He has previously played in MLB for the San Diego Padres, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.

[2] He signed with the Padres and made his professional debut in 2011 with the Low-A Eugene Emeralds, posting a 3-4 record and 2.21 ERA in 15 games.

[3] In 2012, Rea played for the Single-A Fort Wayne TinCaps, pitching to a 5-10 record and 4.11 ERA with 80 strikeouts in 103.0 innings of work.

In 2013, Rea split the year between Fort Wayne and the Advanced Single-A Lake Elsinore Storm, logging a cumulative 2-6 record and 4.08 ERA.

[4] In 2015, Rea began the season with the Double-A San Antonio Missions, and logged a 1.08 ERA in 12 games with the team.

He was first traded along with Andrew Cashner and Tayron Guerrero to the Miami Marlins in exchange for Jarred Cosart, Carter Capps, Josh Naylor, and Luis Castillo on July 29.

In 2018, Rea returned to the organization and logged a 3-5 record and 5.73 ERA in 18 games between El Paso and San Antonio.

[14] Rea was named 2019 Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Year after a successful season with the Triple-A Iowa Cubs, with whom he posted a 14-4 record and 3.95 ERA in 26 appearances.

On December 19, 2021, Rea signed a contract to return to the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in Nippon Professional Baseball.

On April 13, his contract was selected to the active roster for a spot start against the San Diego Padres[27] where he pitched 5+2⁄3 innings only giving up one run and striking out 6.