A pitch he couldn’t refuse

Zac Reininger and Logan Watkins shared a laugh as they hit ground balls to the Winnipeg Goldeyes infielders during batting practice Wednesday.

They may have joked about Reininger, a pitcher, taking swings before starting a game later that evening — an unconventional approach for the position — or relived a funny story from their playing days.

As funny as it may sound for a player and manager, Reininger and Watkins share one of the closest relationships on the Goldeyes this season.

In fact, the biggest driver for the strong-arm from San Antonio, Texas, agreeing to come out of retirement and play in Winnipeg was knowing Watkins would be at the helm.

“If I was going to pitch in this league, I would want to do it for him,” Reininger told the Free Press ahead of his start against the Chicago Dogs at the downtown park.

Reininger, 31, and Watkins, 34, go back to spring training in 2017 as members of the Erie Seawolves, the double-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers.

That year both players would bounce around the Tigers’ system but spent much of the season (70 games) on the same team, even following each other to triple-A for a time with the Toledo Mud Hens.

Playing different positions — Reininger a relief pitcher and Watkins an infielder — they spent little time together but shared a respect for each other’s game.

“He was a bullpen guy so he hung out around other pitchers, and I was one of those guys that was never really super close to pitchers,” Watkins said. “But he was one of the guys I did like and got along with really well. He’s from Texas and I’m from Kansas so similar traditional values and stuff like that. We got along and liked a lot of the same things.

“What I remember most about him is he had a really good arm,” he continued. “He was obviously out of the bullpen back then so he was mid-to-upper 90s (m.p.h.) and I knew he was probably going to pitch in the big leagues, which he ultimately did, which was cool to see.”

Reininger, who went on to play 53 career games for the Tigers, returned: “Him and this other guy we had, Zack Cox, had some big league time when we had signed him. Having those guys in the clubhouse and behind you in the field, especially, is always a huge plus.

“I mean, you come out here every other day and watch, I’ll hit and he’ll go field and stuff and can still play. So, it’s good having those guys behind you that are a little bit more veteran status when I was 24 years old at that time. It was cool having that relationship with him.”

Reininger and Watkins are a prime example of how connections can be paramount in baseball.

After the 2017 season, Watkins went to independent ball and remained out of touch until he started recruiting players to the Cleburne Railroaders as a manager in 2022. Reininger wasn’t one of those recruits as he worked back from a second Tommy John surgery, but Watkins leaned on his former teammate for a scouting report on players that spent time in the Tigers system.

Later that year, it was Reininger who needed a favour. Fully healthy from the elbow injury and looking to play, he asked Watkins to take him into Cleburne, which was a couple of hours from his house. While he only pitched two innings as a member of the Railroaders, his relationship with Watkins grew.

“After contacting him and pitching for him in Cleburne, we kind of just clicked and it just seemed like a good relationship — we became good friends,” Reininger said.

Reininger retired in 2023 after failing to generate any interest from MLB affiliate clubs. The itch to be on the mound persisted, however, and it became an easy decision to put on the cleats again when Watkins phoned him in February to come to Winnipeg.

“Coming out of retirement is never an easy decision — it’s easier than going into retirement — but I looked at trying to get into affiliate ball and stuff but I just decided if I’m coming here I’m gonna play for him,” Reininger said. “Just a good coach and he knows baseball really well and treats his players really well so it’s a good atmosphere.”

Since Reininger arrived, the two have been closer than ever before, going for dinner on a few occasions and even hitting the links on an off day.

“Typically, you don’t like to fraternize with the players a ton but him being a friend before he was ever a player of mine kind of makes it a little bit less formal,” Watkins said. “I’d say he’s one of my better friends on the team.”

“Managing in Cleburne the last three years, I had former teammates on my team. So I’m kind of used to that by now, I guess, just being so recently removed from playing myself. The weird part is — and this isn’t gonna happen in Zac’s case — if you have to release or trade one of your friends. I haven’t had that happen yet but I imagine that would make things a little bit different. But again, I brought him here knowing that he’s gonna be a good starter for us so I don’t anticipate that happening.”

After beginning the season by allowing 14 hits, eight earned runs and three home runs in 12 innings of work, Reininger had his best outing in a Goldeyes uniform during a 2-1 win over the Dogs on Wednesday evening.

Reininger, who was credited with the win, tossed six innings, striking out five while allowing just three hits and a walk.

Adam Hall and Dayson Croes each continue to see the ball well, each going two-for-three at the plate. Hall accounted for both of the Goldeyes runs in the contest, the first coming on a hit by Max Murphy in the first inning and the other coming on a balk by Dogs pitcher Kenny Serwa in the sixth, which stood as the game-winning score.

General McArthur IV registered the only run for the visitors on an error in the fifth inning.

Ryder Yakel (two strikeouts), Tasker Strobel (one strikeout) and Justin Courtney (two strikeouts), who earned the save, each pitched one inning in relief.

The Goldeyes (5-7) will wrap up a three-game series against the Dogs (5-6) on Thursday.

“He’s looked great,” Watkins said of Reininger. “He throws strikes, which, a lot of times when you deal with independent ball pitchers, a lot of times the reasons that they’re here is because they’ve got good arms but they haven’t been able to find the strike zone.

“So, having guys that you trust that can throw strikes and still have a good arm like Zac does is pretty invaluable.”

[email protected]

X: @jfreysam