Reyes Moronta

Reyes Armando Moronta (born January 6, 1993) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Los Angeles Angels. Moronta signed with the Giants as an international free agent in 2010, and made his MLB debut in 2017.

Reyes Moronta
Moronta at Citizens Bank Park in 2019
Free agent
Pitcher
Born: (1993-01-06) January 6, 1993
Santiago, Dominican Republic
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
September 5, 2017, for the San Francisco Giants
MLB statistics
(through 2023 season)
Win–loss record10–11
Earned run average3.05
Strikeouts202
Teams

Early life

Moronta was born to Francisco and Ivonne Moronta in Santiago in the Dominican Republic, the youngest of five children.[1] His father was a truck driver, and his mother rolled cigars at a local factory.[1] He grew up in the 700-person rural town of Quinigua, 5 miles north of Santiago.[1][2] For high school he attended Milagros Hernández Lyceum in Villa González.[2]

Professional career

Minor leagues

Moronta signed with the San Francisco Giants as an international free agent in September 2010 at 17 years of age for $15,000.[1][3] He made his professional debut in 2011 with the Dominican Summer League Giants. He played for the Arizona League Giants in 2012.[4]

He played as a starting pitcher with the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes in 2013, Arizona League Giants in 2014, and Augusta GreenJackets in 2015.[4]

He played for the San Jose Giants in 2016, for whom he was 0–3 with 14 saves (3rd in the California League) and a 2.59 ERA in 60 games (leading the league) in which he pitched 59 innings and struck out 93 batters (14.2 strikeouts per nine innings pitched; leading the league).[5][6] His fastball reached as high as 100 mph.[7] He was a mid-season All Star, and an MiLB organization All Star.[8] The Giants added him to their 40-man roster after the 2016 season.[9]

Major Leagues

Moronta was called up to the Major Leagues on May 10, 2017.[10] During the 2017 season, Moronta pitched in 7 games for the Giants, recording 11 strikeouts in 62⁄3 innings pitched (14.8 per 9 innings).[4] In the minors, he pitched for three teams and was 3–1 with five saves and a 2.92 ERA, as in 34 relief appearances he pitched 37 innings and struck out 47 batters (11.4 per 9 innings).[5]

In 2018 for the Giants he was 5–2 with one save and a 2.49 ERA, as in 69 relief appearances (4th among NL rookies, and the most by a Giants rookie since Elias Sosa in 1973) he pitched 65 innings and struck out 79 batters (10.9 per 9 innings).[5][11] He threw his four-seam fastball at an average 97.6 mph, and opposing batters hit .154 overall, .142 against his slider, and .132 as right-handed batters.[12][11] In one stretch, he tied a Major League streak with 12 straight appearances without allowing a hit.[13] He established the Giants record for fewest hits per 9 innings (4.71), with a minimum of 50 innings pitched.[4]

In 2019 for the Giants he was 3–7 with a 2.86 ERA, as in 56 relief appearances he pitched 56.2 innings and struck out 70 batters (11.1 per 9 innings).[5] He threw his four-seam fastball at an average 97.5 mph, and batters hit .123 against his slider.[14] In September 2019 he underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder, and was expected to miss nine to eleven months.[15] He missed the 2020 season as a result.

On May 17, 2021, Moronta was placed on the 60-day injured list with a mild sprained ligament in his elbow.[16] On September 21, Moronta was outrighted off of the 40-man roster and assigned to the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats.[17] On October 14, Moronta elected free agency.[18]

Los Angeles Dodgers

On February 19, 2022, Moronta signed with the Diablos Rojos del México of the Mexican League.[19] However, on March 12, 2022, prior to the start of the Mexican League season, Moronta signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers that included an invitation to spring training.[20] He began the season in Triple-A with the Oklahoma City Dodgers but was added to the major league roster on April 24.[21]

Moronta appeared in 22 games in the majors for Los Angeles, with a 4.18 ERA before he was designated for assignment on August 20.[22]

Arizona Diamondbacks

On August 22, 2022, Moronta was claimed off waivers by the Arizona Diamondbacks.[23] Moronta made 17 appearances for Arizona to close out the year. In 14.0 innings pitched, he logged a 2–2 record and 4.50 ERA while striking out 11 and collecting two saves. He was non-tendered and became a free agent on November 18.

Texas Rangers

On January 25, 2023, Moronta signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers organization.[24] Moronta struggled to a 15.88 ERA in spring training before he was released on March 24.[25]

Diablos Rojos del México

On April 3, 2023, Moronta signed with the Diablos Rojos del México of the Mexican League.[26] In 8 appearances for México, Moronta registered a 2.35 ERA with 13 strikeouts and 1 save in 7.2 innings pitched.

Los Angeles Angels

On May 11, 2023, Moronta signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Angels organization.[27] He made 3 scoreless appearances for the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees, striking out 9 in 4.0 innings pitched. On May 21, Moronta's contract was selected to the active roster.[28] He made two appearances for the Angels, posting a 6.75 ERA in 1⅓ innings of work. On May 26, Moronta was designated for assignment following the promotion of Sam Bachman.[29] He cleared waivers and was sent outright to Salt Lake on May 29.[30] On October 4, Moronta elected free agency.[31]

References
  1. "Giants' Reyes Moronta's path from D.R. to San Francisco Giants". yahoo.com. April 3, 2019. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  2. "Reyes Moronta: Desde Quinigua a Las Grandes Ligas"
  3. Schulman, Henry (April 25, 2018). "Giants' reliever Reyes Moronta becoming a big bullpen key". SFGate. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  4. "Reyes Moronta Stats, Fantasy & News". MLB.com. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  5. "Reyes Moronta Minor & Winter Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  6. "2016 California League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  7. Brisbee, Grant (May 11, 2017). "Meet Reyes Moronta, your new favorite reliever". McCovey Chronicles. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  8. "Reyes Moronta Stats, Highlights, Bio | MiLB.com Stats". Milb.com. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  9. "Giants protect five from Rule 5, add to 40-man roster". November 18, 2016. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  10. O'Connor, John. "Deceptive reliever Reyes Moronta promoted from Squirrels to Giants". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
  11. Johnson, Dalton (October 26, 2018). "Giants Review: Rookie Reyes Moronta emerges as dominant reliever | NBCS Bay Area". NBC Sports. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  12. "Player Card: Reyes Moronta". Brooksbaseball.net. December 26, 2018. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  13. "San Francisco Giants: Reyes Moronta Ties Major League Hitless Streak"
  14. "Player Card: Reyes Moronta". Brooksbaseball.net. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  15. "Reyes Moronta, RP, San Francisco Giants, MLB Baseball". CBS Sports. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  16. "Giants Claim Braden Bishop". May 17, 2021.
  17. "SF Giants: Reliever Reyes Moronta clears outright waivers". September 23, 2021.
  18. "Players Recently Electing Free Agency". MLB Trade Rumors. October 16, 2021. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  19. "Reyes Moronta se suma al bullpen escarlata". diablos.com.mx (in Spanish). February 19, 2022. Retrieved February 19, 2022.
  20. "Reliever Reyes Moronta Agrees To Minor League Deal With Dodgers". CBS News. March 12, 2022. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  21. "Dodgers select Reyes Moronta". MLB.com. April 24, 2022.
  22. Mitchell, Houston (August 22, 2022). "Dodgers Dugout: Dustin May provides a big boost". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  23. "D-backs roster moves August 22, 2022". MLB.com. August 22, 2022. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  24. "Kennedy, Frazier among 5 to sign minor deals with Rangers". Associated Press News. January 27, 2023. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  25. "Reyes Moronta: Released by Rangers". cbssports.com. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  26. "LMB: Movimientos en listas de reserva - 3 de abril de 2023". MiLB.com (in Spanish). April 3, 2023. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  27. "Angels' Reyes Moronta: Latches on with Angels". cbssports.com. May 11, 2023. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  28. "Angels' Reyes Moronta: Contract selected from Triple-A". cbssports.com. May 21, 2023. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
  29. "Angels' Reyes Moronta: Designated for assignment". CBS Sports. RotoWire Staff. May 26, 2023.
  30. "Angels' Reyes Moronta: Clears waivers". cbssports.com. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  31. "Reyes Moronta: Goes free-agent route". cbssports.com. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
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