Juan Manuel Rincón (born January 23, 1979) is a Venezuelan professional baseball coach and former

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

. Rincón bats and throws right-handed. He throws a low 90s

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch (baseball), pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. Its distinctive feature is its high speed. "Power pitchers," such as former major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, relied on the ...

and a mid to low 80s slider. In his career, Rincón posted a .208 BAA against left-handed hitters and a .248 BAA against right-handed hitters.

Career

Minnesota Twins

Rincón was originally signed by the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

as an amateur free agent in 1996. He worked his way up through the Twins farm system and was selected as 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 ...

All-Star in 1999 when he went 14–8 with a 2.92 ERA in 28 starts with the Single-A

Quad Cities River Bandits The Quad Cities River Bandits are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. Their home games are played at Modern Woodmen Park (formerly John O'Donnell Stadium) in Davenport, Iowa, on ...

. Rincón made his major league debut with the Twins on June 7, 2001, against the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

, striking out two in a scoreless inning in relief. He spent eight seasons with the Twins, appearing in 386 games (three starts), ending with a 30–26 record and 3.69 ERA. On May 2, 2005, Rincón became the fifth baseball player to be suspended for testing positive for illegal performance-enhancing drugs under Major League Baseball's drug policy. He was suspended for ten days without pay as the policy dictates for a first offense. On June 12, 2008, Rincón was designated for assignment after refusing an outright assignment to the Triple-A

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Fie ...

. He was released on June 22.

Cleveland Indians

Rincón signed a minor league contract with the

on June 24, 2008. He was 1–1 with a 5.60 ERA in 23 appearances for the Indians.

Detroit Tigers

On January 20, 2009, Rincón was signed by 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 club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

to a minor league contract. He made the major league roster after spring training, but was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

on May 13, 2009, to make room on the active roster for

Dontrelle Willis Dontrelle Wayne Willis (born January 12, 1982), nicknamed "the D-Train", is an American former professional baseball pitcher. A left-hander, he played in Major League Baseball for the Miami Marlins, Florida Marlins, Detroit Tigers, Arizona Diamo ...

. Rincón had three days to accept an outright assignment to the Triple-A

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A baseball team nicknamed the ...

or become a free agent. On May 17, 2009, Rincon rejected an assignment to Toledo and elected free agency. Rincon posted a 5.23 ERA and was 1–0 in seven appearances with the Tigers.

Colorado Rockies

On May 25, 2009, Rincón signed a minor league deal with the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

. He appeared in 26 games with the Rockies, going 3–2 with an ERA of 7.52. Rincón was re-signed by the Rockies to a minor league deal on December 18, 2009. On May 1, 2010, he was designated for assignment to make room for spot starter

Esmil Rogers Esmil Antonio Rogers (born August 14, 1985) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for El Águila de Veracruz of the Mexican League. He has previously played in the KBO League for the Hanwha Eagles and Nexen Heroes, and in the Chinese Pro ...

. On May 3, he was assigned to the Triple-A

Colorado Springs Sky Sox The Colorado Springs Sky Sox were a Minor League Baseball team in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The team played in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and was the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers (2015–2018), Colorado R ...

. He became a free agent on October 15 after he refused an assignment to the minor leagues.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On February 11, 2011, Rincón signed a minor league contract with the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

. He was released at the conclusion of spring training and signed with the

Bridgeport Bluefish The Bridgeport Bluefish were an American minor league baseball team based in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The team was a member of the Liberty Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, which was not affiliated with Major League Baseb ...

of the

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

, where he went 2–1 with 23 saves and a 2.98 ERA in 42 relief appearances.

Los Angeles Angels

Rincón signed a split contract with the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

on February 24, 2012, which did not include an invitation to spring training. Rincón hired Burton Rocks as his agent in 2013 to seek a job as player/coach with a big league organization.

Coaching

On February 23, 2016, the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

hired Rincón to be their new pitching coach for the

Gulf Coast Blue Jays The Florida Complex League Blue Jays are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Blue Jays. The team plays its ...

, their rookie team, for the 2016 season.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rincon, Juan 1979 births Living people Baseball players suspended for drug offenses Bridgeport Bluefish players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Cardenales de Lara players Cleveland Indians players Colorado Rockies players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Detroit Tigers players Edmonton Trappers players Elizabethton Twins players Fort Myers Miracle players Fort Wayne Wizards players Gulf Coast Twins players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Minnesota Twins players Navegantes del Magallanes players New Britain Rock Cats players Quad Cities River Bandits players Rochester Red Wings players Salt Lake Bees players Somerset Patriots players Baseball players from Maracaibo Venezuelan baseball coaches Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Canada Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States Venezuelan sportspeople in doping cases World Baseball Classic players of Venezuela York Revolution players 2013 World Baseball Classic players