Pirates Sign Former Nationals Reliever Tanner Rainey to Minor League Contract

Tanner Rainey was the final remaining member of the Washington Nationals' 2019 World Series roster before he got non-tendered last month, and now he is joining the Pittsburgh Pirates on a minor league deal.

Apr 5, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Nationals relief pitcher Tanner Rainey (21) throws a pitch against the Philadelphia Phillies during the eighth inning at Nationals Park. / Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images

The Pittsburgh Pirates have signed right-handed relief pitcher Tanner Rainey to a minor league contract, Just Baseball's Aram Leighton reported Saturday night.

Rainey spent the past six seasons with the Washington Nationals. However, the Nationals non-tendered the righty last month, booting the final remaining member of their 2019 World Series team into free agency.

The soon-to-be 32-year-old was projected to make $1.9 million in his final year of arbitration. Instead, Rainey will try his luck with the Pirates at their big league Spring Training camp, looking to spin that invite into an Opening Day roster spot.

The Pirates and right-handed reliever Tanner Rainey have agreed to a minor league deal with an invite to big league spring training, sources tell @JustBB_Media

— Aram Leighton (@AramLeighton8) December 8, 2024

Rainey joined the Nationals via a trade with the Cincinnati Reds in December 2018, one that cost Washington longtime starting pitcher Tanner Roark. The righty strung together a solid rookie campaign, going 2-3 with a 3.91 ERA, 1.448 WHIP, 13.8 strikeouts per nine innings and 0.5 WAR before making nine appearances that postseason.

After going 1-1 with a 2.66 ERA, 0.758 WHIP, 14.2 strikeouts per nine innings and 1.0 WAR in 2020, Rainey saw his ERA explode to 7.39 and his WAR dip to -1.1 in 2021. And while he seemed to recover by posting a 3.30 ERA and 0.3 WAR to open 2022, he underwent Tommy John surgery and was out until the final weekend of 2023.

Rainey returned to full strength in 2024, only to put up a 4.76 ERA and 0.1 WAR across his 50 appearances. For his career, Rainey is 5-10 with a 5.23 ERA, 1.483 WHIP, 11.2 strikeouts per nine innings and a -0.1 WAR.

All-Star closer David Bednar is still projected to anchor the Pirates' bullpen, even coming off a lackluster 2024 campaign. Behind him, Dennis Santana, Colin Holderman, Carmen Mlodzinski, Joey Wentz and Kyle Nicolas all remain on the roster after tossing 50-plus innings in the big leagues this season.

It remains to be seen if Rainey will be able to beat out any of them, or recent trade acquisition, Peter Strzelecki, so he could very well end up opening 2025 down in Triple-A.

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