Brennan Bernardino

Brennan Bernardino

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 4", Weight 180 lb.
• School Los Angeles Mission College, Cal State-Dominguez Hills
• High School Valencia (CA) High School
• Debut July 31, 2022

• Born January 15, 1992 in Verdugo Hills, CA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Brennan Bernardino has pitched for the Mexican national team and played in the US, Mexico, Canada and Venezuela before making his big league debut in 2022.

He played baseball and basketball in high school and was on the track team, finishing second in his league in high jump one year. He was 5-3 as a sophomore in junior college and was redshirted in 2013. He was 5-0 with a save and a 1.59 ERA in 2014, placing 4th in the California Collegiate Athletic Association in ERA.

The Cincinnati Reds chose him in the 26th round of the 2014 amateur draft; Rex De La Nuez was the scout. He was 1-1 with 9 saves and a 1.01 ERA in his pro debut for the Billings Mustangs, posting a .98 WHIP and fanning 31 in 26 2/3 IP. He tied Alec Crawford for second in the Pioneer League in saves, one behind Brody Greer, but had a much better ERA than either of them. He was left off the league All-Star team, though Billings had won the title.

The lefty slipped to 2-3, 3.64 with 3 saves for the '15 Dayton Dragons and he also pitched two games for the Louisville Bats (1 R in 1 1/3 IP). He joined the Mexican national team for the 2015 Premier 12; the team was loaded with Mexican-Americans due to conflict between the Mexican League and Mexican baseball association. In his debut, he saved Martin Viramontes' 6-4 win over Venezuela, allowing three hits in two shutout innings. He went 2 1/3 shutout innings against eventual champion South Korea. He then closed out Andrew Romo's 4-3 upset win over previously-unbeaten Canada, fanning 3 of 4 batters he faced for the save. He tied Fernando Nieve, Loek van Mil and Hyun-seung Lee for 2nd in the event in saves, one behind Dustin Molleken.

He pitched 50 games for the 2016 Daytona Tortugas, going 5-3 with a save and a 3.71 ERA, fanning 61 in 60 2/3 IP. He tied Jimmy Herget for 2nd in the Reds chain in games pitched, two behind Alejandro Chacin. He tied Herget for the Florida State League lead in pitching appearances. In '17, he was 2-4 with a 4.46 ERA for the Pensacola Blue Wahoos. He was 0-1 in the Arizona Fall League, but with a 0.90 ERA for the Scottsdale Scorpions. He did well in the 2017 Fall Stars Game. He also pitched that winter for the Naranjeros de Hermosillo (4.26 ERA in 8 G).

In 2018, he struggled for Pensacola (1-0, 2 Sv, 6.30 in 21 G, 24 K in 20 IP) and the Reds let him go. He was picked up by the independent Winnipeg Goldeyes and was 2-3 with a 3.18 ERA there. In the winter, he was 1-3 with a 4.32 ERA for the Tigres de Aragua. The Cleveland Indians signed him for 2019; he pitched for the Lynchburg Hillcats (1-1, 5.14 in 3 G) and Akron RubberDucks (4.15 ERA in 2 G) but spent most of the year in Mexico with the Toros de Tijuana (2-1, 2.94, 39 K in 33 2/3 IP).

He was one of three players for Mexico in the 2019 Premier 12 who had been on their 2015 team.

Further Reading

• Michael Clair: "Brennan Bernardino's long, strange journey to the Major Leagues", mlb.com, June June 16, 2023. [1]

Related Sites

• Brennan Bernardino on mlb.com
• BR Register page
• Cal State Dominguez Hills bio