Brian Robert Matusz ( ; born February 11, 1987) is an American former

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 ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for 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 ...

and the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

College

Matusz attended the

University of San Diego The University of San Diego (USD) is a private Roman Catholic research university in San Diego, California. Chartered in July 1949 as the independent San Diego College for Women and San Diego University (comprising the College for Men and Schoo ...

, where he played on the school's

baseball team Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding te ...

as a starting pitcher. Matusz, Josh Romanski, and Matt Couch anchored the Toreros rotation. Brian Matusz (2450688289)

Matusz was named to the

West Coast Conference The West Coast Conference (WCC) — known as the California Basketball Association from 1952 to 1956 and then as the West Coast Athletic Conference until 1989 — is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I consisting of ...

Pitcher of the Year honors and finalist for the

Roger Clemens Award The Roger Clemens Award was an award that honored the top NCAA Division I college baseball pitcher of the year. The award was created prior to the 2004 season and succeeded the Rotary Smith Award. :''"Roger Clemens has become synonymous with exce ...

Professional career

Baltimore Orioles

Drafted fourth overall by the Baltimore Orioles in the

2008 MLB draft The 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft continued Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, and was held on June 5 and 6, 2008. First round selections ;Key Supplemental first rou ...

, Matusz signed a contract with the Orioles on August 15, 2008, the deadline to sign draft picks. In spring 2009, he was invited to the Orioles spring training. In June 2009, he was promoted from high Single-A (

Frederick Keys The Frederick Keys are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. The Keys are based in Frederick, Maryland. The franchise is named for "Star-Spangled Banner" writer Francis Scott Key, a native of Frederick County. A new team masco ...

) to a starting pitcher for 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, ...

. He struck out 10 batters in his first start for Bowie on June 17. Matusz was named ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

's'' ninth best overall prospect mid-season in 2009. Before the 2010 season, ''Baseball America'' named him the fifth best prospect in all of baseball. Matusz made his MLB debut on August 4, 2009, against the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

. On his MLB debut Matusz went five innings, allowing six hits, one earned run and striking out five. He earned a win in his effort. On September 14, the O's decided to shut Matusz down for the remainder of the

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

, wary of overextending the rookie in his first big league season. He was named a starting pitcher on ''Baseball Americas 2010 All-Rookie Team. He missed the first two months of the 2011 season with an injury. He returned and got six starts and finished with a 1–4 record with an ERA above 7.00 before being demoted to Triple-A

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

on June 30 to work on his velocity. He was later recalled and continued to struggle, posting a 1–7 record and 9.84 ERA before his removal from the starting rotation in September. Matusz began the 2012 season in the rotation, but was demoted to the bullpen in August. In the bullpen, Matusz excelled, striking out 19 with a 1.35 ERA in 18 appearances. He also did not allow a single inherited runner to score. He pitched the last three months of the season with a rectus abdominis tear, preventing him from sprinting, but not pitching. He had surgery in October to repair the tear, and was expected to be back for spring training. In 2013, Matusz made the transition to full-time reliever, appearing in 65 games. He was 2–1 with a 3.53 ERA for the Orioles. On May 23, 2015, Matusz was ejected from the game against the

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

in the 12th inning for cheating, specifically for having a foreign substance on his right forearm. He was the second pitcher to be ejected for a foreign substance in that past week. He was suspended for 8 games. On February 4, 2016, Matusz and the Orioles agreed to a one-year deal to avoid arbitration. He was coming off a career-best season out of the bullpen, having posted a 2.94 ERA and 10.29 strikeouts per nine innings 58 relief appearances.

Atlanta Braves

On May 23, Matusz and the 76th pick in 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 ...

were traded to 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 ...

in return for minor league pitchers Brandon Barker and Trevor Belicek. The Braves designated Matusz for assignment shortly after completing the trade.

Chicago Cubs

Shortly after being released by the Braves, the

signed Matusz to a minor league deal. After being employed solely as a reliever since 2012, the Cubs assigned Matusz to be a starter in the minors. On July 30, 2016, the Cubs called him up to start against the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

on July 31. However, after a poor outing in that game, the Cubs designated him for assignment the very next day. He later cleared waivers and was outrighted to the Triple-A

Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. The ...

. Despite the fact he only appeared in one game for the Cubs during their 2016 World Series season, he was given a World Series ring.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Matusz signed with the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

on a minor league contract for 2017. After struggling in the minors, he was released on May 16, 2017.

Acereros de Monclova

On July 23, 2019, Matusz signed with the

Acereros de Monclova The Acereros de Monclova (English: Monclova Steelers) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Monclova, Coahuila, Mexico. Their home ballpark is Estadio de Béisbol Monclova, which has a capacity of 11,000 people. The Acere ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

. He was released on July 28, 2019.

Long Island Ducks

On August 2, 2019, Matusz signed with the

Long Island Ducks The Long Island Ducks are an American professional minor-league baseball team based on Long Island in Central Islip, New York. The Ducks compete in the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB), an independent "partne ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...

. He became a free agent following the season.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matusz, Brian 1987 births Living people Acereros de Monclova players All-American college baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico American people of Polish descent Arizona League Cubs players Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players at the 2007 Pan American Games Baseball players from Colorado Bowie Baysox players Chicago Cubs players Frederick Keys players Iowa Cubs players Long Island Ducks players Major League Baseball pitchers Mexican League baseball pitchers Norfolk Tides players Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in baseball People from Grand Junction, Colorado Reno Aces players San Diego Toreros baseball players Surprise Rafters players Tennessee Smokies players United States national baseball team players Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games