Luis Jose Rengifo (born February 26, 1997) is a Venezuelan professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

for the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2019.

Career

Seattle Mariners

Rengifo signed with the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

as an international free agent in March 2014. He made his professional debut that year with the Venezuelan Summer League Mariners, batting .198 with one home run and 20 runs batted-in in 64 games. He played 2015 with the

Dominican Summer League Mariners The Dominican Summer League Mariners or DSL Mariners are a Minor league baseball team in the Dominican Summer League. They play in the Boca Chica South Division. They are a Seattle Mariners Rookie-Level affiliate. Notable players * Julio Rodrígu ...

where he slashed .336/.405/.465 with two home runs, 35 runs batted in, and 19 stolen bases in 60 games, 2016 with the

Arizona League Mariners The Arizona Complex League Mariners are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Seattle Mariners, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Arizona. The team is comp ...

where he hit .239 in 34 games, and started 2017 with the

Clinton LumberKings The Clinton LumberKings are a collegiate summer baseball team of the Prospect League. They are located in Clinton, Iowa, and play their home games at NelsonCorp Field. From 1956 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's Midwest Leag ...

Tampa Bay Rays

On August 6, 2017, the Mariners traded Rengifo along with

Anthony Misiewicz Anthony Misiewicz ( ; born November 1, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Minnesota Twins organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, Kansas City Royals, Arizona Diamondba ...

and a

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

(Osmy Gregorio), to the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

for

Mike Marjama Michael Gregory Marjama (born July 20, 1989) is an American former professional baseball catcher and current coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners and in college baseball for the Long Beach State Dirtbags. Play ...

and

Ryan Garton Ryan Patrick Garton (born December 5, 1989) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2016 and 2017 and the Seattle Mariners in 2017 and 2019. Career Tampa Bay Rays Ga ...

. He finished the season with the

Bowling Green Hot Rods The Bowling Green Hot Rods are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and play their home games at Bowling Green Ballpark, which ...

. In 125 games between Clinton and Bowling Green, he hit .250 with 12 home runs, 52 runs batted in, and 34 stolen bases.

Los Angeles Angels

On March 20, 2018, Rengifo was acquired by the

as the player to be named later from an earlier trade for C. J. Cron. He started the season with the

Inland Empire 66ers The Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. The 66ers are based in San Bernardino, California, and play at San Manuel Stadium. Franchi ...

and was promoted to the

Mobile BayBears The Mobile BayBears were a Minor League Baseball team based in Mobile, Alabama, United States. The team, which played in the Southern League, served as the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres (1997–2006), Arizona Diamondbacks (2007–2 ...

and

Salt Lake Bees The Salt Lake Bees are a Minor League Baseball (MiLB) team that plays in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. Based in South Jordan, Utah, the team plays its home games at The Ballpark at Am ...

during the season. In 127 games between the three clubs, he hit .299/.399/.452 with seven home runs, 64 runs batted in, 41 stolen bases, and 109 runs scored. On November 20, 2018, the Angels added Rengifo to their

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

to protect him from the

Rule 5 draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

. He began 2019 back with Salt Lake. On April 25, he was called up to the major league roster, and made his major league debut that night. He finished the season hitting .238 with seven home runs and 33 runs batted in during 108 games. In early 2020, Rengifo was nearly traded to the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

in exchange for

Joc Pederson Joc Russell Pederson ( ; born April 21, 1992) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, Atlanta Braves, San ...

and

Ross Stripling Thomas Ross Stripling (born November 23, 1989) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Toronto Blue Jays, San Francisco Giants, and Oakland Athletics. Stripling p ...

, but the trade fell through. Rengifo began the season as the Angels' primary second baseman but struggled and was sent down to the minors. He finished with a .156 batting average in 33 games. Rengifo played in 54 games for the Angels in 2021, slashing .201/.246/.310 with six home runs and 18 RBI. On September 16, 2022, Rengifo recorded his first multi-home run game, in an 8–7 home victory over his former organization, the Seattle Mariners. He went 3–for–5, hit a solo home run off of starter Robbie Ray as a right-handed batter, and hit a 3-run shot off reliever

Matt Festa Matthew Joseph Festa (born March 11, 1993) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Cleveland Guardians of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Seattle Mariners, New York Mets, and Texas Rangers (baseba ...

as a left-handed batter. In 2022 he batted .264/.294/.429. He walked in 3.3% of his plate appearances, the lowest percentage of all qualified major league batters. 15.8% of pitches thrown to him were curveballs, the highest such percentage in the majors. In 2023, Rengifo enjoyed a career year that saw him play in 126 games and hit .264/.339/.444 with 16 home runs, 51 RBI, and 6 stolen bases. On September 5, 2023, Rengifo was named the American League Player of the Week after he batted went 11–for–25 (.440) with a 1.207 OPS, 3 home runs, and 7 RBI in the week. On September 7, Rengifo suffered a ruptured biceps tendon while in the on–deck circle during a game against the

Cleveland Guardians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. Since , the team has played its home gam ...

. Two days later, he was placed on the injured list, and it was announced that he would miss the remainder of the season as a result of the injury. Rengifo played in 78 games for Los Angeles in 2024, hitting .300/.347/.417 with six home runs, 30 RBI, and 24 stolen bases. On August 6, 2024, it was announced that Rengifo would miss the remainder of the season after undergoing wrist surgery.

Personal life

On September 16, 2021, it was reported that Rengifo had been charged by

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

n authorities with forging divorce documents and selling property without his ex-wife's consent. The incident allegedly happened in July 2019, with the documents being legalized in December 2020. Rengifo's father, sister and lawyer were arrested and detained that same day. An arrest warrant was issued for Rengifo, though it is unclear if

extradition In an extradition, one Jurisdiction (area), jurisdiction delivers a person Suspect, accused or Conviction, convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, into the custody of the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforc ...

will be requested.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rengifo, Luis 1997 births Living people Arizona League Mariners players Bowling Green Hot Rods players Clinton LumberKings players Dominican Summer League Mariners players Inland Empire 66ers players Leones del Escogido players Los Angeles Angels players Major League Baseball infielders Major League Baseball players from Venezuela 21st-century Venezuelan sportsmen Mobile BayBears players Navegantes del Magallanes players Salt Lake Bees players Baseball players from Carabobo Venezuelan Summer League Mariners players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States 2023 World Baseball Classic players