Zachary Ryan Reininger (born January 28, 1993) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

Career

Reininger attended Smithson Valley High School in Spring Branch, Texas.

Detroit Tigers

Reininger attended Hill College in Hillsboro, Texas and was drafted by the

in the 8th round (246th overall) of the

2013 Major League Baseball draft The 2013 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2013. The first two rounds were broadcast from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. Each team received one selection per round, going in ...

. In 2015, Reininger suffered an elbow injury that required

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...

. As a result, Reininger missed the second half of the year in 2015 and the vast majority of the entire 2016 season. 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. 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 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. He made 18 appearances for the Tigers 2018, recording an ERA of 7.59 in innings. At Toledo in 2018, he went 5–1 with a 2.63 ERA in innings. Reininger was outrighted off the Tigers roster on October 23, 2019. He became a minor league free agent on November 7, 2019.

Oakland Athletics

On April 1, 2020, Reininger signed a minor league deal with the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

. He resigned on a minor league deal on November 2, 2020. He elected free agency on November 7, 2021.

Cleburne Railroaders

On August 1, 2022, Reininger signed with the

Cleburne Railroaders The Cleburne Railroaders are a professional baseball team based in Cleburne, Texas, that plays in the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball. The team, which began play in 2017, plays it ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...

. He was released on October 17, 2022.

References

External links

* 1993 births Living people Baseball players from San Antonio Connecticut Tigers players Detroit Tigers players Erie SeaWolves players Glendale Desert Dogs players Gulf Coast Tigers players Hill College Rebels baseball players Lakeland Flying Tigers players Major League Baseball pitchers Midland RockHounds players Toledo Mud Hens players West Michigan Whitecaps players American expatriate baseball players in Australia Perth Heat players {{US-baseball-pitcher-1990s-stub