. So a sad day for the baseball world and was difficult news to get this morning, but my memories of Timmy are all great ones.”
Cortes improving
Boone said Nestor Cortes, who had planned to play for Team USA in the upcoming World Baseball Classic but pulled out earlier in the week with a right hamstring strain, could be cleared to throw off a mound “as early as this weekend.”
Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.
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