Matthew Brett Cumberland (born June 25, 1995) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

in the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

organization.

Career

Cumberland attended Turlock High School in

Turlock, California Turlock is a city in Stanislaus County, California, United States. Its estimated 2019 population of 73,631 made it the second-largest city in Stanislaus County after Modesto. History Founded on December 22, 1871, by prominent grain farmer Jo ...

. In 2014, ''

The Modesto Bee ''The Modesto Bee'' is a California newspaper, founded in 1884 as the ''Daily Evening News'' and published continuously as a daily under a variety of names. Before its purchase by Charles K. McClatchy and McClatchy Newspapers in 1924, it merged ...

'' named Cumberland their All-District Player of the Year. He enrolled at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the

California Golden Bears The California Golden Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Berkeley. Referred to in athletic competition as ''California'' or ''Cal'', the university fields 30 varsity athletic programs and various club te ...

. He became California's starting

in his freshman year. In 2016, Cumberland was named the

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...

's Baseball Player of the Year. He was named as a finalist for the

Golden Spikes Award The Golden Spikes Award is bestowed annually to the best amateur baseball player in the United States. The award, created by USA Baseball and sponsored by the Major League Baseball Players Association, was first presented in 1978. It is given to ...

Atlanta Braves

The

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

selected Cumberland in the second round, with the 76th overall selection, of the

2016 Major League Baseball draft The 2016 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 9, 2016, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2015 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks will be d ...

. He signed with Atlanta and was assigned to the

Danville Braves The Danville Braves were a Minor League Baseball team in Danville, Virginia. They were an Advanced Rookie-level team in the Appalachian League and were a farm team of the Atlanta Braves. The Braves have played home games at American Legion Post 3 ...

, where he spent the whole season, posting a .216 batting average with three home runs and 30 RBIs in 45 games. He began the 2017 season with the

Rome Braves The Rome Braves are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They are located in Rome, Georgia, and play their home games at AdventHealth Stadium. From 2003 to 2020, the team served ...

, and after batting .263 with ten home runs and 48 RBIs in 55 games, was promoted to the

Florida Fire Frogs The Florida Fire Frogs were a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League from 2017 to 2020. They were located in North Port, Florida, and served as the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. Founded in 2017, the Fire Frogs ...

where he finished the season with a .269 batting average one home run and 21 RBIs in 56 games. He began 2018 with the Fire Frogs before being promoted to the

Mississippi Braves The Mississippi Braves, or M-Braves as they are referred to locally, are a Minor League Baseball team based in Pearl, Mississippi, a suburb of Jackson. The team is the Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves and plays in the Southern League. T ...

in July.

Baltimore Orioles

On July 31, 2018, the Braves traded Cumberland, Jean Carlos Encarnacion,

Evan Phillips Evan John Phillips (born September 11, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays. Career ...

, and

Bruce Zimmermann Bruce Anthony Zimmermann (born February 9, 1995) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball (MLB). Amateur career Zimmermann graduated from Loyola Blakefield in 2013. Undrafted out of high scho ...

to the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

in exchange for

Kevin Gausman Kevin John Gausman (born January 6, 1991), nicknamed "Gaus", is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Baltimore Orioles, Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, ...

and

Darren O'Day Darren Christopher O'Day (born October 22, 1982) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, New York Mets, Texas Rangers, Baltimore Oriole ...

. He was assigned to the Double-A

Bowie Baysox The Bowie Baysox are a Minor League Baseball team located in Bowie, Maryland. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, and play in the Eastern League. Their home ballpark is Prince George's Stadium. History From 1989 to 1992, ...

and finished the season there. In 102 games between Florida, Mississippi, and Bowie, he batted .224 with 14 home runs and 46 RBIs. In 2019, he returned to Bowie, but missed time during the season due to injury; he ultimately played in 41 games, batting .248 with four home runs and twenty RBIs. Cumberland did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. Cumberland spent the 2021 season with the Triple-A

Norfolk Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's location on the Chesapea ...

, playing in 84 games and batting .187/.352/.330 with 10 home runs and 23 RBI. He elected free agency on November 10, 2022.

San Francisco Giants

On December 31, 2022, Cumberland signed a minor league deal with the

. https://www.milb.com/transactions/2022-12-31

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cumberland, Brett 1995 births Living people People from Turlock, California Baseball players from California Baseball catchers California Golden Bears baseball players Danville Braves players Rome Braves players Florida Fire Frogs players Melbourne Aces players Mississippi Braves players Aberdeen IronBirds players Frederick Keys players Bowie Baysox players Norfolk Tides players