René Rafael Pinto Escobar (born November 2, 1996) is a Venezuelan professional baseball catcher for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB).
| René Pinto | |
|---|---|
| Tampa Bay Rays – No. 50 | |
| Catcher | |
| Born: (1996-11-02) November 2, 1996 (age 26) Maracay, Venezuela | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 26, 2022, for the Tampa Bay Rays | |
| MLB statistics (through 2022 season) | |
| Batting average | .213 |
| Home runs | 2 |
| Runs batted in | 10 |
| Teams | |
| |
Pinto signed with the Tampa Bay Rays as an international free agent on October 1, 2013.[1] Pinto spent the 2014 and 2015 seasons with the Venezuelan Summer League Rays; hitting .264/.318/.347/.666 with 1 home run and 11 RBI in 14' and .323/.379/.552/.931 with 6 home runs and 38 RBI in 2015.[2] He split the 2016 season between the GCL Rays and the Princeton Rays, hitting a combined .262/.304/.483/.788 with 8 home runs and 28 RBI.[2] Pinto split the 2017 season between the GCL and the Bowling Green Hot Rods, hitting a combined .290/.339/.396/.734 with 3 home runs and 39 RBI.[2] He spent the 2018 season with the Charlotte Stone Crabs, hitting .301/.353/.407/.759 with 1 home run and 38 RBI.[2] Pinto spent the 2019 season with the Montgomery Biscuits, hitting .235/.303/.354/.657 with 5 home runs and 30 RBI.[3] He did not play in 2020 due to the cancellation of the Minor League Baseball season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Pinto split the 2021 season between Montgomery and the Durham Bulls, hitting a combined .274/.325/.500/.825 with 20 home runs and 60 RBI.[4][5]
On November 7, 2021, Tampa Bay selected Pinto's contract to the 40-man roster.[6]
On April 22, 2022, Pinto was added to the Rays roster as a covid-replacement for Francisco Mejía.[7]
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