The Orioles claimed Pinto off waivers from the Rays on Monday, Matt Weyrich of The Baltimore Sun reports.
Pinto began the 2024 season as the Rays' starting catcher but was sent down in early May after a slow start and was never recalled. The 28-year-old has hit .231/.263/.404 with 10 home runs over 82 games at the big-league level. Baltimore has an opening at backup catcher and Pinto will be a candidate to fill it.
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Rays' Rene Pinto: Sent down to Durham
Rotowire
Pinto was optioned to Triple-A Durham on Friday, Tricia Whitaker of Bally Sports Sun reports.
Pinto will get an opportunity to re-find his swing at Triple-A after going 2-for-16 (.125) in his last eight games. Alex Jackson was called up in a corresponding move to act as the Rays' secondary catcher.
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Rays' Rene Pinto: Draws back into lineup
Rotowire
Pinto will start at catcher and bat ninth in Sunday's game against the Giants, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Pinto is back in the starting nine for the series finale, but he had been excluded from the lineup in each of the previous three contests while Ben Rortvedt handled catching duties for the Rays. At this stage, Pinto appears to have moved into a timeshare at catcher, if he's not already being viewed as the No. 2 option behind Rortvedt.
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Rays' Rene Pinto: In timeshare at catcher
Rotowire
Pinto is absent from the lineup Friday against the Giants.
It's been an even timeshare at catcher this season for the Rays, as Pinto and Ben Rortvedt -- who is in Friday's lineup -- have both received seven starts. Pinto has put up a .579 OPS with a 1:11 BB:K in 23 plate appearances and is still looking for his first RBI this season.
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Rays' Rene Pinto: Sitting out Saturday
Rotowire
Pinto isn't in the Rays' lineup for Saturday's game against the Rockies, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Pinto has struck out in each of his last five at-bats since Tuesday, so he'll get a day to regroup Saturday. Ben Rortvedt will fill in behind the dish and bat eighth.
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Rays' Rene Pinto: Takes seat Friday
Rotowire
Pinto is out of the lineup for Friday's game versus the Blue Jays.
The 27-year-old started behind the plate Opening Day and went 1-for-3 with a double, a run and a strikeout. Pinto is expected to serve as Tampa Bay's primary backstop this season, but the newly acquired Ben Rortvedt will receive the nod Friday.
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Rays' Rene Pinto: Set up for big workload
Rotowire
Rays manager Kevin Cash said Tuesday that the team is "going to lean heavy" on Pinto at catcher this season, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
The Rays traded Christian Bethancourt this offseason and didn't really replace him, leaving Alex Jackson and Rob Brantly to battle for the backup job. Pinto popped six home runs in 38 games last season and rated very well from an average exit velocity (90.5 mph) and barrel rate (15.9 percent) perspective, but a 34:2 K:BB was worrisome. It sounds like he's going to receive all the playing time he can handle, and he has enough power to be relevant in two-catcher leagues.
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Rays' Rene Pinto: Cranks sixth homer
Rotowire
Pinto went 1-for-3 with a two-run homer in Tuesday's 9-7 win over the Red Sox.
Pinto extended Tampa's lead to 7-0 in the third inning with a two-run, 424-foot blast off Tanner Houck. The 26-year-old Pinto has taken over as the Rays' primary option behind the plate -- he's gone 10-for-50 (.200) in his last 16 games, though five of his hits have been home runs. Overall, Pinto's batting .245 with a .717 OPS, six homers, 16 RBI and eight runs scored through 96 plate appearances this season.
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Rays' Rene Pinto: Gets breather Saturday
Rotowire
Pinto isn't in the Rays' lineup Saturday against the Blue Jays, Steve Carney of StPeteNine.com reports.
After going 0-for-7 with three strikeouts across his last two games, Pinto will take a seat Saturday as Christian Bethancourt starts behind the plate and bats eighth.
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Rays' Rene Pinto: Receives Wednesday off
Rotowire
Pinto is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Angels.
Pinto has operated as Tampa Bay's primary backstop over the past couple weeks and has an .846 OPS over 39 at-bats in September, but he'll head to the bench for Wednesday's contest. Christian Bethancourt will take over behind the plate and bat ninth.
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Rays' Rene Pinto: Out of lineup Sunday
Rotowire
Pinto is absent from the lineup Sunday at Baltimore.
Pinto started behind the plate Friday and Saturday and went a combined 1-for-7 with a strikeout and a run scored. Christian Bethancourt will handle the catching for the Rays in Sunday's series finale.
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Rays' Rene Pinto: Takes seat Thursday
Rotowire
Pinto is not in the lineup Thursday against the Orioles.
Pinto has posted an impressive .818 OPS with five home runs in 26 games (71 plate appearances) since being called up from Triple-A Durham in late July, but it'll be Christian Bethancourt handling the catching duties for the Rays on Thursday in Baltimore.
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Rays' Rene Pinto: Moves into timeshare at catcher
Rotowire
Pinto will start at catcher and bat ninth in Sunday's game against the Guardians, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Pinto seems to have moved into a timeshare at catcher with Christian Bethancourt, as the two backstops have now alternated turns behind the plate over the past 12 games. Since his call-up from Triple-A Durham on July 21, Pinto is hitting .295 but hasn't offered much production in other categories (one home run, no stolen bases, five RBI and two runs over 46 plate appearances).
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Rays' Rene Pinto: Retreats to bench Wednesday
Rotowire
Pinto is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rockies, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Pinto had started behind the dish in three of the Rays' last four games, going 3-for-11 with a home run and four RBI. Despite the uptick in playing time of late, Pinto is still expected to serve as the Rays' No. 2 catcher behind Christian Bethancourt, who is back behind the dish Wednesday. Pinto should still have a decent amount of job security on the major-league roster after the Rays designated Francisco Mejia (knee) for assignment Tuesday upon reinstating him from the 10-day injured list.
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Rays' Rene Pinto: Nearing return
Rotowire
Pinto (undisclosed) began a rehab assignment Monday, Kristie Ackert of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Pinto has been sidelined since late May with an undisclosed injury, though he appears to be nearing a return. He may get a chance in the majors immediately, as Francisco Mejia (knee) exited Thursday's game against the Orioles and could be forced to miss time.
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Rays' Rene Pinto: Not on wild-card roster
Rotowire
Pinto was left off the Rays' 26-man roster ahead of their AL Wild Card Series with the Guardians.
With Francisco Mejia returning from the paternity list Friday, Pinto was no longer needed to serve as the backup option behind Christian Bethancourt at catcher heading into the postseason. The 25-year-old Pinto produced a .213 average with two homers, 10 RBI and five runs scored over 25 games in the big leagues this season and appears unlikely to be considered for a roster spot moving forward barring any injuries.
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Rays' Rene Pinto: Sent to minors
Rotowire
Pinto was optioned to Triple-A Durham on Friday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
The 25-year-old was promoted in late July when Francisco Mejia (shoulder) landed on the 10-day IL, and Pinto will return to Triple-A after Mejia was reinstated Friday. Pinto has appeared in 22 games for Tampa Bay this year and has a .206/.239/.309 slash line and 43.7 percent strikeout rate in 71 plate appearances.
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Rays' Rene Pinto: Gets Tuesday off
Rotowire
Pinto is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Blue Jays, Neil Solondz of the Rays Radio Network reports.
After starting three of the past four games behind the plate, Pinto will cede catching duties to Christian Bethancourt on Tuesday. Though Pinto temporarily finds himself atop the depth chart at catcher, both he and Bethancourt could soon see their opportunities take a hit after top backstop Francisco Mejia (shoulder) was cleared to begin a rehab assignment Tuesday with the Rays' rookie-level Florida Complex League affiliate.
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Rays' Rene Pinto: Dropped from active roster
Rotowire
The Rays optioned Pinto to Triple-A Durham on Monday.
Pinto was sent to the minors after Tampa Bay added another catcher to their ranks in Christian Bethancourt, whom the team acquired from the Athletics over the weekend. Though he had seemed to work his way into a timeshare behind the plate with Francisco Mejia while Mike Zunino (shoulder) has been on the shelf, Pinto didn't perform well enough to stick around as a third backstop. Over his month-long stay with the big club, Pinto slashed .205/.225/.282 across 12 games.
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Rays' Rene Pinto: Recalled from Triple-A
Rotowire
Pinto was called up from Triple-A Durham on Friday.
He was recalled Friday to take the open roster spot of Mike Zunino (shoulder) who was placed on the 10-day injured list. Pinto has gone 3-for-15 with a homer and two RBI in five games with the Rays this season.
