Dustin Thomas Garneau (born August 13, 1987) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

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

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

and

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 club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

. He currently serves as the

bullpen coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decision ...

for the Rockies.

Playing career

Amateur career

Garneau attended

San Pedro High School San Pedro High School is a public high school in the Los Angeles Unified School District and is located in the San Pedro portion of the city of Los Angeles, California. The school serves the entirety of San Pedro as well as most of the Eastvie ...

San Pedro, California San Pedro ( ; ) is a neighborhood located within the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay and Los Angeles Harbor Region, Harbor region of the city of Los Angeles, California, United States. Formerly a separate city, it consolidated with Los ...

. He enrolled at

California State University, Fullerton California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public research university in Fullerton, California, United States. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the California State ...

to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

for the

Cal State Fullerton Titans The Cal State Fullerton Titans (also known as CSUF or Fullerton Titans) are the sport, athletic teams that represent California State University, Fullerton. The Titans are a member of the NCAA Division I level. The Titans compete within the Big W ...

Colorado Rockies

The

selected Garneau in the 19th round of the

2009 Major League Baseball draft The 2009 Major League Baseball draft was held June 9 to June 11 at the MLB Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. The drafting order is as follows: First-round selections Key Supplemental first-round selections From Baseball Americ ...

. Garneau made his professional debut with the rookie-level

Casper Ghosts Casper (Computer-Based Assessment for Sampling Personal Characteristics, earlier CASPer or "CMSENS") is an admissions test developed by Harold Reiter and Kelly Dore. It was made for the McMaster University's Program for Educational Research and De ...

, hitting .250 in 23 games. In 2010, Garneau split the season between the Low-A

Tri-City Dust Devils The Tri-City Dust Devils are a Minor League Baseball team based in Pasco, Washington. The Dust Devils are members of the Northwest League The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Northwestern United States ...

and the High-A

Modesto Nuts The Modesto Nuts are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Modesto, California, and are named for the several types of nuts grown in the Central Valley. They ...

, batting .243/.346/.405 with 3 home runs and 34 RBI between the two teams. In 2011, he played for the Single-A

Asheville Tourists The Asheville Tourists are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. It is located in Asheville, North Carolina. Asheville teams have played under the Tourists moniker in different ...

, slashing .255/.370/.513 with career-highs in home runs (17) and RBI (67) in 100 games with the team. In 2012, Garneau returned to Modesto and hit .243/.332/.383 with 6 home runs and 29 RBI. The following season, Garneau played for the Double-A

Tulsa Drillers The Tulsa Drillers are a minor league baseball team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers major-league club. Stadium The Drillers play at ONEOK Field (pronounc ...

, posting a .236/.313/.414 with 13 home runs and 47 RBI in 96 games with the team. He returned to Tulsa the next year, and split the year with the Triple-A

Colorado Springs Sky Sox The Colorado Springs Sky Sox were a Minor League Baseball team in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The team played in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and was the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers (2015–2018), Colorado R ...

, hitting .240/.327/.395 with 7 home runs and 42 RBI between the two teams. Garneau was assigned to the Triple-A

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 ...

to begin the 2015 season. On August 19, 2015, Garneau was selected to the 40-man roster and called up to the majors for the first time. He made his MLB debut the following day as the starting catcher against the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

, and notched his first career hit in the game, a double off of Nationals starter

Max Scherzer Maxwell Martin Scherzer (born July 27, 1984), nicknamed "Mad Max", is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Detroit Tige ...

. In his rookie season, Garneau batted .157/.224/.286 with 2 home runs and 8 RBI in 22 major league games. Garneau split the 2016 season between Albuquerque and Colorado, hitting .235/.293/.368 with 1 home run and 6 RBI in 24 games with the Rockies. Garneau played in 22 games for Colorado in 2017, slashing .206/.260/.353 with 1 home run and 6 RBI.

Oakland Athletics

On August 4, 2017, Garneau was claimed off waivers by the

. He was added to the Athletics' active roster the next day. In 19 games for Oakland, Garneau batted .159 with 1 homer and 3 RBI. Garneau was assigned to the Triple-A

Nashville Sounds The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the ci ...

to begin the 2018 season. On May 21, 2018, Garneau was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

by the Athletics.

Chicago White Sox

On May 24, 2018, Garneau was claimed off waivers by the

. He was assigned to the Triple-A

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field ...

and hit .252 in 45 games with the team. Garneau was promoted to the White Sox on August 3. Garneau only played in 1 game for Chicago on the year, going 1-for-2 with a walk. On October 2, the White Sox outrighted Garneau to the minors and removed him from the 40-man roster. He elected free agency on November 2.

Los Angeles Angels

On November 19, 2018, Garneau signed a minor league contract with the

organization. He opened the 2019 season with the Triple-A

Salt Lake Bees The Salt Lake Bees are a Minor League Baseball (MiLB) team that plays in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. Based in South Jordan, Utah, the team plays its home games at The Ballpark at Am ...

. On May 22, 2019, Garneau's contract was selected and he was called up to the major league roster. On July 12, he was behind the plate for a combined

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit (baseball), hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in ...

thrown by

Taylor Cole Taylor Cole (born April 29, 1984) is an American actress and former Model (person), fashion model. Early life and modeling Cole was born in Arlington, Texas. She attended Lamar High School (Arlington, Texas), Mirabeau B. Lamar High School, whe ...

and

Félix Peña Félix Ricardo Peña (born February 25, 1990) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the Uni-President Lions of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cu ...

. He was designated for assignment by the Angels on July 31 after hitting .232/.346/.362 in 28 games.

Oakland Athletics (second stint)

On August 3, 2019, Garneau was claimed off waivers by the

. In 7 games for Oakland, Garneau went 5-for-17 (.294) with 1 home run and 7 RBI. On August 16, Garneau was designated for assignment. He was outrighted to the Triple-A

Las Vegas Aviators The Las Vegas Aviators, formerly known as the Las Vegas 51s and Las Vegas Stars, are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Athletics. They are located in Summerlin South, Nevada, a comm ...

on August 19, and spent the remainder of the year there, going 8-for-26 (.308) in 8 games. He elected free agency on October 4, 2019.

Houston Astros

On November 26, 2019, Garneau signed a 1-year, $650K contract with the

. For the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

shortened 2020 season, Garneau batted .158/.273/.289 with one home run and four RBIs in 38 at bats. On defense, his four errors (in 110.2 innings) tied for fourth-most in the AL, and he caught only 18% of attempted base-stealers. Garneau made his postseason debut in the

2020 American League Division Series The 2020 American League Division Series were two best-of-five-games series in Major League Baseball’s (MLB) expanded 2020 postseason to determine participating teams in the 2020 American League Championship Series. Those matchups were: * (1) ...

against the

as a defensive replacement for

Martin Maldonado Martin may refer to: Places Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Europe * Martin, Croatia, a village * Martin, Slovakia, a city * Martín del Río, Aragón, Spain * Mart� ...

. He would later make his first postseason start in the

2020 American League Championship Series The 2020 American League Championship Series was a best-of-seven series in Major League Baseball's 2020 postseason between the two American League Division Series winners, the defending American League Champion and sixth-seeded Houston Astros a ...

against the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

Detroit Tigers

On December 23, 2020, Garneau signed a minor league contract with the

organization that included an invitation to spring training. Garneau did not make the big league club and split time between the Single-A

Lakeland Flying Tigers The Lakeland Flying Tigers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Lakeland, Florida, and play their home games at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium. ...

and the Triple-A

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A baseball team nicknamed the ...

, batting .213/.324/.492 with 4 home runs and 11 RBI. On July 15, 2021, Garneau was released by the Tigers organization.

Colorado Rockies (second stint)

On July 22, 2021, Garneau signed a minor league contract with the

organization. In 11 games for the Triple–A

, Garneau slashed .229/.357/.400 with one home run and six RBI.

Detroit Tigers (second stint)

The Tigers acquired Garneau from the Rockies on August 18, 2021, and promoted him to the major leagues that day. In 20 games with the Tigers, Garneau hit .210 with 6 home runs and 11 RBI. On March 22, 2022, Garneau signed a one-year, $1.175 million contract with the Tigers, avoiding salary arbitration. In 8 games for Detroit, he went 3–for–10 (.300) with 1 RBI and 1 walk. On May 2, when teams were required to reduce the roster to 26 players, Garneau was

. On May 4, he cleared waivers and was sent outright to the Triple–A

. In 52 games for Toledo, Garneau batted .195/.298/.378 with seven home runs and 21 RBI. He elected free agency on October 6. Garneau announced his retirement from professional baseball on October 10.

Coaching career

On October 25, 2024, Garneau was hired to serve as the new

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if ...

coach for the

Personal life

Garneau and his wife, Jacqlyn, have three sons.

References

External links

Cal State Fullerton Titans bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garneau, Dustin 1987 births Living people Baseball players from Torrance, California Major League Baseball catchers Colorado Rockies players Oakland Athletics players Chicago White Sox players Los Angeles Angels players Houston Astros players Detroit Tigers players Cal State Fullerton Titans baseball players Casper Ghosts players Tri-City Dust Devils players Modesto Nuts players Asheville Tourists players Tulsa Drillers players Salt River Rafters players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Toros del Este players Albuquerque Isotopes players 21st-century American sportsmen Tigres del Licey players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Nashville Sounds players Charlotte Knights players Salt Lake Bees players Las Vegas Aviators players Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks players San Pedro High School alumni