Brian Matusz, first-round draft pick who pitched to Orioles, Cubs die at 37: Report

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Brian Matusz, who was selected in the first round of the 2008 draft and went on to pitch 280 games for the Baltimore Orioles and Chicago Cubs, has died, according to Roch Kubatko of MASN.

Matusz was 37.

Matusz went 27-41 with a 4.92 ERA in parts of eight seasons (2009-16). He finished fifth in the American League Rookie of the Year voting in 2010, going 10-12 with a 4.30 ERA in 32 starts.

Brian Matusz Baltimore Orioles
BALTIMORE, MD – AUGUST 21: Brian Matusz #17 of the Baltimore Orioles pitches against the Minnesota Twins at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on August 21, 2015 in Baltimore, Maryland. Matusz reportedly died at the age of…


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A 6-foot-5 left-hander, Matusz spent just one year in the minor leagues after finishing his college career at the University of San Diego. He got his first cup of coffee in the majors in 2009 and went 5-2 in eight starts for Baltimore.

But after his promising rookie season, Matusz found it difficult to sustain his success. He spent most of 2011 on the injured list and Triple-A, going 1-9 with a 10.69 ERA in 12 major league starts.

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In 2012, Matusz again bounced between Baltimore and Triple-A before finally settling into a bullpen role. He posted an ERA of 3.53 or better in each from 2013-15.

Baltimore traded Matusz to Atlanta early in the 2016 season for a pair of minor leaguers. The Braves released Matusz before he could appear in a major league game, and he was dealt to the Cubs weeks later.

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Matusz’s last major league game was a spot start in July 2016 for the Cubs at Wrigley Field that lasted just three innings. Although it was his only major league appearance for the eventual World Series champions, he received a ring when the Cubs beat Cleveland to win their first title since 1908.

Matusz signed a minor league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks with an invitation to spring training in February 2017. He got into eight Cactus League games with Arizona, then was released after posting a 6.11 ERA in 11 games with the D-backs’ Triple-A affiliate.

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Matusz took a year off from baseball in 2018 and resurfaced in 2019, pitching professionally for the Acereros de Monclova of the Mexican League and the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League before calling it a career.

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