Reyes Moronta
Reyes Armando Moronta was a Dominican professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball 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 played in MLB from 2017 to 2023. He died on July 28, 2024, in an all-terrain vehicle accident in the Dominican Republic.
Early life
Moronta was born January 6, 1993, to Francisco and Ivonne Moronta in Santiago in the Dominican Republic, the youngest of five children. His father was a truck driver, and his mother rolled cigars at a local factory. He grew up in the 700-person rural town of Quinigua, north of Santiago. For high school he attended Milagros Hernández Lyceum in Villa González.Professional career
San Francisco Giants
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. He made his professional debut in 2011 with the Dominican Summer League Giants. He played for the Arizona League Giants in 2012. He played as a starting pitcher with the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes in 2013, Arizona League Giants in 2014, and Augusta GreenJackets in 2015.Moronta played for the San Jose Giants in 2016 and went 0–3 with 14 saves and a 2.59 ERA in 60 games in which he pitched 59 innings and struck out 93 batters. His fastball reached as high as 100 mph. He was a mid-season All Star, and a MiLB organization All Star. The Giants added him to their 40-man roster after the 2016 season.
Major leagues
The Giants promoted Moronta to the major leagues on May 10, 2017. During the 2017 season, Moronta pitched in seven games for the Giants, recording 11 strikeouts in 6 innings pitched. In the minors, he pitched for three teams and was 3–1 with five saves and a 2.92 ERA. In 34 relief appearances, he pitched 37 innings and struck out 47 batters.In 2018, for the Giants, he was 5–2 with one save and a 2.49 ERA, as in 69 relief appearances he pitched 65 innings and struck out 79 batters. 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. In one stretch, he tied a Major League streak with 12 straight appearances without allowing a hit. He established the Giants record for fewest hits per 9 innings, with a minimum of 50 innings pitched.
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. He threw his four-seam fastball at an average 97.5 mph, and batters hit.123 against his slider. In September 2019 he underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder, and was expected to miss nine to eleven months. 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. On September 21, Moronta was removed from the 40-man roster and assigned to the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats. On October 14, Moronta elected free agency.
Los Angeles Dodgers
On February 19, 2022, Moronta signed with the Diablos Rojos del México of the Mexican League. 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. He began the season in Triple-A with the Oklahoma City Dodgers but was added to the major league roster on April 24.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.