Matthew Lawrence Waldron (born September 26, 1996) is an American 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 ...

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for 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

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). He made his MLB debut in 2023.

Career

Amateur

Waldron attended Westside High School in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

, where he played on their

team and went 9–0 with a 1.29 ERA, 82 strikeouts, and seven walks over 65 innings as a senior in 2015. He threw a

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 ...

in the Class A Baseball State Championship, helping lead Westside to their third straight title. He went unselected in the

2015 Major League Baseball draft The 2015 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 8 through June 10, 2015, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2014 MLB season standings. As the Diamondbacks finished the 2014 season ...

, and enrolled at the

University of Nebraska A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

where he played

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

Nebraska Cornhuskers The Nebraska Cornhuskers (often abbreviated to Huskers) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference and competes in NCAA Division I, fielding t ...

for four years. As a senior in 2019, he made 14 starts and went 6–4 with a 3.05 ERA and 93 strikeouts over innings.

Cleveland Indians

Following the season's end, he was selected by the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

in the 18th round of the

2019 Major League Baseball draft The 2019 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 3 to 5, 2019. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was set based on the reverse order of the 2018 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks ...

. Waldron signed with the Indians and made his professional debut with the rookie–level

Arizona League Indians The Arizona Complex League Guardians are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Goodyear Ballpark in Goodyear, Arizona. The team is ...

before he was promoted to the Low–A

Mahoning Valley Scrappers The Mahoning Valley Scrappers are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Niles, Ohio, a city in the valley of the Mahoning River, and play their home games at Eastwood Field. From 1999 to 2020, they were ...

. Over innings between the two teams, he went 4–0 with a 2.96 ERA. He did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

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San Diego Padres

On August 31, 2020, the Indians traded Waldron,

Mike Clevinger Michael Anthony Clevinger (born December 21, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Chicago White Sox organization. He has previously played in MLB for the Cleveland Indians and San Diego Padres. Clevinger made his MLB debut in ...

, and Greg Allen to the

in exchange for Austin Hedges,

Josh Naylor Joshua-Douglas James Naylor (born June 22, 1997) is a Canadian professional baseball first baseman for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the San Diego Padres and Cleveland Guardians. The ...

Cal Quantrill Cal Paul Quantrill (born February 10, 1995) is a Canadian professional baseball pitcher for the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the San Diego Padres, Cleveland Indians / Guardians, and Colorado ...

, Gabriel Arias, Owen Miller, and Joey Cantillo. Prior to the 2021 season, Waldron began throwing knuckleballs. He opened the 2021 season with the High–A

Fort Wayne TinCaps The Fort Wayne TinCaps are a Minor League Baseball team based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The TinCaps compete in the Midwest League as the High-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The team plays its home games at Parkview Field. The TinCaps won the ...

and was promoted to the Double–A

San Antonio Missions The San Antonio Missions are a Minor League Baseball team based in San Antonio, Texas. The Missions compete in the Texas League as the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The team plays its home games at Nelson W. W ...

in July. He finished the season starting twenty games going 3–8 with a 4.25 ERA and 103 strikeouts over innings. Waldron returned to San Antonio to begin 2022 and was promoted to the Triple–A

El Paso Chihuahuas The El Paso Chihuahuas are a Minor League Baseball team based in El Paso, Texas. The Chihuahuas compete in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) as the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The team plays its home games at Sou ...

in late June. Over 25 starts between the two teams, he went 5–10 with a 6.26 ERA and 96 strikeouts over innings. To open the 2023 season, he was assigned to El Paso. In 14 games (12 starts), Waldron struggled to a 1–6 record and 7.02 ERA with 75 strikeouts in innings pitched. On June 23, 2023, the Padres announced they would be promoting Waldron to make his major league debut the next day as the team's starting pitcher. He made his debut at

Petco Park Petco Park is a ballpark in San Diego, California. It is the home of the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). The ballpark is located in the East Village neighborhood of downtown San Diego, adjacent to the Gaslamp Quarter. Petco Par ...

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 ...

. Waldron pitched innings, allowing four hits and two runs (both earned), while striking out two Nationals batters in a 2–0 loss. He was the first pitcher to throw a knuckleball in a major league game since

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 ...

’ pitcher Mickey Jannis in June 2021. He was optioned back to El Paso the next day. Waldron was recalled to the majors several times throughout the remainder of the 2023 season, making eight appearances (six starts) going 1–3 with a 4.35 ERA and 31 strikeouts over innings. On March 15, 2025, Waldron suffered a left oblique muscle strain during a spring training outing, causing him to begin the season on the injured list. He was transferred to the 60-day injured list on April 11.

Pitching style

Unlike other recent

knuckleball pitchers A knuckleball or knuckler is a baseball pitch thrown to minimize the spin of the ball in flight, causing an erratic, unpredictable motion. The air flow over a seam of the ball causes the ball to change from laminar to turbulent flow. This ch ...

like R. A. Dickey and

Tim Wakefield Timothy Stephen Wakefield (August 2, 1966 – October 1, 2023) was an American professional baseball knuckleball pitcher. Wakefield began his Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, but is most remembered for his 17-year ...

—both of whom relied heavily on throwing knuckleballs—Waldron's primary pitch is a four-seam fastball. His off-speed pitches are a slider and a knuckleball.

Personal life

Waldron's twin brother, Mike, also played on the Nebraska baseball team.

References

External links

Nebraska Cornhuskers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waldron, Matt 1996 births Living people Arizona Complex League Padres players Arizona League Indians players Baseball players from Omaha, Nebraska El Paso Chihuahuas players Fort Wayne TinCaps players Mahoning Valley Scrappers players Major League Baseball pitchers Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball players Peoria Javelinas players San Antonio Missions players San Diego Padres players