Matthew Olson Guerrier (born August 2, 1978) 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 ...

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

. 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

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

and

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

Amateur career

A native of

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

, Guerrier attended

Shaker Heights High School Shaker Heights High School is a public high school located in Shaker Heights, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. The high school is the only public high school in the Shaker Heights City School District, which serves Shaker Heights and a small part ...

. He was selected by the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

in the 33rd round (979th overall) of the 1996 Major League Baseball draft, but did not sign, opting instead 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, ...

Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a Public university, public research university in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio located in Kent State University at Ashtabula, Ashtabula, Kent State ...

. While at Kent State in 1997, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

in the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over 1,000 forme ...

for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox.

Professional career

Chicago White Sox

Guerrier was drafted by the

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 ...

in the 10th round (309th overall) of the

1999 MLB Draft The 1999 Major League Baseball draft, was the annual choosing of high school and college baseball players, held on June 2 and 3, 1999. A total of 1,474 players were drafted over the course of 50 rounds. First round selections Supplemental fir ...

. He pitched in the White Sox minor league system through 2001, reaching Triple-A with the

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 ...

Pittsburgh Pirates

On March 27, 2002, Guerrier was traded by the White Sox to the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

for

Dámaso Marte Dámaso Marte Saviñón (born February 14, 1975) is a Dominican former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played for the Seattle Mariners (), Pittsburgh Pirates (, –), Chicago White Sox (–), and New York Yankees (–). Professional ...

. He spent the next two seasons pitching in Triple-A for the

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 ...

Minnesota Twins

On November 20, 2003, Guerrier was selected off waivers by the

. Guerrier made his Major League debut on June 17, 2004 against the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

as the starting pitcher. He worked four innings and allowed two earned runs while striking out three. For the season, he appeared in nine games (two starts), going 0–1 with a 5.68 ERA. Guerrier did not pick up his first win until September 23, 2006 against the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) 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) East Division. As one of the America ...

. In 2007, he became a mainstay of the Twins bullpen, finishing the season 2–4 with one save and a 2.35 ERA in 73 relief appearances. In 2008, the Twins lost primary

setup pitcher In baseball, a setup man (or set-up man, also sometimes referred to as a setup pitcher or setup reliever) is a relief pitcher who regularly pitches before the closer. They commonly pitch the eighth inning, with the closer pitching the ninth. As ...

Pat Neshek to injury early in the season and Guerrier took over part of that role for a short time. He pitched poorly in the second half, however, sporting an 8.88 ERA. Guerrier made 76 appearances in 2008, finishing 6–9 with one save and a 5.19 ERA innings. He improved greatly in 2009, posting a 5–1 record with one save and a 2.36 ERA in 79 relief appearances. He also led the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

with 33 holds. He became a free agent following the 2010 season.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On December 16, 2010, Guerrier agreed to a three-year deal with the

. He appeared in a team high 70 games for the Dodgers, the fifth straight season he pitched in at least 70 games. He finished the season 4–3 with a 4.07 ERA in innings worked and became the first pitcher in baseball history with exactly one save in six straight seasons. In 2012, Guerrier pitched in seven games in April and was then shut down with right elbow tendinitis. He was placed on the 60-day disabled list and did not rejoin the Dodgers until the last week of August, ending his string of five straight seasons with at least 70 games pitched. Due to the injury, he only appeared in 16 games for the Dodgers in 2012, going 0–2 with a 3.86 ERA. Guerrier pitched in 34 games with the Dodgers in 2013, posting a 2–3 record with a 4.80 ERA before he was designated for assignment on June 30.

Chicago Cubs

On July 1, 2013, Guerrier was traded to the

in exchange for

Carlos Mármol Carlos Agustín Mármol (born October 14, 1982) is a Dominican former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Miami Marlins. Professional career Minor ...

. He appeared in 15 games for the Cubs, and was 2–1 with a 2.13 ERA in innings. He was shut down for the season in August after tearing the flexor muscle in his right forearm. He became a free agent following the season.

Second stint with Minnesota Twins

On January 29, 2014, Guerrier signed a minor league contract to rejoin the Minnesota Twins. The Twins released Guerrier on March 24, 2014, a week prior to the end of Spring Training. He was re-signed the next day. He had his contract selected to the major league roster on May 8. Guerrier was designated for assignment on July 24. At the time, he was 0–1 with a 3.86 ERA in 27 appearances. He elected free agency on July 29.

Pitching repertoire

Guerrier's most commonly thrown pitch is alternately called cutter thrown in the high 80s. He also has a four-seam and

two-seam fastball A two-seam fastball is a pitch in baseball and softball. It is a variant of the straight fastball. The pitch has the speed of a fastball and can also include late-breaking action caused by varying the pressure of the index and middle fingers on t ...

(low 90s), a

curveball In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curve ...

(78-80), and an occasional

changeup A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball, but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced spee ...

to left-handed hitters.

References

External links

Matt Guerrier
at Baseball Almanac {{DEFAULTSORT:Guerrier, Matt 1978 births Living people Baseball players from Cleveland Birmingham Barons players Bristol White Sox players Charlotte Knights players Chicago Cubs players Kent State Golden Flashes baseball players Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball pitchers Minnesota Twins players Nashville Sounds players Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela New Britain Rock Cats players Sportspeople from Shaker Heights, Ohio Baseball players from Cuyahoga County, Ohio Rancho Cucamonga Quakes players Rochester Red Wings players Winston-Salem Warthogs players Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox players