Between 2007 and 2018, he played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox, Miami Marlins, Arizona Diamondbacks, Detroit Tigers, and Toronto Blue Jays.

While Saltalamacchia had a breakout season in 2013, he was benched for the final stretch of the 2013 World Series after a missed play caused the Red Sox to lose Game 3.

[1] He attended Royal Palm Beach High School, where he caught for his friend and future Major League Baseball (MLB) teammate Kason Gabbard.

On June 3, 2003, he agreed to a contract with the team for a signing bonus of $950,000,[5] and he spent his first season of professional baseball with the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League (GCL) Braves.

[6] 2005 proved to be a breakout year for Saltalamacchia, who was named the Myrtle Beach Pelicans' Most Valuable Player, as well as the top prospect in the Class A-Advanced Carolina League, by batting .314, hitting 19 home runs, and setting a club single-season record with 81 RBIs.

[6] With both starting catcher Brian McCann and backup Brayan Peña injured during a game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Saltalamacchia was called up to Atlanta on May 2, 2007, his 22nd birthday.

The latter hit, which came off of a pitch from Saltalamacchia's childhood friend Chad Billingsley, helped bring home Andruw Jones to give the Braves the lead.

[15] Exactly one month later, while filling in at first base to make room for McCann behind the plate, Saltalamacchia recorded his first multi-home run game, with third- and fifth-inning solo shots against Mike Bacsik of the Washington Nationals.

Alongside Saltalamacchia, Neftalí Feliz, Elvis Andrus, Matt Harrison, and Beau Jones were sent to Texas in order for Atlanta to receive Teixeira.

[22] His time in the minors was limited, however, as he was called up on April 25 to replace Adam Melhuse, who was released from his contract after breaking a bone in the back of his hand during a game against the Detroit Tigers.

[28] Saltalamacchia earned the position out of spring training after Taylor Teagarden showed poor pitch blocking and stamina and Max Ramírez suffered an injury.

[35] After returning from the injury, Saltalamacchia showed difficulties both batting and catching, and he was sent to the Triple-A Oklahoma City RedHawks to isolate and remedy the mechanical issues with his play.

[6] On July 31, 2010, the Rangers traded Saltalamacchia to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for prospects Román Méndez and Chris McGuinness, $350,000 in cash, and a player to be named later.

[44] The Red Sox had a slow start to the season, and troubles with both Saltalamacchia's swing and the performance of his batterymates led to rumors that Varitek would gain more time behind the plate.

He took the general advice on how to call a game from pitching coach Bob McClure, while Varitek taught Saltalamacchia how to handle the individual personalities of members of the Red Sox' starting rotation like Josh Beckett, John Lackey, and Jon Lester.

[48] With Varitek's offseason retirement, Saltalamacchia became the de facto leader of Boston's "Wolf Pack" of catchers, a group that also included Kelly Shoppach, Ryan Lavarnway, and Luis Exposito.

[51] After the first half of the season saw Saltalamacchia make an All-Star case with 15 home runs and a .537 slugging percentage, he seemed to collapse in August, finishing the year with 139 strikeouts in 405 at-bats.

[17] He put up middling offensive numbers for the season, with a .288 OBP and 1.2 Wins Above Replacement, but his 25 home runs were one short of the single-season franchise record among catchers,[53] which was set by Carlton Fisk in both 1973 and 1977.

[56] Boston general manager Ben Cherington ultimately optioned Lavarnway to Triple-A, keeping Ross and Saltalamacchia as his major league catching staff for the 2013 season.

[61] He was benched for the remainder of the series, which the Red Sox won in six games, and Boston did not tender Jarrod Saltalamacchia a qualifying offer for the following season, leaving him a free agent.

[66] While the catcher continued to disappoint in hit production, carrying a .220 average into the start of August, he managed to raise his on-base percentage to .329 by drawing 43 walks in that same time frame.

[68] On April 27, Saltalamacchia was designated for assignment as the rookies moved J. T. Realmuto into the starting catcher role, with Jhonatan Solano acting as his backup.

[70] Two days after his release from the Marlins, Saltalamacchia signed a minor league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks, a deal that would allow him to gain more at-bats in Triple-A before joining the rest of the team.

[75] Detroit was primarily interested in Saltalamacchia's switch-hitting abilities, as they were in need of more left-handed batters; defensively, he would serve as the backup catcher for other new acquisition James McCann.

[81] He was ultimately named to the Blue Jays' opening day roster as a backup catcher for Russell Martin, and he got his first start of the season on April 7, catching for Francisco Liriano.

[88] He took on the unofficial role of clubhouse teacher with the Mud Hens, helping both the Tigers' pitching prospects and fellow Triple-A catcher Grayson Greiner develop their skills in preparation for an MLB promotion.

[94] In addition to coaching The King's Academy, Saltalamacchia was hired by NESN to serve as a substitute sports commentator when the network's regular analysts were unavailable.

Although scheduling conflicts with the Marlins prevented Saltalamacchia from joining his World Series champion teammates on a celebratory visit to the White House, the catcher told reporters that he would have declined to attend regardless, as he did not support then-President Barack Obama.

[106] In 2016, Saltalamacchia expressed his disagreement with gridiron football player Colin Kaepernick's decision to take the knee during the playing of the U.S. national anthem prior to games.

He referred to Kaepernick's kneeling as "pretty disgusting", and said that the football player "needs to go back to the history books and realize what the flag represents and what a lot of people have sacrificed for it".