Former Phillies’ minor league pitcher of the year Ricardo Pinto is BACK, will get a non-roster invite to Spring Training

Drew Smith
February 16, 2024
Phillies
0 Comments

Former Philadelphia Phillies reliever Ricardo Pinto is back with the ball club on a minor league contract that includes an invitation to Spring Training.

Ricardo Pinto is BACK with the Phillies

Ricardo Pinto pasó su examen físico con los #Phillies y su firma ahora es oficial.

El MVP de la final de la #LVBP y la Serie del Caribe recibe un contrato de liga menor con invitación a Spring Training. #RingTheBell | #ElExtrabase⚾️🇻🇪 pic.twitter.com/sQZ1UgHB9F
— El Extrabase ⚾️ (@ElExtrabase) February 16, 2024

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Listen, I understand that no one really gives a shit about minor league contracts and non-roster invitees to Spring Training (unless we’re talking Scott Kingery) but Pinto has the goods but for whatever reason, hasn’t been able to piece it all together over the last decade.

Scott Kingery and the return of Jetpax SZN is back on the table >>

Lately, he’s been pretty good. Pinto won MVP in the Caribbean Series, as a member of the Venezuelan team.

Ricardo Pinto Revenge Tour

Caribbean Series: Most Valuable Player Award: 2-0; 0.83 ERA; 10.2 IP; 1 R, 14 K, 3 BB

Venezuela Finals: 2-0; 0.00 ERA; 14.0 IP, 0 R, 11 K, 6 BB

Pinto, now 30-years old, signed with the Philadelphia Phillies as an international free agent in December 2011. He made his debut with the Venezuelan Summer League Phillies in 2012 until 2013. From there, he spent 2015 with the Lakewood BlueClaws and Clearwater Threshers.

Pinto won the Paul Owens Award as the Phillies Minor League Pitcher of the Year after posting a 15-4 record with a 2.97 ERA and 105 strikeouts that season.

He was officially added to the Phillies 40-man roster after the 2016 season and spent 2017 in Lehigh Valley before getting the call on May 31st that season to make his MLB debut.

All that sounds great, however Pinto pitched two innings in relief, allowing four runs on six hits along with three walks and a home run, and struck out two.

Other Stops in the MLB:

2018: Chicago White Sox
2019: Tampa Bay Rays / San Francisco Giants
2021: Detroit Tigers

Most recently, he’s been playing baseball in the Mexican League, appearing in 9 games (5 Starts) for Diablos Rojos del México. He posted a 3.34 ERA with 18 strikeouts in just over 32 innings of work.