Tampa Bay Rays Brignac was drafted by Tampa Bay Rays in the second round (45th overall) of the
2004 Major League Baseball draft out of
St. Amant High School as a
shortstop. He made his professional debut on August 4 with Advanced Rookie
Princeton, where in 25 games, he hit .361 with a home run and 25 RBI. He also had a 3-game stint with Single-A
Charleston, where he went 7-for-14 (.500). Brignac played all of 2005 with Single-A
Southwest Michigan, where in 127 games as the Devil Rays shortstop, he hit .264 with 15 home runs, 61 RBI, 77 runs and 39 doubles. He was also the Eastern Division's starting shortstop in the
Midwest League All-Star Game. Brignac had a breakout year with High-A
Visalia, hitting .326 with 21 home runs, 83 RBI, 82 runs, 26 doubles and a league-leading .939
on-base plus slugging (OPS) in 100 games as the Oaks shortstop. He earned a promotion to Double-A
Montgomery for the last month of the season, along with third baseman
Evan Longoria, and in 28 games with the Biscuits, he hit .300 with three home runs, 16 RBI and 18 runs. He was a Mid and Post-Season All-Star in the
California League, and he was named the League's MVP and Rookie of the Year.
Baseball America rated Brignac as the 17th best MLB prospect in 2007 and 39th best in 2008. Brignac was Montgomery's shortstop for 2007, where in 133 games and a league-leading (with
Emilio Bonifacio) 596 plate appearances, he hit .260 with 17 home runs, 81 RBI. He also posted a league-leading 91 runs and 30 doubles. After the year, he played in the
Arizona Fall League with
Scottsdale, where he hit .177 (20–113) with two home runs and 6 RBI in 26 games. Brignac began 2008 with Triple-A
Durham as their shortstop, where he was hitting .265 with seven home runs and 38 RBI through the first 3 months. Brignac was called up from the minors on July 3, 2008, after
Jason Bartlett was placed on the 15-day
disabled list. He made his major league debut on July 4, 2008. He was optioned back to
Durham on July 15, 2008, having gone
hitless in his first 10 major league
at-bats with 1
walk and 5
strikeouts over 4 games. On August 6 in a game against Richmond, he was hit by a pitch on the wrist from
Jo-Jo Reyes, and left the game after the third inning. He would miss the rest of the season, and a possible September call-up, because of the injury. In 97 games with Durham in 2008, he hit .250 with nine home runs, 43 RBI, 43 runs and 26 doubles. Brignac began 2009 as Durham's shortstop, where he was hitting .291 in the first month and a half before he earned a promotion to Tampa Bay on May 22. He got his first career
hit, a single, that day off
Renyel Pinto of Florida. He was optioned to Durham when Bartlett returned from the disabled list on June 15. In his 21-game stint, he hit .271 with 2 RBI. After a 4-day, 1-game stint back in Tampa in mid-August, he returned on September 3 after the rosters had expanded. On September 14, 2009, Brignac hit his first major league home run off of
David Hernandez of the
Baltimore Orioles. He finished the game 4-for-4 with three
RBIs, a
run, a
stolen base and a
triple shy of
hitting for the cycle. In 31 games with the Rays in 2009, he hit .278 with a home run, 6 RBI and 10 runs. Brignac made the Opening Day roster in 2010 with Tampa Bay as a second baseman and backup shortstop, and stayed there for the whole season. In 113 games in 2010, he hit .256 with eight home runs and 45 RBI. On September 13, Brignac hit a walk-off home run off
Sergio Mitre of the Yankees, putting the Rays in first place in the division, half a game ahead of the Yankees. The Rays ultimately won the AL East that year, finishing one game ahead of New York. Brignac was the Rays Opening Day shortstop in 2011, and he split time there with
Elliot Johnson. He hit 14-for-63 (.222) in April, 4-for-41 (.098) in May, 11-for-56 (.196) in June and 7-for-27 (.259) in July before being demoted to Durham on July 22, 2011, to make space for Rays prospect
Desmond Jennings, and
Sean Rodriguez became the starting shortstop. Manager
Joe Maddon said: There's no question Reid is a Major League caliber shortstop. And I don't like the idea of him not playing defense for us. But moving down the road we have to get better on the offensive side of the ball. At the time of his demotion, Brignac was hitting .193 with a home run and 10 RBI in 68 games. After an 11-game stint in Durham, he was recalled on August 10 after outfielder
Justin Ruggiano was placed on the disabled list. Brignac finished the year with Tampa Bay. In 96 games with the Rays, he hit .193 with a home run and 15 RBI. Brignac began 2012 splitting time with Rodriguez at shortstop, but after hitting .118 in 8 games with the Rays, he was optioned to Durham in favor of
Brandon Allen. Rodriguez was awarded the starting shortstop job, although he eventually relinquished to Johnson and subsequently
Ben Zobrist. Brignac spent the next 4 months at Durham, where in 99 games, he hit .231 with eight home runs and 46 RBI. He was designated for assignment on February 5, 2013.
Colorado Rockies Brignac was traded to the
Colorado Rockies in exchange for cash considerations on February 14, 2013. Brignac made the Opening Day roster as a backup infielder, and had a pinch-hit single in his Rockies debut. He hit 9-for-35 (.257) in April and was hitting 3-for-13 (.231) in May before he was
designated for assignment on May 16. In 29 games with Colorado, Brignac hit .250 with a home run and 6 RBI.
New York Yankees Brignac was traded to the
New York Yankees for cash considerations on May 18, 2013. He split time with
Jayson Nix at shortstop before he was designated for assignment on June 21, 2013. He was released a few days thereafter. In 17 games with New York, he hit .114 with 1 double.
Colorado Rockies (second stint) Brignac signed a minor league contract with the
Colorado Rockies on June 26, 2013. He was assigned to the Triple-A
Colorado Springs Sky Sox, where in 48 games all over the infield, he hit .230 with two home runs and 11 RBI. After the season, Brignac became a minor league free agent following the season.
Philadelphia Phillies On November 19, 2013, Brignac signed a minor league deal with the
Philadelphia Phillies that included an invitation to spring training. The Phillies selected his contract from the Triple-A
Lehigh Valley IronPigs on May 9, 2014. On June 11, 2014, Brignac hit a walk-off home run off Padres reliever
Nick Vincent for his first home run as a Phillie. Shortly after, Brignac was placed on the disabled list (on June 20) with a high ankle sprain. Before heading to the DL, Brignac hit .258/.329/.409 with five doubles, one triple, one home run, 10 RBI, seven walks, 24 strikeouts and one stolen base in 66 at-bats. The Phillies designated Brignac for assignment on August 23, 2014. He elected free agency in October 2014.
Miami Marlins Brignac signed a minor league contract with
Miami Marlins for the 2015 season. After recording only one hit through 17 plate appearances, the Marlins designated him for assignment on May 8.
Atlanta Braves Brignac signed a minor league contract with the
Atlanta Braves on November 24, 2015. He was designated for assignment on May 27, 2016.
Houston Astros On December 9, 2016, Brignac signed a minor league contract with the
Houston Astros organization. During his tenure with the Astros, Brignac began experimenting as a
switch hitter in an effort to prolong his career in the majors. He played in 110 games for the Triple–A
Fresno Grizzlies, hitting .251/.326/.411 with 13 home runs and 52 RBI. Brignac elected free agency following the season on November 6, 2017.
Washington Nationals On January 29, 2018, Brignac signed a minor league contract with the
Washington Nationals. Brignac was released March 24, near the end of spring training.
New Britain Bees On April 21, 2018, Brignac signed with the
New Britain Bees of the
Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. Brignac announced his retirement from professional baseball, following his final game as a Bee, on July 6, 2018, in which he went 2-for-4 with a stolen base and two RBI. In total he played in 61 games for New Britain, hitting .296/.364/.382 with one home run, 23 RBI, and four stolen bases. ==Post-playing career==