Catcher Rene Pinto has cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A Reno by the Diamondbacks, according to Alex Weiner of AZ Sports. Pinto does not have the requisite service time or previous outright necessary to reject the assignment, so he’ll remain in the organization as non-roster depth going forward.
Pinto entered camp with Arizona in the mix to back up Gabriel Moreno alongside Adrian Del Castillo and Jose Herrera. The job ultimately went to Herrera, which necessitated the club designating Pinto for assignment as he had no minor league options remaining. The 28-year-old signed with the Rays out of Venezuela as an amateur and made his pro debut back in 2014. He’s spent his entire pro career in a Rays uniform prior to this winter, when the Rays DFA’d him in November and he was claimed off waivers by the Orioles. He stuck with Baltimore throughout much of the offseason but was DFA’d once again to make room for Charlie Morton on the club’s 40-man roster, at which point he was claimed by Arizona.
Pinto made his big league debut with the Rays back in 2022. The cup of coffee lasted only 25 games, and he hit just .213/.241/.325 during that time. Despite that meager performance in the majors, however, Pinto turned in a strong season at Triple-A as he slashed a strong .266/.320/.521 across 73 games at the level. That was enough to earn Pinto additional opportunities in Tampa, and he generally performed much better in them. 2023 saw Pinto appear in 38 games in the majors, hitting a respectable .252/.267/.456 with six homers in just 103 trips to the plate.
That intriguing combination of power and strong defense behind the plate was enough to make the Rays comfortable making Pinto their starting catcher to open the 2024 season. Unfortunately, Pinto didn’t last very long in the role. While he hit a respectable .214/.292/.429 that clocked in above league average over 19 games, those would be the only 19 games Pinto would play in the majors last year as he ceded playing time to a tandem of Ben Rortvedt and Alex Jackson. The catcher didn’t exactly go on to make a case for himself to get another shot in the majors upon being optioned to Triple-A, either, hitting just .191/.257/.373 in 53 games for the club’s Durham affiliate.
Now that Pinto has cleared waivers and been outrighted to the minors, he likely stands as the next man up to help out behind the plate in the event of an injury to either Moreno or Herrera. Normally, that role would appear more likely to go to Del Castillo given that he remains on the 40-man roster while Pinto does not, Weiner notes that Del Castillo has been placed on the minor league’s 7-day injured list. It’s unclear what ailment is bothering Del Castillo or how long he’ll be out of action at this point, but until he returns he won’t be able to serve as a fill-in catcher in the majors fro the Diamondbacks.
Pinto could have served as an ideal backup for teams who understand that a catcher’s defensive value and ability to step in at a moment’s notice can be just as impactful as the occasional homer.
I’m not sure if Pinto is a better defensive catcher than Herrera but I think the Diamondbacks just decided to roll with the guy that is the longest tenured player in the organisation, is already on the 40 man and had a nice spring training for his standards.
@Lets Go DBacks
Longevity in an organization and a decent spring are fine tiebreakers, but backup catchers are often about risk management. Pinto has already shown he can step in and hold his own against MLB pitching, while Herrera has struggled offensively in every major league stint (.189/.250/.257 career line). Given that backup catchers get sporadic playing time, a team benefits more from a player with a track record of handling that role effectively. Pinto’s power threat and prior experience in a starter’s role give him more upside if pressed into extended duty, making him a more practical choice beyond just familiarity with the org.
York
You miss the point Let’s go Dbacks is making when you say familiarity with the organization isn’t a sufficient reason to choose one catcher over another. The point is that Herrera is familiar with the pitching staff. Which is the other side of the equation from your point.
You started out by speaking of Pinto’s defensive value, but then shifted to his offensive superiority. When you speak only of the catcher’s offensive contributions or potential contributions as the rationale for selecting Pinto over Herrera., you have missed the point. Citing Pinto’s general defensive reputation doesn’t come even close to comparing with Herrera’s multiple years of experience with most of the Dbacks’ staff.
Specific to the 2nd string catcher on any team, offense is virtually irrelevant/merely a bonus if it happens. A 2nd string catcher must first and foremost handle that specific team’s pitching staff, and that comes only with familiarity.
So, the choice between Herrera and Pinto was really a no brainer. It was not an organization’s philosophical shortcoming. It was actually all organization’s strength in recognizing what is best for the team for each specific role.
In addition to PINTO, Also soon to be on the DFA bubble:
Bobcat, Vega, Astra, Horizon, and Omni !!