TOMS RIVER, NJ – There was barely any time for Toms River residents and baseball fans to congratulate former Toms River High School South Major Leaguer Todd Frazier on his baseball retirement before the town got word of another.
Frazier hung up his cleats after 11 years in the Major Leagues on Tuesday, but hours later, it was announced that Toms River North alumni Ron Marinaccio had made the club’s opening day roster.
Marinaccio, a lightning-fast relief pitcher, will get his chance to earn a spot on the team for the long term this spring. Marinaccio, a diehard Yankees fan growing up in Toms River, will now be sitting in the bullpen at Yankee Stadium during the team’s season opener against the Boston Red Sox, ready to be called in if needed by manager Aaron Boone.
A 2013 graduate of Toms River High School North, Marinaccio played college ball with the University of Delaware, where he was the team’s captain.
In three seasons at Delaware, he was 15-10 with a 3.89 ERA, and opponents hit just .252 against him.
Last season, he split time between the Yankees AAA affiliate Scranton/Wilkes Barre and the AA Somerset Patriots, where he had a combined ERA of 2.04, striking out 105 in 66 innings.
He pitched 5.2 innings in spring training with the Yankees this season, striking out 6, giving up no runs. The Yankees drafted him in the 19th round of the 2017 draft.