St. Louis Cardinals Minor leagues Reyes made his professional debut in 2013 for the
Johnson City Cardinals of the
Appalachian League. In 12 starts, he went 6–4 with a 3.39
earned run average (ERA) with 68
strikeouts (SO) in
innings pitched (IP). Prior to the 2014 season,
Baseball America ranked him as the seventh-best prospect in the Cardinals organization. Also,
Baseball Prospectus determined him the 98th-best prospect in all of baseball. He spent the 2014 season with the Single-A
Peoria Chiefs of the
Midwest League. There, he notched a 7–7 record to go with a 3.62 ERA and 137 strikeouts in innings. He said: "I learn from watching. I don't think ... he even knows, but
Rob Kaminsky is definitely the number one guy I've studied. From day one in Peoria he just separated himself from everyone on the pitching staff, including me." Prior to the start of the 2015 season,
Baseball America ranked Reyes as the 51st-best prospect in all professional baseball, and
Baseball Prospectus ranked him 55th.
Jim Callis selected Reyes as the Cardinals' top prospect for 2015, and although he did not make
MLB.com's top 100, Callis named him the best pitching prospect not on that list. The beneficiary of a late
growth spurt, Reyes grew to a height of and began throwing at up to in Single–A. His 13-strikeout performance on June 17 was a season-high. Including his previous 10 outings, he had posted a 1.79 ERA and 70 SO in innings. On June 25, Reyes was selected to represent the World Team in the
All-Star Futures Game after leading all of the minor leagues with a ratio of 13.4
strikeouts per nine innings pitched (SO/9). He had registered a 2–5 record and 2.08 ERA while striking out 90 and walking 30 in IP. He was also selected to play in the 2015 FSL mid-season All-Star game. With a 2.26 ERA, 49 hits and zero home runs allowed with 96 strikeouts in innings over 13 FSL starts, the Cardinals promoted Reyes to the Double–A
Springfield Cardinals of the
Texas League in July 2015. The next month,
Baseball America rated him as throwing the FSL's best fastball, best
breaking pitch, and as the "best pitching prospect" in the league in 2015, according to a poll of managers and coaches. He totaled a 5–7 record and 2.49 ERA over 22 starts in 2015, striking out 151 in innings while allowing a .197 opposing batting average. The Cardinals selected him to play for the
Surprise Saguaros of the off-season
Arizona Fall League (AFL).
Baseball America also selected Reyes for the high Class-A minor leagues All-Star team for the 2015 season. He and
Austin Gomber were selected the Cardinals' co-Minor League Pitchers of the Year for 2015.
Baseball America selected Reyes as the top Cardinals' prospect entering the
2016 season. MLB.com ranked him as the tenth-best prospect in all the minor leagues, and
Baseball Prospectus at number 13. Reyes was activated from his suspension on May 22 to make his first start for the
Memphis Redbirds of the
Triple–A Pacific Coast League.
Baseball America moved his rank to second of all prospects in baseball in their 2016 mid-season update. Selected to play his second All-Star Futures Game for 2016 at
Petco Park in
San Diego, Reyes was the starting pitcher for the World team, striking out four of the five outs he recorded as World won, 11−3.
Major leagues 2016 The Cardinals purchased Reyes' contract on August 9, 2016, and added him to the major league roster to serve as a
relief pitcher. He made his major league debut the same night against the
Cincinnati Reds, pitching a perfect inning and striking out fellow rookie
Adam Duvall for his first in the major leagues. Reyes earned his first major league win on August 13, 2016, against the
Chicago Cubs, and first save on August 19 against the
Philadelphia Phillies. After five appearances and innings in relief with 13 strikeouts and no runs surrendered, he made his first MLB start on August 27 against the
Oakland Athletics. He completed innings, allowing one run, two hits and four walks while striking out four. The first run charged to Reyes in his major league career occurred when reliever
Zach Duke walked
Khris Davis with the bases loaded to score
Bruce Maxwell in the fifth, ending 14 consecutive scoreless innings. The Athletics won, 3−2. The Cardinals, attempting to make the
playoffs, called upon Reyes to start against fellow contenders, including seven scoreless innings against
San Francisco on September 23 and, in his next outing, three runs in five innings against
Chicago. As a starting pitcher, Reyes was credited with a 4−1 record; his only loss came against the
Pittsburgh Pirates on September 7. He completed relief innings, surrendering one earned run and eight hits while striking out 23. In 46 total innings with St. Louis in 2016, Reyes struck out 52; his 1.57 ERA ranked second among all major league rookie relief pitchers with at least 20 innings.
2017 On February 14, 2017, Reyes was diagnosed with a partial tear of his
ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. The next day, it was announced Reyes would undergo
Tommy John surgery, shelving him for the entire 2017 season. He had successful surgery on February 16.
2018 After sitting out all of 2017, Reyes began rehabbing in 2018. In a rehab start on May 19 with the
Springfield Cardinals he pitched 7 scoreless innings, allowing only one hit and striking out 13, tying Springfield's team record. On May 24 during a rehab start with the
Memphis Redbirds, Reyes struck out nine consecutive batters, making him the first pitcher in
Pacific Coast League history to strike out nine batters in a row. In four total rehab starts between Springfield, the
Peoria Chiefs,
Palm Beach Cardinals and Memphis, he pitched 23 scoreless innings in which he struck out 44, walked seven, and gave up only seven hits. Reyes was activated from the 60-day DL on May 30 to start against the
Milwaukee Brewers. Making his first major league appearance since September 29, 2016, Reyes pitched four scoreless innings, allowing three hits while walking two and striking out two. He was placed on the 10-day DL the next day with a right lat strain that he suffered during his start against Milwaukee. On June 6, Reyes underwent surgery for a torn tendon in his lat muscle, effectively ending his season.
2019 Reyes entered the 2019 season and began the year in St. Louis' bullpen. However, in his first three innings of the year, he allowed five runs and six walks and was ultimately optioned to the
Class AAA Memphis Redbirds on April 7.
2020 Reyes rejoined the Cardinals for the
pandemic-shortened 2020 season and posted a 2–1 record with a 3.20 ERA and 27 strikeouts in innings.
2021 Prior to the start of the 2021 season, Reyes was named the Cardinals' closer. After pitching to a 1.12 ERA and 20 saves (one of only two in the major leagues to not blow a save) over innings, he was named to the
2021 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. On July 18, he set the MLB record for most consecutive saves to begin a career, with 24. After pitching to a 1.52 ERA over the first half of the season, Reyes struggled in the second half, going 5–5 with a 5.52 ERA over 31 innings, and was eventually removed from the closer role. In the
2021 National League Wild Card Game, Reyes gave up a two-out, two-run, walk-off home run to
Chris Taylor in the bottom of the ninth inning.
2022 Reyes was placed on the 60-day injured list to begin the season on March 25, 2022, after struggling with a shoulder issue in Spring Training and receiving a stem-cell injection. On May 23, it was announced that Reyes would require shoulder surgery and miss the season without making an appearance. He was non-tendered and became a free agent on November 18.
Los Angeles Dodgers On February 16, 2023, Reyes signed a one-year, $1.1 million contract with the
Los Angeles Dodgers. On June 11, it was announced that Reyes had undergone surgery on his right shoulder and would not pitch during the 2023 season. The Dodgers declined his 2024 option after the season, making him a free agent. ==Pitching profile==