René Rivera (born July 31, 1983) is a Puerto Rican former 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 ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

. He played in

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) for 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 ...

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

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 ...

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

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, ...

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

Cleveland Indians 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) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

, and

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

Professional career

Seattle Mariners

Rivera was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the second round (49th overall) of the

2001 Major League Baseball Draft The 2001 Major League Baseball draft, was held on June 5 and 6. First round selections Supplemental First Round selections Compensation Picks Background On June 1, 2001, Rolando Viera, a Cuban baseball pitcher who had recently left Cub ...

as a 17-year-old. He was chosen as a compensation pick from the Texas Rangers for the signing of

Alex Rodriguez Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez (born July 27, 1975), nicknamed "A-Rod", is an American former professional baseball shortstop, third baseman and designated hitter and current businessman. Rodriguez played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (ML ...

. Rivera played most of the 2004 season with the High-A

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leagu ...

Inland Empire 66ers but played with both the Triple-A and Major League clubs in September. He made his Major League debut September 22, , playing in two games for the Mariners that season as a late-inning replacement. Rivera began 2005 with the Double-A

San Antonio Missions The San Antonio Missions are a Minor League Baseball team based in San Antonio, Texas. The Missions compete in the Texas League as the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The team plays its home games at Nelson W. W ...

. He was promoted to the Mariners on May 15, but optioned back to San Antonio on May 20 without appearing in a game. He was again promoted to the Mariners on May 30 when starting catcher Miguel Olivo was sent down to Triple-A. On May 31, Rivera had his first Major League start and base hit, going 3 for 5 at the plate. Rivera shared catching duties with Pat Borders in June and was optioned back to San Antonio when Olivo returned. He played with the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers in August and returned to the Mariners in September. In

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, he had 12 starts at catcher and 19 hits in 48 at-bats at the Major League level. Rivera was one of the final players cut from the roster in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

spring training and began the year at Triple-A. He was back with the Mariners by mid-April and served as a back-up to Kenji Johjima for the remainder of the season, batting .152 in 99 at-bats over 35 games. During the off-season, the Mariners weighed the benefits of allowing the young catcher to develop his hitting in the minor leagues against his providing limited offense in a back-up role in the Majors. In , Rivera played for the Mariners Double-A affiliate, the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx, batting .214 in 91 games. He was granted free agency in November.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On November 22, 2007, Rivera signed a minor league contract that included an invitation to

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

with 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 ...

. The Dodgers assigned him to Double-A

Jacksonville Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

to begin the season. While at Jacksonville, Rivera began playing some first base, along with catcher, and was promoted to Triple-A

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

on June 3. He hit .250 across both levels and was granted free agency at the end of the season.

New York Mets

Rivera signed with the

in November 2008. He spent the 2009 season with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, appearing in 63 games at catcher and 3 at third base. He hit .234 with 9 home runs.

Camden Riversharks

Rivera began the 2010 season with the independent Camden Riversharks of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, and the headquarters are l ...

. In 22 games with Camden, Rivera batted .280/.337/.610 with 7 home runs and 19 RBI.

New York Yankees

The

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

signed Rivera on May 20, 2010, to a minor league contract. He was initially assigned to the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees and was later moved to the Double-A

Trenton Thunder The Trenton Thunder are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Trenton, New Jersey, and play their home games at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. From 1994 to 2020, it was a Minor League Baseball team of the D ...

Minnesota Twins

On December 17, 2010, Rivera signed a minor league contract with the

. His contract was purchased by the Twins on May 5, 2011. He was brought up from Triple-A to provide back-up to Drew Butera, who was the Twins' primary catcher with Joe Mauer on the disabled list. He went back to Triple-A in early July, but rejoined the team on August 28 when Mauer was sitting out. He finished the year with the Twins, hitting .144 in 104 at-bats over 45 games on the season. Rivera was granted free agency at the end of the 2011 season, but re-signed with the Twins on a minor league deal and an invitation to spring training. Rivera stayed with the Triple-A

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Fie ...

for the full 2012 season, batting .226 in 95 games. Rivera was displeased with the Twins when he was passed over and they called up catcher Chris Herrmann from Double-A to add depth in September.

San Diego Padres

Rivera was signed to a minor league contract by the

on December 12, 2012. He was recalled from the Triple-A Tucson Padres on July 7, 2013, to replace Yasmani Grandal, who was placed on the disabled list. He was hitting .343 with Tucson at the time of his recall. He remained the backup to Nick Hundley for the rest of the season. In 23 games for San Diego, he hit .254/.268/.328 with 7 RBI and 4 runs. The Padres opened

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

carrying three catchers, and Rivera was selected as the Opening Day catcher. Rivera became the personal catcher for Andrew Cashner during the season and picked up more starts once Nick Hundley was traded in late May. He finished the year with the majority of starts at catcher for the Padres with 85. On August 27, Rivera hit a game-winning single in the 10th inning after hitting a game-tying home run in the 9th inning, becoming the first Padres player since Adrián González in 2010 to have tying and winning RBIs in the same game. On the year, Rivera batted .252 with 11 home runs in 294 at-bats over a total of 103 games.

Tampa Bay Rays

On December 19, 2014, the Padres traded Rivera, Jake Bauers, and Burch Smith to the

in a three-team trade that saw the Rays trade Wil Myers, Jose Castillo and Ryan Hanigan to the Padres, the Padres trade Joe Ross 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 ...

to the

, and Washington trade Steven Souza and Travis Ott to Tampa Bay. In 2015, he was mainly used as the personal catcher for

Chris Archer Christopher Alan Archer (born September 26, 1988) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays, Pittsburgh Pirates and Minnesota Twins. Archer attended Clayton High School ( ...

. Rivera finished the 2015 season hitting .178 with 5 home runs and 26 RBIs. Rivera was released by the Rays on March 30, 2016.

New York Mets (second stint)

On April 5, 2016, Rivera signed a minor league deal with the

. He was called up to the major league team on April 26, 2016, when Travis d'Arnaud was placed on the disabled list. He started for the Mets in their Wild Card game against the San Francisco Giants, going 1 for 3 and throwing out Denard Span. Throughout the season he was Noah Syndergaard and Seth Lugo's personal catcher. Rivera appeared in 65 games for New York, posting a .222/.291/.341 slash line with 6 home runs and 26 RBI. On December 3, 2016, Rivera and the Mets avoided salary arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $1.75 million contract.

Chicago Cubs

On August 19, 2017, the

claimed Rivera off waivers. He was added to the 25-man roster and was the starting catcher for the Cubs the following day against the Toronto Blue Jays. In 20 games with Chicago, Rivera slashed .341/.408/.591 with 2 home runs and 12 RBI.

Los Angeles Angels

On January 9, 2018, Rivera signed with the

. In 30 games with the Angels, Rivera logged a .244/.287/.439 slash line with 4 home runs and 11 RBI.

Atlanta Braves

Rivera was claimed off waivers by the

on August 29, 2018. Rivera appeared in 3 games for Atlanta, and went 0-for-4 with 3 strikeouts.

New York Mets (third stint)

On February 8, 2019, he signed a minor league deal with the

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

. Rivera was released on March 23, 2019. On March 25, 2019, Rivera signed a minor league deal with the

. He was assigned to the Triple-A

Syracuse Mets The Syracuse Mets are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the New York Mets. They are located in Syracuse, New York, and play their home games at NBT Bank Stadium, which ope ...

. On August 24, the Mets selected Rivera's contract. In 9 games with the Mets, Rivera went 4-for-17 with 1 home run and 3 RBI. On January 21, 2020, Rivera re-signed with the Mets on a minor league deal. On July 19, 2020, Rivera was selected to the Mets' 40-man roster. Rivera only appeared in 2 games for the Mets before undergoing season ending surgery to remove a bone spur from his left elbow.

Cleveland Indians

On April 14, 2021, Rivera signed a minor league contract with the

organization. The Indians selected Rivera's contract on May 5. Rivera slashed .236/.300/.400 with 2 home runs and 9 RBI in 21 games before he was designated for assignment on July 3. He was released by the Indians on July 8.

Washington Nationals

On July 16, 2021, Rivera signed a major league contract with the

. He made his Nationals debut at starting catcher the same evening in a game against the

. In 4 games for the Nationals, Rivera hit .214 with 0 home runs and 0 RBI's. On August 14, Rivera was released by the Nationals. On February 17, 2023, Rivera announced his retirement from professional baseball.

Coaching career

On February 21, 2023, Rivera was named manager of the Frederick Keys in the MLB Draft League. In January 2024, Rivera was hired as bench coach for the Lakeland Flying Tigers, the

Single-A Single-A, formerly known as Class A and sometimes as Low-A, is the fourth-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A, Double-A (baseball), Double-A, and High-A. There are 30 teams cl ...

affiliate of the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

. He was promoted to serve as the manager of Lakeland prior to the 2025 season.

Accomplishments

*2004

Mid-Season All-Star team *2002

Northwest League The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseba ...

Post-season All-Star team *MVP of the 2001 Excellence Tournament held in

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

Personal life

Rivera is married to Mariel Perez, daughter of Eddie 'La Bala' Pérez, a founding member of El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico. She gave birth to twins in September 2013.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rivera, Rene 1983 births Living people Baseball players from Bayamón, Puerto Rico Major League Baseball players from Puerto Rico Major League Baseball catchers Seattle Mariners players Minnesota Twins players San Diego Padres players Tampa Bay Rays players New York Mets players Chicago Cubs players Los Angeles Angels players Atlanta Braves players Cleveland Indians players Washington Nationals players Arizona League Mariners players Everett AquaSox players Wisconsin Timber Rattlers players Inland Empire 66ers players Tacoma Rainiers players San Antonio Missions players West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx players Jacksonville Suns players Las Vegas 51s players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees players Trenton Thunder players Camden Riversharks players Rochester Red Wings players Tucson Padres players Gigantes de Carolina (baseball) players Tigres del Licey players Puerto Rican expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Lobos de Arecibo players Senadores de San Juan players Indios de Mayagüez players Leones de Ponce baseball players 2017 World Baseball Classic players Syracuse Mets players Puerto Rican Twitch (service) streamers