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. He was named a High School All-American.
College career
He began his collegiate career as a third baseman, but transitioned into a second baseman. In 2011, Renda won the Pacific-10 Conference Player of the Year Award.
Professional career
Drafts and minor leagues
The Los Angeles Dodgers selected Renda in the 42nd round of the 2009 MLB draft. Renda did not sign, as he followed through on his commitment to enroll at the University of California, Berkeley, to play college baseball for the California Golden Bears baseball team. After Renda's junior year at California, the Washington Nationals selected Renda in the second round of the 2012 MLB draft. Renda signed with the Nationals, receiving a $500,000 signing bonus.
Renda made his professional debut with the Auburn Doubledays of the Class A-Short Season New York–Penn League in 2012. He played 71 games for Auburn. In 2013, Renda played for the Hagerstown Suns of the Class 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. His 43 doubles with Hagerstown were the second-most in all of Minor League Baseball. 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 Class A-Advanced 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.
On June 11, 2015, the Nationals traded Renda to the New York Yankees in exchange for David Carpenter. The Yankees assigned Renda to the Trenton Thunder of the Eastern League. Renda played 73 games for Trenton, batting .270 with two home runs and 21 RBIs.
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.
Cincinnati Reds (2016) The Reds promoted Renda to the major leagues 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 RBIs.
Renda began the 2017 season with Triple-A Louisville, appearing in 51 games with a .260 average.
Arizona Diamondbacks
On July 3, 2017, the Cincinnati Reds traded Renda to the Arizona Diamondbacks 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 released prior to the 2018 season.