Zachary Ryan Reininger (born January 28, 1993) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Winnipeg Goldeyes of the American Association of Professional Baseball. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers.
| Zac Reininger | |
|---|---|
 Reininger with the Tigers in 2019 | |
| Winnipeg Goldeyes – No. 26 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: January 28, 1993 San Antonio, Texas, U.S. | |
Bats: Switch Throws: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| August 27, 2017, for the Detroit Tigers | |
| MLB statistics (through 2019 season) | |
| Win–loss record | 1–3 |
| Earned run average | 8.08 |
| Strikeouts | 40 |
| Stats at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
Career
editReininger attended Smithson Valley High School in Spring Branch, Texas.
Detroit Tigers
editReininger attended Hill College in Hillsboro, Texas and was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 8th round (246th overall) of the 2013 Major League Baseball draft.[1][2] In 2015, Reininger suffered an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery. As a result, Reininger missed the second half of the year in 2015 and the vast majority of the entire 2016 season.[3]
On August 23, 2017, the Detroit Tigers announced the addition of Reininger to their 40-man roster and his subsequent call-up to the active roster effective the next day.[4] At the time of his call-up, Reininger was pitching for Tigers' Triple-A affiliate, the Toledo Mud Hens, where he had a 1–0 record, 1.59 ERA, and held opponents to a .179 average in 11+1⁄3 innings of work. He made his Major League debut on August 27, 2017, where he struck out a man and gave up two runs on three hits and a walk in an inning of work. Reininger was again called up on May 8, 2018, to fill in for injured players.[5] He made 18 appearances for the Tigers 2018, recording an ERA of 7.59 in 21+1⁄3 innings. At Toledo in 2018, he went 5–1 with a 2.63 ERA in 51+1⁄3 innings.
Reininger made 25 appearances for Detroit in 2019, struggling to an 8.68 ERA with 17 strikeouts across 28 innings pitched. Reininger was outrighted off the Tigers roster on October 23, 2019.[6] He elected free agency following the season on November 4.[7]
Oakland Athletics
editOn April 1, 2020, Reininger signed a minor league deal with the Oakland Athletics. He did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[8]
On November 2, 2020, Reininger re–signed with the Athletics organization on a new minor league contract. He spent the 2021 season with the Double–A Midland RockHounds, making 5 starts and registering a 1–4 record and 4.63 ERA with 23 strikeouts across 23+1⁄3 innings pitched. Reininger elected free agency following the season on November 7, 2021.[9]
Cleburne Railroaders
editOn August 1, 2022, Reininger signed with the Cleburne Railroaders of the American Association of Professional Baseball. In two appearances for Cleburne, he surrendered two runs on three hits in two innings of work. Reininger was released by the Railroaders on October 17.
Winnipeg Goldeyes
editOn February 8, 2024, Reininger signed with the Winnipeg Goldeyes of the American Association of Professional Baseball.[10] In 19 starts 114.1 innings he went 9-5 with a 4.49 ERA with 65 strikeouts and 2 complete game shutouts.
References
edit- ^ Allard, Marc. "Connecticut's Zac Reininger flying under the radar". The Bulletin. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
- ^ "Reininger joins Tigers' pitching-rich Draft". Major League Baseball. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
- ^ "Erie's big arms provide hope for Tigers' future". Detroit News. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
- ^ PR, Tigers (August 23, 2017). "The Tigers optioned LHP Chad Bell to Toledo (AAA). RHP Zac Reininger will have his contract selected from Toledo prior to Thursday's game". @DetroitTigersPR. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
- ^ "Jordan Zimmermann and Alex Wilson hit DL". MLB.com. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
- ^ Dylan A. Chase (October 24, 2019). "Quick Hits: Mets, Tigers, Kieboom, Bettis". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
- ^ Woodbery, Evan (November 7, 2019). "Tigers' minor-league free agents include 5 who played in Detroit in 2019". mlive. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
- ^ "2020 Minor League Baseball season cancelled". mlb.com. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
- ^ "2021-22 Minor League Free Agents For All 30 MLB Teams". baseballamerica.com. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
- ^ "2024 Transactions". aabaseball.com. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
External links
edit- Career statistics from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
- Zac Reininger on Twitter