Anthony Bemboom

Bemboom graduated from Sauk Rapids-Rice High School in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota.[1] He attended Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs, Iowa, from 2009 through 2010.[2][3] He attended Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, from 2011 through 2012.[3]

The Los Angeles Angels selected Bemboom in the 22nd round, with the 687th overall selection, of the 2012 MLB draft.[4] He signed with the Angels and played in Minor League Baseball for their organization from 2012 through 2016.[5] During his time with them, he played for the AZL Angels, Orem Owlz, Burlington Bees, Inland Empire 66ers, Arkansas Travelers, and the Salt Lake Bees.[5]

Bemboom was selected by the Colorado Rockies in the minor league portion of the 2016 Rule 5 draft.[6] He played for the Albuquerque Isotopes in 2017 and 2018.[5]

Bemboom signed a minor league contract with the Tampa Bay Rays on November 26, 2018.[7] He began the 2019 season playing for the Charlotte Stone Crabs and the Durham Bulls.[5] The Rays promoted Bemboom to the major leagues on May 10, 2019.[8] He made his major league debut on May 12 versus the New York Yankees.[9] Bemboom got his first career hit on May 14, 2019, an RBI double versus the Miami Marlins. He later exited the game with a knee injury.[10] He was placed on the injured list on May 16.[11] On July 15, he was reinstated from the injured list and designated for assignment.[12]

On July 15, 2019, Bemboom was traded to the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for cash considerations.[13] On August 24, 2020, Bemboom made his first career pitching appearance against the Houston Astros, pitching a scoreless inning after getting Carlos Correa, Taylor Jones and Michael Brantley to fly out following the walk of Kyle Tucker. In 2020, Bemboom batted .208/.328/.417 with 3 home runs and led all Angels catchers with a 41% caught stealing rate.[14] On August 7, 2021, Bemboom was designated for assignment by the Angels.[15]

On August 9, 2021, the Los Angeles Dodgers claimed Bemboom off waivers from the Angels.[16] On August 14, Bemboom was outrighted off of the 40-man roster without having appeared in a game for the Dodgers.[17] He played in 25 games for the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers, with a .189 batting average.[5] Bemboom became a free agent following the season.

On December 16, 2021, Bemboom signed a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles organization.[18] He made the Orioles' Opening Day roster for the 2022 season.[19] Playing in 22 games for Baltimore, Bemboom hit just .115/.207/.212 with one home run and one RBI. He was designated for assignment on May 21, 2022. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A Norfolk Tides on May 27. Spending the rest of the season in Norfolk, Bemboom appeared in 34 contests, batting .228/.292/.350 with 3 home runs and 15 RBI.

Following the 2022 season on October 6, the Orioles added Bemboom to the 40-man roster to prevent him from reaching minor–league free agency.[20] However, on November 4, Bemboom was removed from the roster and sent outright to Triple–A Norfolk.[21]

On March 30, 2023, Bemboom had his contract selected after making the Opening Day roster. James McCann had suffered an injury and a backup catcher was needed, necessitating his promotion.[22] After going 0–for–2 in just 2 games, he was designated for assignment on April 13.[23] He cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple–A Norfolk the same day.[24] On June 20, Bemboom was selected back to the major league roster to replace José Godoy as the backup to Adley Rutschman.[25] He went 2–for–9 in 4 more games, and was again designated for assignment on July 5, following the promotion of Colton Cowser.[26][27] He again cleared waivers and was sent outright to Norfolk on July 12.[28] On October 13, Bemboom elected free agency.