Pirates strike trade with Padres for underwhelming Dennis Santana replacement

The Pittsburgh Pirates finally made a change in their bullpen Thursday, designating Dennis Santana for assignment after a brutal stretch that had become increasingly difficult to justify. Then they replaced him with Ron Marinaccio.

So, yes, the Pirates did something. It just feels an awful lot like a lateral move.

Pittsburgh acquired Marinaccio from the San Diego Padres in exchange for international bonus pool considerations, adding the right-hander to both the 26-man and 40-man rosters. San Diego had designated Marinaccio for assignment over the weekend after he posted a 4.79 ERA and 1.45 WHIP across 47 innings this season. Those numbers aren't exactly going to inspire confidence in a Pirates bullpen that desperately needs stabilization.

Santana, to be fair, had reached the end of the line in Pittsburgh. He entered the season occupying a prominent role in the bullpen hierarchy, but his performance never justified the trust the Pirates continued to place in him. The breaking point came this month, when Santana surrendered 10 runs in just 7 1/3 innings.

Moving on was the right decision. The problem is that Marinaccio hardly represents a meaningful upgrade.

Pirates can't afford to let Ron Marinaccio be the only bullpen upgrade they make before the trade deadline

Marinaccio figures to slide into a middle-relief role, and perhaps the Pirates believe there is something in his pitch mix or underlying numbers they can tweak. Relievers are volatile, and Pittsburgh has certainly had success squeezing more out of discarded bullpen arms before.

But this is a team fighting for a playoff spot. The standard has to be higher than simply cycling through another struggling reliever who happened to become available. That is especially true considering which Padres reliever Pirates fans would actually like to see Pittsburgh pursue.

Mason Miller has been one of the most obvious dream targets for a Pirates team that needs a legitimate late-inning weapon. Adding somebody with Miller's overpowering stuff would transform the bullpen rather than merely rearrange it. Instead, Pittsburgh made a deal with San Diego and came away with Marinaccio.

There's still time before the trade deadline for Ben Cherington to make a bigger move, and this transaction certainly doesn't prevent him from doing so. Marinaccio can be useful depth, but only if Pittsburgh eventually adds a legitimate high-leverage arm ahead of him.

Santana needed to go, and Pittsburgh deserves credit for finally acknowledging that. But if Marinaccio is supposed to qualify as the bullpen upgrade fans have been begging for, Cherington is going to have a lot of explaining to do.

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