SF Giants announce the passing of hard-throwing reliever Reyes Moronta

Earlier this week, the SF Giants family received devastating news. The club confirmed that reliever Reyes Moronta had passed away over the weekend.

SF Giants announce the passing of hard-throwing reliever Reyes Moronta

The Giants held a moment of silence before Tuesday's game against the Oakland A's in recognition of Moronta's life. He was only 31 years old.

It is really difficult to reflect on someone's life when he had so much left in front of him. 31 years is just far too young for life to come to an end but life can be tragic that way.

The Giants signed Moronta as an international free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2010. He debuted with the club in 2017 where he posted a 2.70 ERA in 6.2 frames to finish out that year. Even in a small sample, it was pretty clear that the righty reliever had something special going.

Not only did Moronta have a mid-90's fastball with late, downward movement, but he threw a slider that swept across the plate. It was never a comfortable at-bat for opposing hitters.

The hard-throwing reliever played for the Giants during some lean years in the late 2010's. That said, he was one of the few bright spots and he looked like he would eventually become the team's closer.

That did not exactly come to fruition as he sustained a career-altering shoulder injury after releasing a pitch in a game against the San Diego Padres late in the 2019 season. Moronta did return to the mound briefly with San Francisco during the 2021 season before becoming a free agent. The fact that he was able to even pitch again after the injury was a miracle.

During his time with the Giants, he made 136 appearances with a 2.65 ERA. He gained the trust of Bruce Bochy as many of those outings were in high-leverage spots. The veteran pitcher had brief stints with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Los Angeles Angels as well. Moronta had been throwing for Bravos de Leon of the Mexican League before his unfortunate passing.

We at Around the Foghorn would like to extend our condolences to Moronta's friends and family as they go through this difficult time.