Riley Chun-Young O'Brien (born February 6, 1995) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

in the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

organization. He has previously played in MLB for the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

. He made his MLB debut in 2021.

Amateur career

O'Brien attended Shorewood High School in

Shoreline, Washington Shoreline is a city in King County, Washington, United States. It is located between the city limits of Seattle and the Snohomish County border, approximately north of Downtown Seattle. As of the 2020 census, the population of Shoreline was 58 ...

, where he played

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

. He graduated in 2013, and then enrolled at

Everett Community College Everett Community College (EvCC) is a public community college in Everett, Washington. EvCC educates more than 19,000 students every year at locations throughout Snohomish County, Washington, with most students and faculty at the main campus in E ...

. After two seasons at Everett, he transferred to the

College of Idaho The College of Idaho (C of I) is a private liberal arts college in Caldwell, Idaho. Founded in 1891, it is the state's oldest private liberal arts college and has an enrollment of over 1,000 students. The college's alumni include eight Rhode ...

. As a junior in 2016, he went 6–3 with a 3.23 ERA and sixty strikeouts over 69 innings. In 2017, his senior year, he pitched to a 3–4 record and a 2.15 ERA over 67 innings. After the season, he was selected by the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

in the eighth round of the

2017 Major League Baseball draft The 2017 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 12, 2017. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first 36 picks, including the first round and compensatory picks, were broadcast on MLB Network on J ...

Professional career

Tampa Bay Rays organization

O'Brien signed with the Rays and made his professional debut that year with the

Princeton Rays The Princeton Rays were a Minor League Baseball team in Princeton, West Virginia, operating as an Advanced Rookie-level team in the Appalachian League. The team was affiliated with several Major League Baseball (MLB) franchises, primarily the Tam ...

of the Advanced Rookie

Appalachian League The Appalachian League is a collegiate summer baseball league that operates in the Appalachian regions of Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Designed for rising freshmen and sophomores using wood bats, its season runs from ...

, going 1–0 with a 2.20 ERA over 11 games (ten starts). During the season, he was named Appalachian League Pitcher of the Week twice. In 2018, he began the season with the

Bowling Green Hot Rods The Bowling Green Hot Rods are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and play their home games at Bowling Green Ballpark, which open ...

of the Class A

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

(with whom he was named an All-Star) before being promoted to the

Charlotte Stone Crabs The Charlotte Stone Crabs were a Minor League Baseball team located in Port Charlotte, Florida, from 2009 to 2020. They competed in the Florida State League (FSL) as the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays Major League Baseball (MLB) ...

of the

Class A-Advanced High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

, with whom he ended the year; over 25 games (13 starts) between both teams, he went 8–4 with a 2.75 ERA. In 2019, he began the season with Charlotte and was promoted to the

Montgomery Biscuits The Montgomery Biscuits are a Minor League Baseball team based in Montgomery, Alabama. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays and play in the Southern League. The team was founded in Orlando, Florida, in 1973 as the Orlando Twins ...

of the

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League ...

Southern League in May. Over 20 games (17 starts) with the two clubs, he pitched to a 7–6 record and 3.16 ERA. O'Brien did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

Cincinnati Reds

On August 28, 2020, the Rays traded O'Brien to the

in exchange for

Cody Reed Cody Austin Reed (born April 15, 1993) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds and Tampa Bay Rays. Career Reed attended Horn Lake High School i ...

. On November 20, 2020, O'Brien was added to the 40-man roster. To begin the 2021 season, he was assigned to the

Louisville Bats The Louisville Bats are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Louisville, Kentucky, and are named in dual reference to the bat, win ...

of the

Triple-A East The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ( ...

. Over 23 games (22 starts), O'Brien pitched to a 7-7 record, a 4.55 ERA, and 121 strikeouts over innings. On September 28, 2021, the Reds selected O'Brien to the active roster to make his MLB debut versus the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

. He was the starting pitcher and threw innings, giving up two solo home runs while walking three and striking out two. On April 13, 2022, the Reds designated O'Brien for assignment to make room for

Nick Lodolo Nicholas Frank Lodolo ( ; born February 5, 1998) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2022. Amateur career Lodolo attended Damien High School in La Verne, ...

Seattle Mariners

On April 16, 2022, the Reds traded O’Brien to the

for cash considerations or a player to be named later. (On June 3, minor league infielder Luis Chevalier was sent to Cincinnati to complete the trade). He was designated for assignment on May 27, 2022. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to the Triple-A

Tacoma Rainiers The Tacoma Rainiers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Tacoma, Washington, and play their home games at Cheney Stadium, which opened in 1960. ...

on June 2.

Personal life

O'Brien's grandfather,

Johnny O'Brien John Thomas O'Brien (born December 11, 1930) is a former backup second baseman and pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1953, 1955–58), St. Louis Cardinals (1958) and Milwaukee Braves (1959). O'Brien batte ...

, played six seasons in the major leagues.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:OBrien, Riley 1995 births Living people Baseball players from Seattle Bowling Green Hot Rods players Charlotte Stone Crabs players Cincinnati Reds players College of Idaho Coyotes baseball players Everett Trojans baseball players Louisville Bats players Major League Baseball pitchers Montgomery Biscuits players Princeton Rays players Seattle Mariners players Tacoma Rainiers players