Tony Renda

Anthony John Renda (born January 24, 1991) is an American former professional baseball second baseman who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds and the Boston Red Sox. Before his professional career, he attended the University of California, Berkeley, and played college baseball for the California Golden Bears.

Early life Renda attended Junípero Serra High School in San Mateo, California, where he played for the school's baseball team. In three seasons on the varsity team, Renda recorded 139 hits, breaking former Major League Baseball player Gregg Jeffries' school record.

College career He began his collegiate career as a third baseman, but transitioned into a second baseman.

Professional career Washington Nationals Minor leagues The Los Angeles Dodgers selected Renda in the 42nd round of the 2009 MLB draft.

Renda made his professional debut with the Auburn Doubledays of the Low–A New York–Penn League in 2012. He played 71 games for Auburn. In 2013, Renda played for the Hagerstown Suns of the Single–A South Atlantic League, where he had a .294 batting average, 99 runs scored, 51 runs batted in, and 30 stolen bases in 135 games. After the season, he won the inaugural Bob Boone Award for his "professionalism, leadership, loyalty, passion, selflessness, durability, makeup, intangibles and tremendous work ethic." In 2014, Renda played for the Potomac Nationals of the High–A Carolina League. After the season, the Nationals assigned Renda to the Mesa Solar Sox of the Arizona Fall League (AFL). He was named to the AFL's All-Star Game and Top Prospects Team.

Renda began the 2015 season with the Harrisburg Senators of the Double-A Eastern League, where he hit .267 through 54 games.

New York Yankees On June 11, 2015, the Nationals traded Renda to the New York Yankees in exchange for David Carpenter. The Yankees assigned Renda to the Double–A Trenton Thunder of the Eastern League. Renda played 73 games for Trenton, batting .270 with two home runs and 21 RBI.

Cincinnati Reds On December 28, 2015, the Yankees traded Renda, Caleb Cotham, Eric Jagielo, and Rookie Davis to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for Aroldis Chapman. Renda began the 2016 season with the Pensacola Blue Wahoos of the Double-A Southern League, and received a promotion to the Louisville Bats of the Triple-A International League in June. He batted .326 in Double-A, and .276 in Triple-A.

Major leagues The Reds promoted Renda to the major leagues for the first time on August 2. He made his major league debut that day, and got his first major league hit in his first at bat off Jonathan Broxton of the St. Louis Cardinals, an infield bunt single. The hit was first recorded as a sacrifice bunt and error, but was changed to a hit several days later. Overall, with the 2016 Reds, Renda appeared in 32 games, batting .183 (11-for-60) with three RBI.

Renda began the 2017 season with Triple-A Louisville, appearing in 51 games with a .260 average.

Arizona Diamondbacks On July 3, 2017, the Reds traded Renda to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for a player to be named later. He was assigned to the Reno Aces of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League, batting .185 (5-for-27) in eight games, spending mid-July though late September on the disabled list. Renda was optioned back to Triple-A on August 8, without making another appearance. Renda was outrighted to the minors on November 1, removing him from the 40-man roster; he elected free agency on November 2. Renda became a 2018 World Series champion following Boston's victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

On November 29, 2018, Renda re-signed with the Red Sox on a minor league contract. He started the 2019 season with Triple-A Pawtucket, batting .200 (4-for-20) in five games. Renda elected free agency following the season on November 4, 2019.

Personal life Renda was born in Santa Rosa, California, and grew up in Hillsborough, California. His mother, Larree, began a career at Safeway, Inc. as a bagger, and worked her way up into an executive position. His father, Frank, a construction worker, died at age 56, when Renda was 19.