BIOGRAPHY
Tanner Rainey was born on December 25, 1992, in Folsom, Louisiana. He is a pitcher in the MLB.
Rainey attended St. Paul's School in Covington, Louisiana. He played college baseball at Southeastern Louisiana University and the University of West Alabama as a pitcher and first baseman. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds as a pitcher in the second round of the 2015 Major League Baseball draft.
On December 12, 2018, the Reds traded Rainey to the Washington Nationals for Tanner Roark. Rainey was called up to the Nationals from the Class-AAA Fresno Grizzlies on May 18, 2019, and swiftly became one of manager Dave Martinez's go-to relievers.
He earned his first career win in relief on June 1, beating Roark and the Reds at Great American Ball Park. In 2019 he was 2-3 with a 3.91 ERA in 52 relief appearances, as he struck out 74 batters in 48.1 innings (13.8 per nine innings). The Nationals finished the 2019 year with a 93-69 record, clinched a wild card spot, and won the World Series over the Houston Astros. Rainey pitched 6.2 innings in the 2019 playoffs including throwing 2 strikeouts and finishing Game 3 of the 2019 NLCS, the first-ever NLCS game at Nationals Park and in Washington, DC history. Rainey pitched 20.1 innings of 2.66 ERA ball in 2020, going along with 32 strikeouts and a 1-1 record.
He improved his numbers in 2022, pitching in 29 games and recording a 3.30 ERA with 12 saves and 36 strikeouts in 30.0 innings of work. On July 13, 2022, Rainey was abruptly placed on the 60-day injured list with a sprain of his ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. On August 3, he underwent Tommy John surgery, ending his season.
On September 29, 2023, Rainey was activated from the injured list to make his season debut and return from surgery.
