Matthew Joseph Liberatore (LIB-ər-ə-tor; born November 6, 1999) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB).
| Matthew Liberatore | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Liberatore with the St.Louis Cardinals in 2024. | |||||||||||||||
| St. Louis Cardinals – No. 52 | |||||||||||||||
| Pitcher | |||||||||||||||
| Born: November 6, 1999 Peoria, Arizona, U.S. | |||||||||||||||
Bats: Left Throws: Left | |||||||||||||||
| MLB debut | |||||||||||||||
| May 21, 2022, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |||||||||||||||
| MLB statistics (through 2024 season) | |||||||||||||||
| Win–loss record | 8–12 | ||||||||||||||
| Earned run average | 4.99 | ||||||||||||||
| Strikeouts | 150 | ||||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||||
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Medals
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Born and raised in the suburbs of Phoenix, Arizona, Liberatore was selected by the Tampa Bay Rays in the first round of the 2018 Major League Baseball draft out of high school. He signed with the Rays and played in their minor league system for two seasons before he was traded to the Cardinals prior to the 2020 season. He played in their minor league system before making his MLB debut in 2022.
Amateur career
edit
Liberatore graduated from Mountain Ridge High School in Glendale, Arizona.[1] In July 2017, he played in the Under Armour All-America Baseball Game and was named the game's most valuable player after throwing three scoreless innings.[2] Later in the summer, he played for the USA Baseball 18U National Team.[3] As a senior at Mountain Ridge in 2018, he posted an 8–1 win–loss record with a 0.93 earned run average (ERA) with 104 strikeouts in 60+1⁄3 innings[4] and was named Arizona's Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year.[5]
Liberatore committed to the University of Arizona to play college baseball.[6]
In January 2024, Liberatore was inducted into the Mountain Ridge Athletics Hall of Fame.
Professional career
editTampa Bay Rays
editThe Tampa Bay Rays selected Liberatore in the first round, with the 16th overall selection, in the 2018 Major League Baseball draft. He signed with the team for a $3.5 million signing bonus.[7] He was assigned to the Gulf Coast Rays of the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League. After posting a 0.98 ERA in eight starts, Liberatore was promoted to the Princeton Rays of the Advanced Rookie Appalachian League.[8] He pitched in one game for Princeton to close out his first professional season. Liberatore began the 2019 season in extended spring training before he was assigned to the Bowling Green Hot Rods of the Class A Midwest League on May 15,[9] with whom he spent the remainder of the year. Over 16 games (15 starts), Liberatore went 6–2 with a 3.10 ERA, striking out 76 batters over 78+1⁄3 innings.[10]
St. Louis Cardinals
editOn January 9, 2020, Liberatore was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals (along with Edgardo Rodriguez and the Rays’ Competitive Balance Round B Draft Pick) in exchange for José Martínez, Randy Arozarena, and the Cardinals’ Competitive Balance Round A Draft Pick.[11] He did not play in a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[12] For the 2021 season, Liberatore was assigned to the Memphis Redbirds of the Triple-A East.[13]
In late May, he was placed on the temporarily inactive list while he competed for a spot on the United States national baseball team, in advance of the 2020 Summer Olympics.[14] He was subsequently named to the roster of the national team for the Americas Qualifying Event.[15] Team USA qualified for the Olympics, but Liberatore was ultimately not named to the roster in part due to the Cardinals' lack of organizational depth.[16] In June, he was selected to represent the Cardinals (alongside Nolan Gorman) in the All-Star Futures Game at Coors Field.[17] Over 22 games (18 starts) with Memphis, Liberatore went 9–9 with a 4.04 ERA and 123 strikeouts over 124+2⁄3 innings.[18] The Cardinals named him their Minor League Pitcher of the Year.[19]
Liberatore returned to Memphis to begin the 2022 season.[20] After going 3-3 with a 3.83 ERA and 46 strikeouts over forty innings, the Cardinals announced on May 19 that they would be selecting his contract and promoting him to the major leagues.[21][22] He made his MLB debut on May 21 as the starting pitcher versus the Pittsburgh Pirates, throwing 4+2⁄3 innings and giving up seven hits, four earned runs, and two walks while striking out three.[23] They optioned him back to Memphis the next day, but he was recalled one day later after Steven Matz was placed on the injured list.[24][25] On May 29, he earned his first career win, tossing 5.0 scoreless innings against the Milwaukee Brewers while striking out 6.[26]
Liberatore was optioned to Triple-A Memphis to begin the 2023 season.[27]
Personal life
editLiberatore has been friends with fellow 2018 first round pick and Cardinals teammate, Nolan Gorman, since they were five.[28]
References
edit- ^ "Top MLB draft prospect Liberatore stays grounded – Your Valley". April 17, 2018.
- ^ "Matthew Liberatore Jordyn Adams UA All-America". MLB.com.
- ^ Obert, Richard. "Mountain Ridge's Matthew Liberatore, SDO's Nolan Gorman lead USA baseball to gold". The Arizona Republic.
- ^ "The friendship of two MLB Draft prospects". MLB.com.
- ^ Star, Arizona Daily (May 29, 2018). "Arizona Wildcats commit Matt Liberatore wins state's Gatorade Player of the Year award".
- ^ Morin, Richard. "Mountain Ridge's Matthew Liberatore, SDO's Nolan Gorman receive lofty pre-MLB Draft rankings". The Arizona Republic.
- ^ Bartel, Jason. "Arizona signee Matthew Liberatore to ink contract with Tampa Bay Rays". Arizona Desert Swarm. SB Nation.
- ^ "First-round pick Matthew Liberatore signs". MLB.com.
- ^ "Matthew Liberatore player transactions". MiLB.com.
- ^ "Could the Matt Liberatore trade lead to an Arenado trade? 5 things to know about the new Cardinals prospect". January 10, 2020.
- ^ "Cardinals send Jose Martinez, Randy Arozarena to Rays for pitching prospect Matthew Liberatore". January 10, 2020.
- ^ "2020 Minor League Baseball season canceled". MLB.com.
- ^ "Redbirds Announce Opening Day Roster".
- ^ "Liberatore, other former Cardinals named to USA Baseball roster for Olympic qualifying". May 24, 2021.
- ^ "Team USA Announces Olympic Qualifying Roster". usabaseball.com. May 30, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
- ^ "St. Louis Cardinals: Matthew Liberatore left off final Olympic roster". July 2, 2021.
- ^ "Futures Game rosters are STACKED". MLB.com.
- ^ "'Soak up every minute': After season in limited role, Carpenter chases 'big hit,' plays possibly final game at Busch". October 3, 2021.
- ^ "Cardinals name their 2021 Minor League Players, Pitcher of the Year". MLB.com.
- ^ "Pipeline isn't loaded, but several top-end prospects could help the Cardinals soon". April 3, 2022.
- ^ "Cardinals to call up top prospects Nolan Gorman, Matthew Liberatore". The Athletic. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
- ^ "Friends since 5 years old get call to Majors together". MLB.com.
- ^ "'Couldn't write it any better': Liberatore debuts with Gorman there". MLB.com.
- ^ "Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Headed back to Triple-A". May 22, 2022.
- ^ "Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Back in big leagues". May 23, 2022.
- ^ "Gorman's first MLB home run travels 449 feet". May 29, 2022.
- ^ "Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Optioned to Triple-A level". cbssports.com. March 21, 2023. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
- ^ Morin, Richard. "Arizona's Matthew Liberatore and Nolan Gorman: Opponents, draft prospects — and best friends". The Arizona Republic.
External links
edit- Career statistics from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
- Matthew Liberatore on Twitter