Jesús Reyes (baseball)

Jesús Emmanuel Reyes (born February 21, 1993) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the Algodoneros de Unión Laguna of the Mexican League. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds.

Reyes enrolled at ASA College and joined their baseball team where he pitched during his freshman season. He quickly became one of ASA's best pitchers, so the team moved Reyes into their starting rotation after his first outing of the season. In addition to a fastball, Reyes learned to throw a changeup and a slider. He made 9 starts for the Avengers, pitching to a 3–3 win–loss record with a 4.32 earned run average.^[1]

Reyes signed with the Cincinnati Reds as an undrafted free agent on August 28, 2014. ^[2] He made his professional debut in 2015 with the Arizona League Reds and spent the whole season there, collecting a 5–4 record and 3.40 ERA in 13 games (five starts). In 2016, he played for the Dayton Dragons where he went 5–5 with a 2.40 ERA and 1.17 WHIP in 30 games (20 relief appearances), and in 2017, he played for both the Daytona Tortugas and the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, pitching to a combined 8–9 record and 3.60 ERA in 25 total starts between the two teams.^[3]

On November 20, 2017, the Reds added Reyes to their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.^[4]

On August 3, 2018, Reyes was promoted to the major leagues for the first time.^[5] The following day, Reyes made his debut, hitting Spencer Kieboom before throwing two scoreless innings.^[6] Reyes pitched in 5 games (5+2⁄3 innings) out of the Reds bullpen, giving up 2 earned runs for an ERA of 3.18.

On July 18, 2019, Reyes was designated for assignment following the signing of Ryan Lavarnway.^[7] He cleared waivers and was sent outright to the Triple–A Louisville Bats on July 23.^[8] In 43 games for Louisville, Reyes compiled a 5.03 ERA with 64 strikeouts across 77 innings pitched. He did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.^[9]

On December 10, 2020, Reyes was claimed by the New York Mets in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft. In 25 games (19 starts) for the Triple–A Syracuse Mets, he registered a 4–9 record and 5.34 ERA with 105 strikeouts across 118 innings pitched. Reyes elected free agency following the season on November 7, 2021.^[10]

On May 27, 2022, Reyes signed with the Acereros de Monclova of the Mexican League.^[11] He appeared in 15 games and made 8 starts, going 4–1 with a 5.23 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 43 innings. Reyes was released on January 19, 2023.

On June 11, 2023, Reyes signed with the Guerreros de Oaxaca of the Mexican League.^[12] In 18 games for Oaxaca, he logged a 4.45 ERA with 19 strikeouts and 4 saves across 28+1⁄3 innings pitched. On April 8, 2024, Reyes was released by the Guerreros.^[13]

On April 10, 2024, Reyes signed with the Dorados de Chihuahua of the Mexican League.^[14] In 23 games for Chihuahua, Reyes struggled to an 8.55 ERA with 19 strikeouts across 20 innings pitched. He was released on June 8.

On June 12, 2024, Reyes signed with the Algodoneros de Unión Laguna of the Mexican League.^[15] In 19 games 15.2 innings of relief he went 1-0 with a 3.45 ERA and 10 strikeouts.

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)