Matt Sauer in Tokyo.  Photo courtesy of ESPN

           Matt Sauer has been playing baseball since he was seven years old.  In his senior year at Righetti in 2017, he had a stellar year as a right-handed pitcher with a 9-1 won-loss record.  His earned run average was 0.98 with 142 strikeouts. 
         Matt was a two-time Northern League MVP, earning the award in both his junior and senior years.
          Right out of high school, Sauer was drafted by the New York Yankees and played Double-A and Triple-A baseball for the Staten Island Yankees, the Charleston RiverDogs, the Tampa Tarpons, the Hudson Valley Renegades and others.  
          In 2023, the Kansas City Royals acquired Sauer byway of the Rule 5 draft, and he made the opening day roster as a relief pitcher. He appeared in 14 games with the Royals; then in 2024, he returned to the Yankees organization and was assigned to Triple-A.    
          In December 2024, he signed a minor league contract with the reigning World Series Champions Los Angeles Dodgers and was a non-roster invitee to spring training in Arizona.  
          Sauer pitched in four spring training games for LA. His toughest outing was on March 7 when he threw two scoreless innings before giving up 4 runs to the Seattle Mariners’ cactus league squad.  According to Dodgers Way, a publication of the team, when Dodgers manager Dave Roberts came to the mound for a pitching change, the skipper was smiling. On the way back to the dugout, Roberts surprised Sauer by telling him that he would be joining the team on its trip to Tokyo for two exhibition games against the Hanshin Tigers and the Yomiuri Giants and the season opener against the Chicago Cubs, also in Tokyo.
          “I honestly didn’t even know how to react,” Sauer said.  I thought it was first class.  It was awesome, the way he did it.”   Roberts praised Sauer for his work with the Dodgers and said he "had a great spring." 
          Sauer replaced Blake Snell in the fifth inning against the Hanshin Tigers in Tokyo and got the final two outs of the inning.
          After the Tokyo series, Sauer was optioned to the Dodgers Triple-A team in Oklahoma City.
          Sauer returned to the Dodgers earlier this month when Blake Snell was added to the 15-day injured list. He pitched against the Washington Nationals on April 7.
           Sauer’s family are long-time residents of Orcutt.  His older brother Nick has been the Righetti basketball coach for five years and led the Warriors to the basketball CIF finals last year. His father David is a foreman with Freeport Oil and Gas in Santa Maria. His mother Tamera operates a well-established daycare center in Orcutt. It was extra special for is mom to see her son travel to Japan because she was born on Kadena Air Base in Okinawa.  His younger sister Kayla is a manager at Arrow Photo in Santa Maria.   
          Sauer and his siblings all attended Orcutt schools: Ralph Dunlap, Orcutt Junior High and Righetti.   
          Sauer met his wife, Reagan, at Orcutt Junior High where he was good friends with Reagan’s twin brother, Rollie.  Her family, Danelle and Dave Wineman, are also longtime Orcutt residents.
         Matt’s dad, David, says watching Matt play now is just as exciting as it was when he was seven years old and playing Little League, “the stakes are just a little higher,” he chuckles.            Steve Southwick reporting