Jonathan Matthew Palmer (born March 21, 1979) is an American former professional

baseball 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 tea ...

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 bats and throws

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

. He attended

Southwest Missouri State University Missouri State University (MSU or MO State), formerly Southwest Missouri State University, is a public university in Springfield, Missouri. Founded in 1905 as the Fourth District Normal School, it is the state's second largest university by enr ...

Playing career

San Francisco Giants

Drafted by 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 ...

in the 31st round of the

2002 Major League Baseball Draft The 2002 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft, was held on June 4 and 5. It is featured in Michael Lewis' 2003 book '' Moneyball''. First round selections Supplemental first round compensation selections * ...

, Palmer started his professional career strong by having a 1.83

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Compa ...

in 2002 with the

Salem-Keizer Volcanoes The Salem-Keizer Volcanoes are a baseball team located in Keizer, Oregon, who are charter members of the Mavericks Independent Baseball League, a four-team league entirely based in the Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area and playing all their home ...

. Palmer spent the 2003 season with the

Hagerstown Suns The Hagerstown Suns were a Minor League Baseball team based in Hagerstown, Maryland. They were a member of the South Atlantic League and, from 2007 through 2020, were the Class A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They played their home g ...

. However, Palmer spent three seasons in Double-A before earning a promotion to Triple-A

Fresno Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

in 2006. In 2007, Palmer pitched 150 innings for Fresno, recording an 11-8 record with a 4.32 ERA. On August 14, 2008, Palmer was called up by the Giants. He made his Major League debut on August 16 against 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 ...

. He started but only lasted 2.1 innings and allowed 6 earned runs. After making 3 starts, he was sent back to Triple-A and became a free agent at the end of the season. He was 0-2 in his 3 starts for the Giants with an 8.53 ERA.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

In December 2008, he signed a minor league contract with an invitation to

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

with the

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

. In 2009, Palmer would come on as a fifth starter, as the Angels starting rotation struggled to overcome injuries and the death of rookie

Nick Adenhart Nicholas James Adenhart (August 24, 1986 – April 9, 2009) was an American right-handed baseball starting pitcher who played parts of two seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. In just four career games, Ad ...

. Palmer made his Angels debut on April 23, 2009, earning the win after pitching six innings, giving up five runs on six hits, three walks, and one strikeout. He continued in the Angels starting rotation amassing a 7-1 record until he was moved to the bullpen on July 1, 2009 when

Ervin Santana Ervin Ramon Santana (born Johan Ramon Santana; December 12, 1982) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in MLB for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Kansas City Royals (twice), Atlanta Braves ...

returned. He finished the season 11-2 with a 3.93 ERA. His elevated win and loss record is helped by the fact that the Angels lineup scored 7.47 runs per game and scored in double figures five times he pitched. In 2010, Palmer was seen as a possible fifth starter after Angels ace John Lackey signed with the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

. However, the signing of

Joel Piñeiro Joel Alberto Piñeiro (, ; born September 25, 1978) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. ...

diminished any chances of Palmer in the starting rotation, and he returned to the bullpen for the 2010 season. In 3 seasons in the Angels organization, Palmer pitched in 57 games (17 as starter) with a 4.22 ERA and 13-5 record. He also spent substantial time with the AAA

Salt Lake Bees The Salt Lake Bees are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. They are located in Salt Lake City, Utah, and play their home games at Smith's Ballpark. The ballpark op ...

San Diego Padres

The

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

signed Palmer to a minor league contract on December 1, 2011. He appeared in 3 games for the Padres in the Majors and allowed 2 earned runs in 2 innings. He was also 6-9 with a 5.66 ERA in 20 starts for the AAA

Tucson Padres The Tucson Padres were a minor league baseball team representing Tucson, Arizona in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). They were the Triple-A affiliate for the San Diego Padres. The team moved to Tucson from Portland, Oregon for the 2011 season. I ...

Los Angeles Dodgers

Palmer signed as a minor league free agent with the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

on January 9, 2013. During spring training, he tore the

medial meniscus The medial meniscus is a fibrocartilage semicircular band that spans the knee joint medially, located between the medial condyle of the femur and the medial condyle of the tibia.Platzer (2004), p 208 It is also referred to as the internal semilun ...

in his left knee, ending any chance he had to make the Dodgers roster.Matt Palmer injury: Dodgers RHP to have knee surgery, out 6-8 weeks
/ref> He eventually joined the AAA

Albuquerque Isotopes The Albuquerque Isotopes are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They play home games at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at an el ...

roster in late April. In 25 games (22 of which were starts), he was 6-8 with a 3.84 ERA.

Seattle Mariners

Palmer signed a minor league deal with 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 ...

in December 2013. On August 17 2014, Palmer was released by the Mariners.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palmer, Matt 1979 births Living people Baseball players from Tennessee Major League Baseball pitchers San Francisco Giants players Los Angeles Angels players San Diego Padres players Salem-Keizer Volcanoes players Hagerstown Suns players Norwich Navigators players Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Connecticut Defenders players Fresno Grizzlies players Salt Lake Bees players Arizona League Angels players Tucson Padres players Albuquerque Isotopes players Tacoma Rainiers players Missouri State Bears baseball players Three Rivers Raiders baseball players