Prior to the pandemic interrupting the facets of everything in the world, Rene Pinto had been an organizational soldier for the Tampa Bay Rays. He served as a backstop throughout the lower rungs of the organization, mainly serving as the backup catcher at each level he was playing in.
Although he never merited that much attention as a prospect, Pinto had always posted solid offensive results as he hit .280/.335/.419 over 1,422 plate appearances from 2014 through 2019, with the Venezuelan reaching Double-A Montgomery in 2019.
In 2020, Pinto would be added to the alternate training site as the minor league season would be cancelled due to pandemic, and then became a free agent upon the conclusion of the season by rule.