During the 1996 Major League Baseball draft, the San Francisco Giants selected Vining in the 4th round. He officially joined their organization on June 28. Vining made his professional debut with the Single–A Bellingham Giants of the Northwest League. He made 12 appearances in 1996, posting a 4–2 record and a 2.09 ERA. In 60.1 innings, Vining struck out 69 batters and surrendered 23 walks. Vining began the 1997 season with the San Jose Giants of the Single–A California League. In 23 starts, Vining went 9–6 with a 4.21 ERA. He recorded 142 strikeouts and 60 walks over 136.2 innings. On July 31, 1997, Vining was one of six prospects traded to the White Sox in exchange for Wilson Álvarez, Danny Darwin, and Roberto Hernández in what became known as the White Flag Trade. Now a member of the White Sox organization, Vining finished the year by making 5 starts for the Single–A Winston–Salem Warthogs. He had a 2–2 record and an ERA of 2.86. In 1998, Vining made 28 starts for the Birmingham Barons of the Double–A Southern League. He posted a 10–12 record and a 4.07 ERA, striking out 133 batters and walking 91 in 172.2 innings. Vining remained with Birmingham for the following season, but only made three starts. He was credited with an 0–2 record and an ERA of 9.26. Vining made the transition from a starting pitcher to a relief pitcher prior to the 2000 season, which he again spent with Birmingham. In 43 appearances, Vining posted an ERA of 4.08 and a 1–5 record. In 46.1 innings, he struck out 41 and walked 18. Following the 2000 season, Vining played in the Arizona Fall League as a member of the Phoenix Desert Dogs. In 12 games, he posted a 1.50 ERA and a 3–0 record, striking out 12 batters and walking only one. In 2001, Vining spent most of the season with the Triple–A Charlotte Knights of the International League. He appeared in 41 games for Charlotte, posting an ERA of 1.96 over 46 innings, while striking out 47 batters and surrendering 19 walks. Vining made his MLB debut on May 23 against the Toronto Blue Jays. He faced two batters, and recorded his first MLB strikeout against Tony Batista. In 8 appearances with the White Sox, Vining surrendered 13 earned runs over 6.2 innings, amassing an ERA of 17.55. He made his final major league appearance on July 5. Vining spent the 2002 season with Charlotte, posting a 2.87 ERA over 44 appearances. He had a 2–5 record, walked 25, and struck out 35. He left the White Sox organization after the season and signed with the Houston Astros on November 6. During the 2003 season, Vining made 41 appearances, including 6 starts, for Houston's Triple–A affiliate, the New Orleans Zephyrs. In 64 innings, he had a 5.20 ERA, struck out 30 batters, walked 22, and tallied a 3–5 record. He was released by the Astros organization on August 22.
