Reyes Moronta, former San Francisco Giants pitcher, dies at 31 in traffic accident

Former major league pitcher Reyes Moronta, who dominated out of the San Francisco Giants' bullpen for two seasons, died Sunday. He was 31.

According to multiple reports, Moronta died in a traffic accident in his home country of the Dominican Republic.

Moronta's death was confirmed on social media early Monday morning by the Mexican Baseball League and by the Bravos de Leon, his former team in the league.

Moronta spent parts of seven seasons with four different major league teams, including four-plus seasons with the Giants, from 2017 to 2023. The right-hander appeared in two games last season with the Los Angeles Angels before signing earlier this year with the Bravos de Leon, who released him last week.

After appearing in seven games with the Giants in 2017, Moronta emerged as one of San Francisco's top relievers the following year. He went 8-9 with a 2.66 ERA in 125 combined relief appearances during the 2018 and 2019 seasons, striking out 149 batters over 121.2 innings.

Moronta suffered a shoulder injury in September 2019 and missed the entire 2020 season before returning to the Giants the following year. He posted a 3.05 ERA in 177 career games with the Giants, Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks.