Former Major League Pitcher Dies at 31: Reports

The Bravos de Leon of the Mexican League confirmed the death of pitcher Reyes Moronta, 31, who was active in Major League Baseball as recently as last year.

According to multiple reports, Moronta died in a traffic accident in the Dominican Republic while driving a four-wheeler.

In 177 major league games, all as a reliever, Moronta went 10-11 with a 3.05 ERA and 202 strikeouts in 171.1 innings. He appeared in parts of six seasons for the San Francisco Giants (2017-21), Los Angeles Dodgers (2022), Arizona Diamondbacks (2022) and Los Angeles Angels (2023).

Moronta was 2-4 with an 8.69 ERA in 19 games this season with Leon. He was under contract to Águilas Cibaeñas of the Dominican League for the 2024-25 winter season.

Moronta was originally signed as an amateur by the Giants out of the Dominican Republic in 2010. He made his major league debut in Sept. 2017. The right-hander quickly established himself as a hard-throwing fastball/slider pitcher who limited damaging contact and could miss bats in high-leverage situations.

Moronta underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder in Sept. 2019. He would miss the entire 2020 campaign while rehabbing from surgery. Back on the mound in 2021, he was limited to only four innings that year by an elbow sprain. That would prove to be his final season in San Francisco.

With the Giants, Moronta had a 2.65 ERA in 136 games while striking out more than a batter an inning.

Moronta signed with the Dodgers as a free agent in March 2022. He would end up splitting the 2022 season between Los Angeles and the Arizona Diamondbacks, going a combined 2-2 with a 4.30 ERA in 39 games (37.2 innings).

Moronta spent spring training of 2023 with the Texas Rangers as a non-roster invitee, but was released from his minor league contract in March. After a brief stint in Mexico, he signed a minor league deal with the Angels in May.

In his final major league stint, Moronta would make two appearances with the Angels in a five-day span, then was designated for assignment on May 26. He finished out the year with the Angels’ Triple-A affiliate, making 34 appearances, walking 36 batters and striking out 52 across 40.2 innings.

According to his MLB transactions page, Moronta signed as a free agent with the Bravos de León in May and was released just this past Thursday.

Mike Rodriguez was first to report the news of Moronta’s death via Twitter/X:

Hector Gomez reported that Moronta died while driving home on a four-wheeler. According to the Dominican news outlet El Pregonero, the accident occurred in the Quinigua neighborhood of the Santiago province, in front of his father’s house. Father’s Day was observed Sunday in the Dominican Republic.