Matt Pobereyko, who pitched in the Mets system in 2017 and 2018, died over the weekend at 31 years old from a heart attack, according to MLB insider Hector Gomez.
The right-handed reliever overcame Tommy John surgery earlier in his career and pitched in Single-A Columbia in 2017. In 2018, he worked out of the bullpen at Single-A St. Lucie, Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Las Vegas.
Pobereyko also played in the Marlins and Diamondbacks organizations. He was pitching in Mexico at the time of his death.
“We mourn the loss of Matt Pobereyko,” the Sioux City Explorers, an independent league team, tweeted. “A great baseball player and an even better person. RIP Pobo.”
The independent St. Paul Saints also tweeted condolences.
“It is with a heavy heart that we learned of the passing of former Saints pitcher (’20) Matt Pobereyko. He was an incredible teammate and fierce competitor, but an even nicer person. He will be missed by all that knew him. We send our love to his family and friends.”
In his final season at Kentucky Wesleyan College, he went 9-2 with a 1.96 ERA in 12 games.
“The entire Kentucky Wesleyan community mourns the loss of former baseball player Matt Pobereyko. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends at this time,” the school tweeted.
Pobereyko told Metsminors.net in 2018 that his parents were very supportive during his career.
“Any time there has been a low over this crazy path of a career they have been there to help me get back up,” he said.