Brian Matuz, 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.
Very sad to hear that former #orioles pitcher Brian Matusz passed away this morning. Was 37. 4th-overall pick in 2008 draft.
— Roch Kubatko (@masnRoch) January 8, 2025Matusz went 27-41 with a 4.92 earned-run average in parts of eight seasons (2009-16). He finished fifth in American League Rookie of the Year voting in 2010, when he went 10-12 with a 4.30 ERA in 32 starts.
A 6-foot-5 left-hander, Matusz spent only a year in the minor leagues after the conclusion of his college career at the Unversity 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 had difficulty sustaining his success. He spent much of 2011 on the injured list and Triple-A, going 1-9 with a 10.69 ERA in 12 major league starts.
In 2012, Matusz again bounced between Baltimore and Triple-A, before eventually 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 latched on with the Cubs weeks later.
Matusz's final major league game was a July 2016 spot start for the Cubs at Wrigley Field that lasted only three innings.
Matusz signed a minor league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks with an invitation to spring training in Feb. 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.
More to come on this story from Newsweek Sports.
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