Conversations with the Herd: Rainer Núñez

By: Brian Frank

Rainer Núñez grew up in La Romana, Dominican Republic. As a youngster, he honed his baseball skills at El Niche Baseball Academy in Santo Domingo.

“I had a great experience,” Núñez said of his time at Niche in a recent interview with The Herd Chronicles. “That’s when I developed and everything. Thank god I had that opportunity to get into that academy.”

Although scouts followed him closely, the 6’3” infielder was surprised when the Blue Jays ended up being the team that signed him.

“The Blue Jays were the last team that I was thinking about where I was going to sign,” he chuckled. “Other organizations were following me. But every showcase that I went to, every event I went to, there was one scout from the Blue Jays.” He added with a laugh, “Even that time when I signed, he went to watch another player at the showcase and they got interested in me.”

Núñez has an .848 OPS since May 1. Photo Credit, Brian Frank, The Herd Chronicles

After signing with Toronto, he played for the Blue Jays’ Dominican Summer League team, where he slashed .247/.298/.328 in 64 games.

“It was a beautiful experience,” he remembered of playing in the DSL. “Obviously, it was my first year as a professional baseball player. I thought I was just going to hit .300 wherever I went and then everything was going to be fine for me. But once the season started, I was getting some experience and the experience I have right now, I feel blessed to have that experience.”

The next season, Núñez, just 18 years old, came to the U.S. to play for the first time. He spent the summer playing for the Gulf Coast League Blue Jays.

“It was kind of hard for me because that was the first time I moved away from my family and from my country and to see all the things that were different here,” he said. “But at the same time, it was a good challenge for me because I had to learn the rules here and how things are here. So, that was a great experience for me to make me grow up as well.”

After the 2020 minor-league season was cancelled due to the pandemic, Núñez put together a solid season in 2021. In 36 games for the FCL Blue Jays, he slashed .274/.370/.484, before being promoted to Dunedin for six games, where he slashed .263/.391/.421.

Then in 2022, he broke out at Dunedin, hitting .299 to win the Florida State League batting title, while belting 15 home runs. He was promoted to High-A Vancouver for the final 28 games of the season and continued his hot hitting, batting .321 with four home runs and an .870 OPS.

“It was a great year for me,” he said. “Obviously, it was a year I won’t forget. I learned a lot from the coaches that I had and my teammates as well. The work that I put in helped me to have the great year that I had.”

Following the season, Núñez returned to the Dominican Republic to play his first season of winter ball with the Estrellas Orientales, something he’s continued to do every offseason since. He had an incredible rookie season, leading the league with seven home runs, and taking home the league’s Rookie of the Year Award.

“That was another beautiful experience that I had,” Núñez said. “That year I didn’t expect to play. I just went to practice to see if I could make the team. Obviously, I ended up having a really good year, thanks to a lot of people I met who helped me (including current Bisons bench coach Cesar Martín).”

“Honestly, if somebody told me I was going to have the year that I had, I wouldn’t have believed it,” he continued. “It was something I didn’t expect. But people were saying to me, come, do your work and be prepared, and see what happens.”

Núñez starring for the Blue Jays during spring training in 2023.

Núñez began the 2023 season at High-A Vancouver where he played 37 games before being promoted to Double-A New Hampshire. He slashed .251/.311/.381 with 13 home runs between the two levels. Last season, he slashed .275/.349/.416 with 12 home runs and 54 RBIs at New Hampshire.

“Just keep learning,” he said of his time at Double-A. “Obviously, we never stop learning. Just trying to take advantage of the people around me. Keep learning and keep getting better every day.”

Núñez began this season with the Bisons, his first year at Triple-A. He’s currently slashing .278/.348/.429 with seven home runs for the Herd – and has really been swinging well the last couple months. After hitting just .180 with a .570 OPS in April, he’s slashing .311/.382/.466 with five home runs and an .848 OPS since the calendar turned to May.

“It’s a difficult level because everybody has the same goal, trying to do their job to get up to the big leagues,” he said. “It’s about adjustments. That’s something I have to keep working at. Try to make adjustments and reach my goal.”

Although the Bisons had a rough first half of the season, Núñez is confident the team can turn things up in the second half and make some noise in the International League East Standings.

“We had a slow start but the team is in a good spot right now and everybody on the team is putting it together,” he said. “We just need to keep going and we’re going to have a good year.”