Matt Belisle, Relief Pitcher

Date of Birth: 6/6/1980
Birthplace: Austin, Texas

Matt Belisle, relief pitcher, was first drafted by the Atlanta Braves in 1998. He was a starting pitcher in the Braves' minor league system in 1999, 2000, and 2002. He didn't play professional baseball in 2001.

The Braves traded Belisle to the Cincinnati Reds on August 14, 2003. He spent most of the 2003 season in the minors, pitching just 8.2 innings in 6 games of relief for the Reds. He spent the entire 2004 season in the minors.

Belisle pitched in 60 games with the Reds in 2005. He finished the 2005 season with 4 wins and 8 losses, 59 strikeouts to 26 walks, and a 4.41 ERA in 85.2 innings. The following season, he spent time on the DL with a back injury. He finished the 2006 season with a 3.60 ERA in 40.0 innings in 30 games.

After having pitched primarily as a reliever for the Reds, Belisle was moved to their starting rotation in 2007. He pitched in 30 games as a starter and he finished the season with 8 wins and 9 losses, 125 strikeouts to 43 walks, and a 5.32 ERA in 177.2 innings. He spent most of the 2008 season back in the minors, pitching in 6 games as a starter with the Reds. He finished with a 7.28 ERA in 29.2 innings.

Belisle signed with the Colorado Rockies on February 1, 2009. He became a relief pitcher only in 2009, pitching in 24 games with the Rockies. He finished with a 5.52 ERA in 31.0 innings. He also pitched in 33 games in the minors.

In 2010, Belisle pitched in 76 games with the Rockies. He finished the season with 7 wins and 5 losses, 91 strikeouts (his career high as a relief pitcher) to 16 walks, and a 2.93 ERA in 92.0 innings. The next season, he had a career high 10 wins (to 4 losses) and a 3.25 ERA in 72.0 innings in 74 games. He pitched in a career high 80 games in 2012 and finished with a 3.71 ERA. His ERA went up to 4.32 in 2013 and 4.87 in 2014.

Belisle signed with the St. Louis Cardinals on December 2, 2014. He spent time on the DL in 2015 with elbow inflammation. In 34 games with the Cardinals, he had a 2.67 ERA.

Belisle signed a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals on February 17, 2016. He spent time on the DL again in 2016, this time with a calf strain. He finished the season with a career low ERA of 1.76 and 32 strikeouts to 7 walks in 46.0 innings in 40 games.

The Minnesota Twins signed Belisle to a one-year contract on February 3, 2017. He finished the 2017 season with 2 wins and 2 losses, 9 saves, 54 strikeouts to 22 walks, and a 4.03 ERA in 60.1 innings in 62 games. In the Wild Card game, he pitched 1.0 innings and he gave up no hits.

Belisle became a free agent on November 2, 2017. He signed a minor league contract with the Cleveland Indians on May 16, 2018. He was released by the Indians on June 11th, and the next day, he signed again with the Twins. He spent time on the DL in 2018. He finished the season with 1 win and 1 loss, 25 strikeouts to 11 walks, and a 7.86 ERA in 34.1 innings in 25 games with the Twins and 8 games with the Indians.

Belisle elected free agency on October 29, 2018. He hasn't played professional baseball since 2018.

Career pitching statistics for Belisle through 2018 include:

• 693 games played
• 928.2 innings pitched
• 52-58 win-loss record
• 711 strikeouts to 238 walks
• 4.32 ERA

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Matt Belisle
ESPN - Matt Belisle