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Retirement

Adrian Beltre Retires

By Steve Adams | November 20, 2018 at 9:07am CDT

After a brilliant career that spanned parts of 21 seasons, Adrian Beltre announced today that he is retiring from baseball. Via a Rangers press release, Beltre has issued the following statement:

After careful consideration and many sleepless nights, I have made the decision to retire from what I’ve been doing my whole life, which is playing baseball, the game I love.

I have thought about it a lot and although I appreciate all the opportunities and everything that baseball has given me, it’s time to call it a career. I have enjoyed the privilege of playing professional baseball since I was 15 years old. I have been blessed to have played 21 seasons at the highest level in Major League Baseball.

I want to thank God, my amazing wife Sandra for your unwavering and unconditional love, support and understanding throughout my entire baseball career, my three awesome children, Cassie, A.J and Camila for being the best baseball kids, my parents, and my entire family for all your love and support.

I also want to thank my agents, Scott Boras, Mike Fiore and the entire Boras Corp. for always believing in my talent. A huge THANK YOU goes to the numerous teammates, managers, coaches, and staff members from the Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox and especially the Texas Rangers. These past eight seasons playing in a Rangers’ uniform have been the best of my career and were made possible thanks to Rangers’ owners Ray Davis, Bob Simpson, and Neil Leibman, General Manager Jon Daniels, Nolan Ryan, and the late Don Welke.

I also owe a huge part of my success in Texas to the amazing Rangers’ fans. You guys are the best!

I also have to acknowledge and thank Tommy Lasorda for believing in this young kid from the Dominican Republic when others thought I was too young to be called up to the Big Leagues.

To all my fans in the Dominican Republic, the United States and Latin America, my sincerest THANK YOU for your continuous support throughout my career. While I will forever cherish the memories from my time playing the greatest game on earth, I am excited to become a fulltime husband and father, and I am ready to take on the next chapter of my life.

It’s been one hell of a ride!

Muchas gracias,

Adrian Beltre

The march to Cooperstown now begins in earnest for Beltre, one of the greatest third basemen to ever play the game. Signed by the Dodgers out of Santo Domingo in 1994, Beltre debuted in the Majors as a 19-year-old just four years later and never looked back. While his first season didn’t yield quality results, Beltre improved greatly in his age-20 campaign and cemented himself as a star in the years to follow. Beltre ultimately accrued more than 20 years of Major League service time, spending at least five years with each of the Dodgers, Mariners and Rangers (in addition to one year with the Red Sox in 2010).

Already a highly regarded player in the first half of his career, Beltre is the rare player who actually improved with his age. While most players begin to fade in their early to mid-30s, Beltre seemingly won a staredown with Father Time. Incredibly, he’d never made an All-Star team prior to his 31st birthday, but he was named to four Midsummer Classic rosters over the final nine seasons of his career. After hitting a combined .270/.325/.453 with superlative defense from 1998-2009, Beltre exploded to hit .307/.358/.514 from 2010-18. Along that remarkable 21-year journey, his glovework scarcely deteriorated, making him one of the best all-around players in the game for the better part of two decades.

Beltre will retire as a career .286/.339/.480 hitter, with 477 home runs, 636 doubles, 38 triples and 121 stolen bases on his resume. He totaled 3166 hits as a Major Leaguer, scored 1524 runs and knocked in another 1707 runs. In addition to his four All-Star nods — which, in retrospect, was far too few — Beltre won four Silver Sluggers, five Gold Gloves and a pair of Platinum Gloves. Even that considerable amount of hardware feels light — particularly on the Gold Glove front, as Beltre is the runaway all-time leader in Defensive Runs Saved at any position since the stat was introduced in 2003. No one is even close to Beltre’s towering mark of 222, with Andrelton Simmons’ 184 DRS currently sitting in a distant second place.

Beltre earned $219MM in one of the greatest careers we baseball fans will ever have the privilege to witness. Fangraphs tallies his career at 84 wins above replacement, while Baseball-Reference pegs him at a whopping 95.7 WAR. As surefire a Hall of Famer as one can find, Beltre will take his place among the game’s elite in five years once he’s eligible for the Hall of Fame ballot.

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Quintin Berry Retires, Joins Brewers Coaching Staff

By TC Zencka | November 10, 2018 at 10:08am CDT

After thirteen seasons in professional baseball, outfielder Quintin Berry has officially hung up his cleats. Berry announces his retirement via Twitter, but adds that he will be joining the Milwaukee Brewers for the 2019 season as an outfield and baserunning coordinating (Twitter links). The Brewers have not yet announced the hire.

Berry’s most significant playing time came with the 2012 Tigers when he made his ML debut. He played in 94 games as a 27-year-old rookie, hitting .258/.330/.354 and stealing 21 bases in 21 attempts. Since then, Berry has been one of baseball’s few speed specialists, seeing time as an occasional stolen base threat off the bench, a la Terrance Gore.

Berry, who turns 34 years-old on November 21st, was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 5th round of the 2006 draft. He spent time with 12 organizations in total, including major-league appearances for the Tigers, Red Sox, Orioles, Cubs and most-recently the 2017 Brewers, for whom he stole two bases in three attempts after rosters expanded in September. Notably, Berry stole three bases in three attempts for the Red Sox during their World Series run in 2013. After pinch-running for David Ortiz, he stole second base off Yadier Molina in the eighth inning of a Game 4 Boston victory.

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Chase Utley To Retire

By Steve Adams and Jeff Todd | November 9, 2018 at 8:24pm CDT

Longtime MLB star Chase Utley was released today by the Dodgers, clearing the way for his formal retirement. He announced in a press conference earlier this summer that he would retire at the end of the 2018 season.

Utley, 39, turned in a compelling 16-year run at the major-league level. In addition to possessing high-end all-around talent, Utley will be remembered as perhaps the consummate grinder of his generation. Of course, his hard-nosed play also occasionally drew the ire of opposing players and fans.

There’s ample cause to view Utley as a strong Hall of Fame candidate. The former No. 15 overall pick (Phillies, 2000) ran up a cumulative .275/.358/.465 batting line with 259 home runs, 1103 runs scored, 1025 RBIs and 154 stolen bases. The six-time All-Star won four Silver Slugger Awards at second base — each coming between 2006-09, when he was widely considered to be one of the best players in all of baseball. From 2005-13, Utley raked at a .290/.378/.503 clip — good for a robust 129 OPS+.

Put it all together, and Utley compiled more than 60 wins above replacement by measure of both Baseball-Reference (65.4) and Fangraphs (63.2). More than half of that tally came during a ridiculous five-year run from 2005 through 2009, when Utley racked up value by contributing in all facets of the game. That monster peak coincided with the Phillies’ rise into a powerhouse. Utley paired with Jimmy Rollins to form an outstanding up-the-middle duo and the club fielded a variety of other high-end talents.

Utley’s single best season, by measure of wins above replacement, came in 2008 when he helped lead the Phillies to a World Series Championship. Then 29 years of age, Utley hit .292/.380/.515 with 33 homers during the regular season and played a pivotal role in helping the Phils advance beyond the NLCS against the Dodgers.

Over the years to come, Utley ramped down into merely a highly above-average player. He was churning out 3+ WAR campaigns through 2014 — marking a decade-long run in which he reached at least that annual tally (by B-Ref’s measure). The inevitable breakdown campaign came in 2015, but Utley still found a way to bounce back. He turned into a sturdy role player after moving to the Dodgers via trade. Utley was particularly useful during the 2016 and 2017 campaigns, when he appeared in 265 total games, providing the Dodgers with 918 plate appearances of .246/.321/.400 hitting and over 1600 innings of solid glovework.

It was clear during the 2018 season that the end was near. Utley faded at the plate in limited action while dealing with thumb and wrist injuries. When he announced in the middle of the year that he’d hang up his spikes for good, it came as little surprise. The Dodgers preferred to keep him on the roster for the duration of the 2018 campaign, though Utley was not active for the postseason.

By retiring now, Utley will forego the remainder of his contract with the Dodgers. He had been under contract for the 2019 season at a rate of $1MM. Giving up that cash will leave Utley just under the $125MM mark for career earnings. That’s a hefty haul, to be sure, but he earned every cent. It’ll be interesting to see how Hall voters ultimately handle Utley’s case. He doesn’t have the individual accolades that many prefer to see among Hall of Famers, but he had one of the better peaks of any second basemen in recent memory, has one of the more impressive overall resumes at that position, and will no doubt draw support from those who value his broad-based contributions to many successful teams.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Joe Mauer Announces Retirement

By George Miller | November 9, 2018 at 5:08pm CDT

Joe Mauer will officially retire from Major League Baseball, as La Velle E. Neal III and Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune report. Mauer’s future was in doubt throughout the 2018 season, but he has ultimately chosen to call it a career after 15 major league seasons, all of them spent with the Twins.

Born in Minnesota and attending high school in St. Paul, Mauer seemed destined to be chosen first overall by the Twins in the 2001 draft, and endeared himself to fans in Minnesota and beyond throughout his career. After honoring the final year of an eight-year, $184MM contract signed with the club, it seems fitting that Mauer retires with the team that drafted him, playing out the entirety of his career with one organization. Mauer has taken out a full-page newspaper ad to share a heartfelt letter with Twins fans announcing his decision.

Though it was unknown at the time whether he would return for another season, Mauer’s final game at Target Field was a magical one. Starting the game at first base, Mauer took the field alone as he was greeted by his two daughters. In what would turn out to be his final at-bat, Mauer hit a double–sliced into left-center field–that seemed emblematic of his signature hitting style. Then, one final time, Mauer put on his catcher’s gear for the first time in more than five years and received one pitch from Matt Belisle before exiting the game to a rousing ovation from the Minnesota faithful.

Spending the first 10 years of his career behind the plate, Mauer was forced to move to first base after battling concussions. In those seasons, though, Mauer distinguished himself as one the most prolific offensive catchers in recent memory. In 2006, Mauer became the first full-time catcher to win an American League batting title, and his three career batting titles are the most all-time among catchers. Named the American League MVP in 2009, Mauer joined the likes of Thurman Munson, Johnny Bench, and Ivan Rodriguez as one of a few backstops to earn that distinction.

In his career, Mauer appeared in 1,858 games, tallying 2,123 hits and 143 home runs, and posting a slash line of .306/.388/.439, his 55.1 WAR good for third-most in Twins franchise history. Mauer walks away from the game as an interesting case for the Hall of Fame. In his time as a catcher, Mauer posted dominant numbers, especially over a five-year span between 2006 and 2010. His peak alone places him in the company of the game’s all-time great catchers; his career WAR ranks seventh-most among catchers. And while Mauer has generally posted above-average numbers as a first baseman, the injury-prompted transition certainly hurts his case.

Regardless of the outcome of his Hall of Fame candidacy, Mauer’s career is one to look back on fondly. He was universally well-regarded by fans, teammates, coaches, and the media, garnering a reputation as a consummate professional. As expressed in his letter, Mauer plans to use his departure from baseball to spend more time with his family. We at MLBTR congratulate him on a marvelous career and wish him well in his future endeavors.

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Brad Ziegler Announces Retirement

By Jeff Todd | October 10, 2018 at 11:32am CDT

Veteran reliever Brad Ziegler has announced his retirement from the game of baseball (Twitter link). The submariner, who chose the occasion of his 39th birthday to spread the news, has appeared in 11 MLB seasons and compiled over seven hundred innings on the hill.

It has certainly been quite a run for a player who got his start as a 20th-round draft pick and did not touch the majors until his age-28 season. As Ziegler himself notes in his announcement, his outlook was dubious at best when he was transformed from a marginal starting pitching prospect into a drop-down reliever.

As it turns out, Ziegler has led all relievers in baseball in innings pitched and appearances since making his debut in 2008. Despite working in the mid-eighties with his signature sinker, Ziegler befuddled MLB hitters all along the way.

It didn’t take long for Ziegler to announce his presence once he finally did debut. He spun a record-setting 39 scoreless frames for the Athletics in his rookie campaign.

Inevitably, the league adjusted somewhat. And Ziegler was always somewhat limited by his lack of swing-and-miss stuff. But he proceeded to reel off an amazing span of productive campaigns in Oakland and then (after a mid-2011 trade) with the Diamondbacks. From 2008 through 2016, Ziegler tossed nearly six hundred frames while maintaining a 2.44 ERA and picking up 85 saves.

The end of that stretch of excellence, of course, did not come with either of those organizations. Ziegler was shipped from Arizona to the Red Sox at the 2016 trade deadline, leading to a quality run down the stretch in Boston.

Ziegler ended up carrying that momentum into free agency, landing a two-year, $16MM deal from the Marlins. Things didn’t go as hoped, but Ziegler did figure out a way to turn things around in 2018. He threw well enough in the run-up to the deadline that he landed back in Arizona to finish out his career.

Ultimately, Ziegler will be remembered for being a highly-respected, consistent, and exceedingly durable reliever. He led all of baseball, in fact, with 82 appearances in his final campaign. Ziegler also notably tallied more than one hundred career saves.

Above all else, though, his absurd 66.7% career groundball rate sets a mark that future hurlers of his ilk will be measured by. That stands as a record for the modern era in which such statistics are available. (You can safely ignore the first name on that list, as it’s based only on a one-appearance sample in 2002, the first year that GB% is computed.)

It is not yet known what Ziegler will pursue next, but the long-time player’s union representative will surely have his choice of opportunities in and around the game of baseball. MLBTR congratulates him on an excellent career and wishes him the best of luck in his future endeavors. (For the record, this offer still stands!)

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Victor Martinez Will Conclude Playing Career This Weekend

By TC Zencka and Jeff Todd | September 21, 2018 at 3:56pm CDT

Victor Martinez will take the final at-bat of his career this Saturday, per Chris McCosky of The Detroit News. Friday and Saturday against Kansas City will be the final two games of Martinez’s career.

Victor Martinez

It seems, then, that Martinez has put aside any remaining doubt as to his intentions. He said recently, in reference to the remainder of the 2018 season, that he was “pretty sure this is going to be it,” as Evan Woodberry of MLive.com was among those to cover. It’s now clear that Martinez will hang up his spikes after taking the final at-bat of his career in front of his home crowd in Detroit — which, as Woodberry tweets, is the way the veteran wants to wrap things up.

Martinez, a native of Venezuala, signed as an amateur free agent with the Cleveland Indians in 1996. After breaking into the majors as a catcher with the Indians in 2002, Martinez played his first full season as a 24-year-old the following season. Cleveland traded their star catcher to the Boston Red Sox at the 2009 deadline for a package of Nick Hagadone, Justin Masterson, and Bryan Price. After finishing out the 2009 season with a disappointing ALDS loss to the Angels, Martinez returned to Boston for the 2010 seasons – his last year of playing full-time at catcher.

As a free agent in 2011, Martinez joined the Detroit Tigers on a four-year, $50MM contract, where he became a primary designated hitter. The Tigers won the AL Central in all four seasons of Martinez’ initial deal, prompting the Tigers to re-sign him after the 2014 season to a second four-year pact, this one worth $68MM. That contract runs out at the end of this season.

The last two seasons have not been kind to Martinez, but he was legitimately one of the most feared hitters in the American League for a ten-year stretch from 2004-2014. His best season came with the Tigers in 2014 when he hit .335/.409/.565, leading the league with an impressive .974 OPS. For his career, Martinez slashed .296/.360/.455, with 246 home runs and a 118 OPS+, making the All-Star team five times and winning a Silver Slugger Award twice – in 2004 as a catcher and in 2014 as a DH.

Unfortunately, Martinez never won a World Series, but he was no stranger to the postseason, reaching the ALCS with Cleveland in 2007 and again with Detroit in 2011. Martinez missed the entirety of the 2012 season after tearing his left ACL during offseason conditioning, which was – unfortunately for Martinez – the year Detroit won the American League Pennant, getting swept by the San Francisco Giants in the World Series.

With 32.3 career rWAR, there’s a Hall of Fame case to be made for the switch-hitting catcher/1B/DH – but it’s unlikely. His 30.6 JAWS score puts him well below the average Hall of Fame score of 44.0 for catchers, but certainly impressive enough to receive some votes and remain on the ballot for a few years. Nevertheless, Saturday will mark the final playing time in a long and impressive career for Martinez, who turns 40 in December. Martinez will retire having made over $140MM across 16 major league seasons.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Ryan Howard Announces Retirement

By Jeff Todd | September 4, 2018 at 9:42am CDT

Long-time MLB slugger Ryan Howard announced in a post today at The Player’s Tribune that he is retiring from the game of baseball. Howard had not played during the 2018 season, but also had not formally hung up his spikes.

Howard will finish out his big-league playing tenure having logged time in 13 seasons, all of them with the Phillies. Though he spent time with the Rockies and Braves organizations last year, Howard’s final MLB showing came in 2016 with Philadelphia.

It’s perhaps too easy to forget now that Howard was once one of the game’s most productive power hitters. He was voted the National League’s Rookie of the Year in 2005 and its Most Valuable Player in 2006, emerging alongside players such as Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, and Cole Hamels to form a core that would soon take the game by storm.

As it turned out, the fate of the Phillies was tied closely to that of its first baseman. Howard finished in the top-ten of MVP voting in every one of the five ensuing seasons, 2007 through 2011, helping to drive the club’s five-year run of NL East titles.

Though the 2008 World Series win represents the crowning achievement of that era of Phillies baseball, the 2011 club actually turned in the most impressive regular-season performance with an excellent 102-60 record. That great team was bounced in stunning fashion from the postseason, though, with Howard making the final out of the NLDS on a play in which he tore his left Achilles tendon.

As went Howard, so went the Phillies; neither was the same from that point forward. The once-feared slugger posted a .226/.292/.427 batting line over the next five seasons. The club played a cumulative 88 games under .500 in the same span.

Of course, the relationship might have ended much sooner had it not been for the fact that Howard signed a five-year, $125MM extension at the start of the 2010 season — an agreement we examined at length after its conclusion. As I explained in that post, the cracks in Howard’s game may not have been obvious at the time of the deal, but began to show not long after.

Mostly, of course, the contract represented a combination of partially but not completely related failures: then-GM Ruben Amaro Jr. and the Phillies’ brass did not accurately project Howard’s future and the big man’s body did not hold up. There was some tension later in his tenure with the team, though ultimately he played out his contract and bowed out after some nice moments to wrap things up in Philadelphia.

While the club did not achieve value on that contract, it certainly made out quite well overall on a player who came to the organization as a fifth-round pick in the 2001 draft. And Howard expressed fond memories in his farewell statement, which is well worth a full read. MLBTR wishes him all the best in his future endeavors.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Brandon McCarthy To Retire At Season’s End

By Jeff Todd | August 15, 2018 at 10:14am CDT

Veteran righty Brandon McCarthy says he’ll wrap up his playing career at the end of the season, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman writes. This is his 13th campaign in the majors.

McCarthy, 35, is still hoping to make it back from a knee injury that has sidelined him for a major portion of the 2018 campaign. Indeed, he says he’d have undergone season-ending surgery on the joint if he planned to continue pitching into the future.

Unsurprisingly, with just six weeks left in the regular season, McCarthy is only considering returning as a reliever. He’s also modifying his delivery in an effort to work through the knee problem. Whether or not it works out, it seems the towering veteran is committed to giving it one final go before finishing out his four-year, $48MM contract and riding off into the sunset.

It’s certainly possible McCarthy could be a useful asset for the Atlanta organization down the stretch. With a division title on the line, the club will need every good arm it can muster. And once the calendar flips to September, it won’t have to worry about active roster limitations.

It’s easy to look at McCarthy’s 4.92 ERA from 78 2/3 innings this year and question whether he has much left. But that only tells part of the story. After opening the year with a significant velocity loss, the speed readings ticked northward. McCarthy has generated a sturdy 48.0% groundball rate with 7.4 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9. He has surely been at least somewhat unlucky to surrender a .332 BABIP and 21.7% HR/FB rate (more than double his career level); indeed, both xFIP (3.75) and SIERA (4.09) viewed him as a still-productive hurler.

In any event, it remains to be seen whether McCarthy can come back from injury one final time. Doing so has, unfortunately, been a significant aspect of his career. The former 17th-rounder has only once taken the ball for all 32 starts in a season, in a 2014 campaign in which he recorded exactly two hundred frames. That’s just one of five years in which he reached triple-digit innings tallies.

As things stand, McCarthy owns a 4.20 ERA with 6.7 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 through 1,223 2/3 lifetime MLB innings. Between his debut with the White Sox in 2005 and his current run in Atlanta, he has seen action with the Dodgers, Rangers, Diamondbacks, Athletics, and Yankees, never stopping in one place for more than three seasons.

No matter how things finish out for McCarthy late this season, he’ll wrap up a productive career as a highly respected veteran. Given his well-earned reputation for wit and wisdom, McCarthy seems sure to make a mark in the game — or some other arena — in the future.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Luke Hochevar Announces Retirement

By Jeff Todd | August 14, 2018 at 10:27am CDT

Former first overall pick and nine-year MLB veteran Luke Hochevar has decided to hang up his spikes, he tells MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan. He spent his entire career with the Royals, who selected him in the 2006 draft out of the University of Tennessee.

Hochevar was said to be pursuing a comeback earlier this year after undergoing a procedure to address thoracic outlet syndrome. But he was still experiencing pain when he attempted to throw despite being two years removed from the surgery.

Now 34 years of age, Hochevar made it to the majors after just 34 minor-league appearances. But he failed to gain traction as a starter, struggling mightily in that role before moving into the bullpen for the 2013 season.

That campaign turned into a coming-out party for Hochevar, who spun 70 1/3 innings of 1.92 ERA ball with 10.5 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9. But he missed the ensuing campaign after requiring Tommy John surgery, sidelining him for the club’s exciting run to the World Series and again putting his future in doubt as he entered free agency.

Hochevar ultimately decided to stay in Kansas City. Despite the health uncertainty, the club promised him $10MM on a two-year deal, which included a club option for 2017.

That decision worked out for all involved. Hochevar threw 88 innings of 3.78 ERA ball, with 9.1 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9, over the two guaranteed seasons of the contract. More importantly, he contributed 10 2/3 scoreless innings over nine postseason appearances in 2015, including five clean frames in the Royals’ successful return to the World Series.

In the end, Hochevar wraps up his playing career with 929 1/3 innings of 4.98 ERA pitching. That’s undoubtedly not what he or the K.C. org anticipated at the outset. But all’s well that ends well; he helped the team reach the promised land and tells Flanagan that he’ll retire feeling “grateful for the time I had in this game.” MLBTR wishes Hochevar the best in his new endeavors.

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Andre Ethier Announces Retirement

By Mark Polishuk | July 25, 2018 at 6:07pm CDT

Longtime Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier has decided to call it a career after 12 Major League seasons, as per a Dodgers media release.  The club will honor Ethier prior to their game on August 3.

“I look forward to coming back to Los Angeles and Dodger Stadium, places I’m so lucky to have called home for the last 12 years,” Ethier said.  “There’s nothing like stepping out on the field at Dodger Stadium and looking up and seeing the faithful Dodger Blue supporting you, and I’m grateful for the reception and support I received in all my years playing there.”

Andre Ethier

Originally a second-round pick for the A’s in the 2003 draft, Ethier was dealt to L.A. during the 2005-06 offseason as the return on the trade that sent Milton Bradley and Antonio Perez to Oakland.  Ethier wound up spending all 1455 games and 5425 plate appearances of his Major League career as a Dodger, and was a solidly above-average performer (122 OPS+ and wRC+) at the plate.  Ethier hit .285/.359/.463 with 162 homers, ranking within the Dodgers’ all-time top ten list in such major categories as homers, RBI, games played, hits, extra-base hits, and doubles.

Ethier was a two-time NL All-Star, and his list of hardware also included a Gold Glove in 2011, and a Silver Slugger Award and sixth-place finish in NL MVP voting in 2009, which arguably his finest season (.272/.361/.508 with 31 home runs).

The last few years of Ethier’s career were marred by injuries, most notably a broken leg and a herniated disk in his back that sidelined him for almost all of the 2016 and 2017 seasons.  He had gradually shifted into part-time duty over the previous few years thanks to a crowded Dodgers outfield, despite signing a five-year, $85MM extension in June 2012 and seemingly becoming a franchise building block.

Ethier’s long career saw him span the troubled era of Frank McCourt ownership in Los Angeles to the high payrolls and greater stability of the Guggenheim Baseball Management/Magic Johnson/Andrew Friedman era.  Throughout it all, however, the Dodgers have been successful on the field, and Ethier thus compiled a lengthy postseason resume.  He posted a .776 OPS over 145 career plate appearances in the playoffs, and his final at-bat will go down as a successful one, an RBI single as a pinch-hitter in Game Seven of last year’s World Series.

The MLB Trade Rumors staff congratulates Ethier on his excellent career, and we wish him all the best in his post-playing days.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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    Mariners Sign Brennen Davis To Minor League Deal

    Pirates Hoping To Add “Proven Bat” Following Lowe Trade

    Guardians Sign Stuart Fairchild To Minor League Deal

    Padres Notes: King, Kelly, Darvish

    Mets Outright Brandon Waddell

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