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Cardinals Announce Wild Card Roster

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The end of an era is drawing near in St. Louis, and as the Cardinals hope to send at least two franchise icons off on the highest note possible, they’ve formally set their roster for their best-of-three Wild Card series against the Phillies. Here’s how the roster will look as Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols suit up for the final postseason run of their illustrious careers…

Right-Handed Pitchers

Left-Handed Pitchers

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

The Cardinals are without outfielder Tyler O’Neill, who’s been out since mid-September owing to a hamstring strain. He’s been rehabbing and progressing toward a return, and Daniel Guerrero of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweets that O’Neill will actually plan in this year’s Arizona Fall League to continue rehabbing with an eye toward a hopeful return during the NLDS — assuming the Cardinals advance beyond the first round of play.

All eyes this series will be on Pujols, Molina and Wainwright — a trio of St. Louis icons who’ll hope to add one final World Series ring to their likely Hall of Fame resumes. Molina and Pujols have already announced their intention to retire at season’s end. Wainwright could well give it one more go but has kept his own plans close to the vest.

Regardless, it’s been a remarkable scene for Cardinals fans throughout the season, watching three beloved players reprise their halcyon days from more than a decade ago as they reunited to capture the NL Central crown. Along the way, Pujols rode a late hot streak for the ages into the rarefied air of the 700 home run club, while Molina and Wainwright established a new Major League record for most starts made by a battery. All the while, the Cards received MVP-level play from their infield corners and saw rookies like Nootbaar and Donovan provide a glimpse of what’s to come in the years ahead.

Cardinals Sign Giovanny Gallegos To Extension

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OCTOBER 4: It’s an $11MM guarantee, the Associated Press reports. Gallegos receives a $500K signing bonus, followed by successive salaries of $4.5MM and $5.5MM for his final seasons of arbitration eligibility. There’s a $500K buyout on the 2025 option, which has a base value of $6.5MM. The option price can escalate by as much as $3.5MM depending on his games finished tally during the 2024 campaign. It’d increase $500K apiece at 20, 26 and 31 games finished and would add an extra $1MM at each of 36 and 41 games.

OCTOBER 3: The Cardinals announced that they have signed right-hander Giovanny Gallegos to a two-year extension with a club option for 2025. Gallegos had two years of arbitration eligibility remaining, with this deal buying out those years and potentially one free agent year as well.

Gallegos, 31, came over to St. Louis alongside Chasen Shreve in the July 2018 trade that sent Luke Voit to the Yankees. He got a very brief stint with the Cards in the months after that trade, throwing 1 1/3 innings over two appearances. But in the four seasons since then, he has established himself as a mainstay of the club’s relief corps.

From 2019 to 2021, he made 155 appearances and threw 169 1/3 innings. In that time, he registered a 2.76 ERA with excellent strikeout and walk rates of 32.4% and 6.2%, respectively. He earned his way into high leverage situations in that time, notching 19 saves and 44 holds in that period.

He reached arbitration for the first time after last season, with he and the club agreeing to a $2.41MM salary for 2022. Since signing that deal, he’s been putting up very similar results to what he had done in the previous three campaigns. He has a 2.91 ERA in 58 2/3 innings with a 31.2% strikeout rate and 6.5% walk rate, earning another 14 saves and another 12 holds.

Based on his fourth straight season of strong performance, Gallegos would have been due an arbitration raise for 2023 and likely another for 2024, as long as he stayed healthy. Of course, with a pitcher, the health factor could always change the calculus in a hurry. Instead, Gallegos will have the security of knowing his earnings for the next two seasons are locked in. For giving Gallegos that guarantee, the Cards will have the ability to secure his services for an extra season.

“So excited,” Gallegos tells Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “I feel so happy. I don’t have the word exactly for how I’m feeling. Right now, I’ve got an extension with the team. My confidence is 100%, 200%.” Goold also spoke to John Mozeliak, the club’s president of baseball operations. “He really wanted to stay and be a part of the St. Louis Cardinals moving forward,” Mozeliak says. “I think it really was a win-win for both parties. This gives him a little peace of mind as well.”

Central Notes: Cabrera, Hicks, Alzolay

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Tigers veteran Miguel Cabrera will turn 40 years old in April, shortly after beginning the final guaranteed season of the mega extension he signed back in 2014. Though he’s not quite the hitter he was back then, he’s still going to be a part of Detroit’s plans next season. “We expect Miggy to be here,” manager A.J. Hinch tells Chris McCosky of The Detroit News. “We expect him to do his part in the offseason to prepare himself to be healthy and be productive and be the icon that he is.”

As noted by McCosky, Cabrera’s 2022 got off to a nice start, as he kept his batting average above .300 into July. However, he has slumped badly since then while dealing with various nagging injuries, currently sitting on a batting line of .251/.299/.315 for the year. That production amounts to a wRC+ of 76, or 24% below league average, which is well below Cabrera’s previous low of 92 from 2017.

Going into the season, it seemed as though Cabrera was on the verge of being nudged out of the club’s plans, as they spent aggressively in the offseason to try to compete in 2022. With the promotion of first base prospect Spencer Torkelson, it was fair to wonder if an awkward situation was approaching with the club trying to compete and Miggy standing in the way. Instead, Torkelson and the Tigers both fell way shy of expectations, with the youngster hitting just .197/.281/.301 so far this year and club sporting a record of 64-93.

The fact that Cabrera is still owed $32MM next year doesn’t mean he is immune from being cut from the team if he continues to underperform. Just last year, the Angels designated Albert Pujols for assignment in May while he was playing out the final year of his contract at a $30MM salary. Both Hinch and new president of baseball operations Scott Harris voiced their support for Cabrera being a part of the 2023 club, though how much of a role he gets to play is likely to be determined.

Some more notes from the Central divisions…

  • The Cardinals are planning to reinstate right-hander Jordan Hicks from the injured list for their final regular season series, which begins tomorrow in Pittsburgh, according to MLB.com. Hicks went on the IL on September 17, retroactive to September 15, due to right arm fatigue. He has long tantalized fans with his triple-digit velocity but also been frequently set back by command issues and injuries. This season, he’s made 34 appearances and has a 4.92 ERA, 24.4% strikeout rate, 57.5% ground ball rate but a 13.6% walk rate. The Cards have already clinched the NL Central and can use their final games to assess the condition of Hicks’s arm before they begin a series against whichever team winds up in the final Wild Card spot.
  • Cubs right-hander Adbert Alzolay seemed to be a potential rotation building block last year, appearing in 26 games with 21 of those being starts, logging 125 2/3 innings with a 4.58 ERA. However, this year, a shoulder strain landed him on the injured list to begin the season and he only made his season debut a couple of weeks ago. This mostly lost season has resulted in several pitchers surpassing him on the depth chart and perhaps leading to a move to the bullpen. Alzolay discussed this possibility with Patrick Mooney of The Athletic and seems fine with it. “If my role is best out of the bullpen, being a long guy, being a guy that can throw in the eighth or close a game or whatever, I feel like I have the weapons to do that,” Alzolay says. “You won’t have me every five days there, but you can have me every two or three days. I can go and throw three or four innings, or I can go and throw one inning late in the game. So I feel like there are a lot more options there, and then that allows the team to go and be aggressive during the offseason.” The Cubs’ 2023 rotation will likely consist of Marcus Stroman, Kyle Hendricks and Justin Steele, with Keegan Thompson, Hayden Wesneski, Javier Assad, Adrian Sampson and Caleb Kilian having put themselves into consideration to varying degrees. With all of those options, and perhaps some offseason additions, it makes sense for Alzolay and the team to consider new ways for him to be a contributing member of the staff.

Central Notes: O’Neill, Paddack, Madrigal

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Cardinals outfielder Tyler O’Neill missed almost a month in the middle of this season, from mid-June to mid-July, due to a left hamstring strain. He went back on the IL September 17 due to the same injury, a left hamstring strain. At the time, it was reported as a Grade 1 strain, which is the less-serious variety. Regardless, over a week later, an O’Neill return doesn’t seem close.

Team president John Mozeliak was asked about the possibility of O’Neill returning in the postseason and had this to say, per Jim Hayes of Bally Sports Midwest: “I think there’s a shot, but obviously the clock is ticking.” That doesn’t seem to indicate the Cards are banking on a return. The club has now clinched the NL Central but are seven games behind the Mets and Braves, who are tied atop the East, and even further behind the Dodgers. That means they are destined to play in the first round of the playoffs against whoever finishes with the third Wild Card spot. Each round that they survive will increase the chances of O’Neill coming back, but he wouldn’t be able to find a rehab stint with the minor league seasons winding down. Even if he’s healthy, the Cards would have to view a rusty O’Neill as a better option than their current outfielders in order for him to get a shot.

O’Neill had a career year last year by hitting 34 home runs and swiping 15 bases on his way to producing 5.6 wins above replacement, according to FanGraphs. This year, various injuries have limited him to just 96 games and diminished production when on the field, with his .286/.352/.560 batting line from last year slipping to .228/.308/.392. Without him in the mix, the St. Louis outfield is currently composed of Lars Nootbaar, Dylan Carlson, Corey Dickerson, Juan Yepez, Alec Burleson and Ben DeLuzio.

More notes from the Central divisions…

  • Twins right-hander Chris Paddack underwent Tommy John surgery in May and is now targeting an August 2023 return, per Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com. The surgery usually comes with a 12-18 month recovery window, but this is the second such procedure of Paddack’s career, having previously gone under the knife as a prospect in 2016. Paddack tells Park that the second recovery is going to take a bit longer, meaning the narrow end of the typical recovery window is closed. Since the best-case scenario involves Paddack missing the bulk of next year, the club will have to plan on building a rotation without him. He was just one of several Twins who missed significant time with injury this year, preventing them from hanging onto the AL Central lead that they held for a good chunk of the year. On paper, the 2023 rotation in Minnesota consists of Sonny Gray, who is sure to have his option exercised, alongside Tyler Mahle, Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober for four slots. Kenta Maeda could be a factor for the fifth, though he’ll be an unknown quantity after missing all of this year recovering from his own Tommy John surgery of the internal brace variety. Dylan Bundy and Chris Archer both have options that are unlikely to be exercised, subtracting them from the equation. The club could look for outside help given the uncertainty around Maeda, though they will also have internal options like Josh Winder, Louie Varland, Cole Sands, Jordan Balazovic, Devin Smeltzer and Simeon Woods Richardson, with Paddack hopefully joining them down the stretch.
  • Cubs infielder Nick Madrigal is on the injured list and won’t be returning this season, manager David Ross tells Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune. Madrigal landed on the shelf September 10 due to a groin strain, his second groin-related trip to the IL this year. It’s the second straight injury-marred campaign for him, after he was limited to 54 games in 2021 and just 59 here in 2022. He hit .305/.349/.425 last year but saw that line dip to .249/.305/.282 in this campaign. He came into this season with one year and 164 days of MLB service time, meaning he’s a lock to reach arbitration as a Super Two player this winter, though he likely won’t earn a huge raise given all the time he’s missed. The Cubs aren’t likely to be competitive in 2023 but will still want to see Madrigal show better results in order to keep him in their plans going forward.

The Cardinals’ Second-Half Breakout Outfielder

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The Cardinals have been among the sport’s most consistently successfully clubs in recent years, finishing above .500 each season since 2008. Among the reasons for those perennially strong results: the team’s knack for developing players from the middle tier of the farm system into successful major leaguers.

That ability to churn out productive hitters is a key factor in the club closing in on an NL Central title. Plenty of attention has been devoted to the MVP-caliber contributions of corner infielders Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt and the incredible turnaround for Albert Pujols, who collected his 700th career homer last Friday. That’s well-deserved, but it shouldn’t obscure from the production the club has gotten outside the middle of the lineup.

There are a few players who’ve been instrumental pieces of Oliver Marmol’s lineup. Tommy Edman has played Gold Glove caliber defense at both middle infield positions and stolen 31 bases. Even with roughly league average hitting, he’s been worth between five and six wins above replacement, according to FanGraphs and Baseball Reference. Brendan Donovan will probably get some third-place votes in NL Rookie of the Year balloting thanks to an excellent .279/.389/.377 line across 436 plate appearances. Yet neither player has been as impactful for St. Louis in the second half as second-year outfielder Lars Nootbaar.

Like Edman and Donovan, Nootbaar was a mid-round draftee. An eighth-round pick out of USC in 2018, he didn’t appear on an organizational prospect ranking at Baseball America before making his MLB debut last June. The left-handed hitter posted a league average .239/.317/.422 showing in 58 games as a rookie, but he didn’t have a place in a season-opening outfield of Tyler O’Neill, Harrison Bader and Dylan Carlson. Nootbaar saw a fair bit of pinch hit work early in the season, tallying 101 plate appearances in 40 games through the All-Star Break. St. Louis optioned him to Triple-A on three separate occasions, including a nearly month-long stint between April and May.

Nootbaar wasn’t especially productive during that early-season work. A plantar fasciitis diagnosis for Bader pushed Carlson from right field to center in late June, opening up the former position. St. Louis then dealt the injured Bader to the Yankees at the August 2 trade deadline, subtracting from the big league outfield to address their rotation needs by bringing in Jordan Montgomery. That marked a show of faith in both Carlson to handle the increased defensive demands up the middle, and in Nootbaar to hold his own with regular playing time in right field.

St. Louis brass has to be pleased with the way Nootbaar has taken to the opportunity. Since deadline day, he’s hitting .228/.362/.497 with nine home runs and seven doubles over 185 plate appearances. While the batting average isn’t eye-catching, he ranks 37th in on-base percentage and 30th in slugging among 149 qualified hitters over that stretch. Overall, Nootbaar’s season line is up to .229/.345/.458 in 316 plate appearances, offense that checks in 29 points above league average by measure of wRC+.

The results are strong as is, but the more impressive aspect is that Nootbaar has found success with dismal ball in play results. He owns a .221 BABIP since deadline day, the sixth-lowest mark among qualifiers. That’s not entirely attributable to poor fortune; Nootbaar hasn’t hit many line drives over this stretch. Yet he’s both hitting the ball hard and showing a strong awareness for the strike zone. His 17.3% walk rate since the deadline is topped only by Aaron Judge and Juan Soto, and he’s one of eight qualified batters with more free passes than punchouts. His 91.6 MPH average exit velocity and 47.5% hard contact rate, meanwhile, are each decidedly better than average.

Nootbaar’s production has tailed off in September following a scorching August, largely thanks to a woeful .146 BABIP this month. The power, plate discipline and bat-to-ball skills have largely remained intact, however. He has a 10:13 walk-to-strikeout ratio in 68 September plate appearances, and he’s connected on six extra-base hits (including four longballs).

During his first extended action as an everyday major league player, Nootbaar has shown plus power potential, an extremely discerning eye and decent bat-to-ball skills. Even if his line drive rate stays down, he’s shown the ability to be productive despite a subpar batting average. If Nootbaar can improve upon his bat control even slightly, he has a chance to be a well above-average offensive player.

He’ll certainly need more than two months of solid production to cement himself as a core piece of the organization’s future, but he’s played his way into an everyday outfield job heading into the playoffs. President of baseball operations John Mozeliak, GM Michael Girsch and the rest of the front office took a risk in dealing from their outfield in the middle of a contested division race. Nootbaar has, thus far, rewarded their faith by effectively stepping into that vacancy.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Cardinals Notes: Rotation, Hicks, O'Neill

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  • The Cardinals announced that Miles Mikolas and Jose Quintana will start on Tuesday and Wednesday in the team’s two-game series against the Brewers.  A sweep would clinch the NL Central for St. Louis, who have a commanding 6.5-game lead over Milwaukee but naturally want to get the division fully settled before looking ahead to the playoffs.  Since the Cardinals are a virtual lock to be the NL’s third seed, they’ll have to play in the wild card round, thus giving manager Oliver Marmol a lot to consider about how to best line up his postseason rotation.  Basically, everything is still to be decided, Marmol told Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and other reporters, including the possibility that the Cards might opt with something close to a standard five-man rotation (assuming they advance past the wild card series, of course).  The recent of struggles of Jordan Montgomery and Adam Wainwright — who is also battling a “dead arm” — have also added to the discussion, and St. Louis also has two remaining off-days in the regular season schedule.
  • The Cardinals announced that Miles Mikolas and Jose Quintana will start on Tuesday and Wednesday in the team’s two-game series against the Brewers.  A sweep would clinch the NL Central for St. Louis, who have a commanding 6.5-game lead over Milwaukee but naturally want to get the division fully settled before looking ahead to the playoffs.  Since the Cardinals are a virtual lock to be the NL’s third seed, they’ll have to play in the wild card round, thus giving manager Oliver Marmol a lot to consider about how to best line up his postseason rotation.  Basically, everything is still to be decided, Marmol told Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and other reporters, including the possibility that the Cards might opt with something close to a standard five-man rotation (assuming they advance past the wild card series, of course).  The recent of struggles of Jordan Montgomery and Adam Wainwright — who is also battling a “dead arm” — have also added to the discussion, and St. Louis also has two remaining off-days in the regular season schedule.
  • In other Cardinals updates, Marmol told MLB.com’s John Denton and other reporters that it may be possible for both Jordan Hicks and Tyler O’Neill to be activated from the injured list before the postseason.  Hicks hasn’t pitched since September 14 due to neck spasms and fatigue in his right arm, but he is set to begin a throwing program on Tuesday.  O’Neill will also begin a running program on Wednesday, as he trise to make it back from a hamstring strain that sent him to the 10-day IL on September 17.

Cardinals Option Nolan Gorman

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The Cardinals announced late last night that infielder Nolan Gorman has been optioned to Triple-A Memphis. Fellow infielder Juan Yepez was recalled from Memphis in his place.

It’s the first trip back to the minors for Gorman, who entered the season ranked among the sport’s top 50 prospects heading into the 2022 season. Gorman captivated Cards fans with a Herculean run through Triple-A prior to his initial promotion, raking at a .308/.367/.677 clip and belting 15 home runs in just 147 plate appearances. Upon his initial promotion, he delivered on the considerable hype surrounding his bat, slugging three homers in his first 11 games and carrying an OPS north of 1.100 in that time. Gorman cooled but was solid through the All-Star break.

It’s been a struggle for the 22-year-old as the season has worn on, however. He’s hit just .207/.273/.388 in the second half — including a grisly .150/.227/.250 with a 39.4% strikeout rate over the past month. Gorman has long been considered a bat-first prospect, and it’s worth noting that he moved from third base to second base once the Cardinals acquired Nolan Arenado, so Gorman’s current position is still relatively new to him. That said, both Defensive Runs Saved (-5) and Outs Above Average (-11) are quite down on his glovework through the first 549 innings of his career there.

Some early struggles in the career of a 22-year-old isn’t any great surprise, and Gorman still figures to be a key part of the Cardinals’ future moving forward. For now, he’ll be in Triple-A for at least 10 days, as he can only return sooner than that if he’s replacing an injured player. From a service time vantage point, Gorman won’t finish the current season with a full year (nor would he have even if he’d remained on the roster through season’s end). He’ll still be controllable for at least the 2028 season, though with 122 days of service under his belt, he could wind up reaching arbitration a year early as a Super Two player, if he accrues full years of service time in 2023-24. The more pressing short-term question is simply one of whether he’ll return this season and whether he’ll be a part of the team’s postseason roster.

With Gorman optioned out, second base seems likely to belong to Brendan Donovan for the time being. A rookie himself, the 25-year-old Donovan never generated the same prospect fanfare as Gorman but has nonetheless turned in a strong .282/.391/.373 batting line through 418 plate appearances to begin his big league career. Donovan has nowhere near the same level of power (or much power at all), but he’s walked at a hearty 12.4% clip while showing good bat-to-ball skills and proving to be a tough strikeout (15.6%).

In the long-term outlook, Donovan profiles best as a Swiss army knife who can play nearly any position at a capable level. He’s already logged time at all four infield spots and in both outfield corners this year, drawing particularly strong marks in small samples at the hot corner. Like Gorman, he’s controllable another six seasons, as he’ll finish the 2022 campaign about a week shy of a full year of service time. That’ll make him a slam-dunk Super Two player, barring future optional assignments, placing him on pace for arbitration following the 2024 season.

Cardinals Activate Steven Matz, Place Jordan Hicks On 15-Day Injured List

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In between games of their doubleheader with the Reds today, the Cardinals activated left-hander Steven Matz from the 15-day injured list.  Taking Matz’s spot on the 15-day IL is Jordan Hicks, as the right-hander has been sidelined by both arm fatigue and neck spasms.  Hicks’ placement is retroactive to September 15.

After signing a four-year, $44MM free agent deal during the winter, Matz’s first season in St. Louis has largely been lost to injury — first a shoulder impingement, and then a torn left MCL suffered in his first game back aftr that prior IL stint.  Given the initial concern following the MCL tear, it is somewhat remarkable that Matz is back at all in 2022, but he will be able to work out of the bullpen rather than as a fully built-up starting pitcher.

Beyond just the health woes, Matz’s misfortune extended to his work on the mound.  Despite a very good 4.8% walk rate and 27.4% strikeout rate over his 42 2/3 innings of work this season, Matz has only a 5.70 ERA.  His 3.13 SIERA is far more favorable, yet Matz hasn’t received much batted-ball luck, as evidenced by his .336 BABIP.

Those struggles will be just a memory, however, if Matz is able to contribute as a reliever for a Cardinals team that looks bound for the playoffs, thanks to an eight-game lead in the NL Central.  Getting Matz in the bullpen may help make up for the loss of Hicks, who also missed about five weeks earlier this season due to a flexor strain.

Injuries have plagued Hicks in the past, including a Tommy John surgery in 2019 and a lengthy absence due to elbow soreness last season.  His flexor strain this year ended the Cardinals’ experiment with Hicks as a starting pitcher, and while his advanced metrics are better since his move back to the bullpen, he has only a 4.50 ERA over 34 innings as a reliever, after posting a 5.47 ERA over 26 1/3 innings out of the rotation.  It all adds up to a 4.92 total ERA, and one of the league’s worst (13.6%) walk rates.  Between this performance and now the injury concern, it remains to be seen if the Cards will include Hicks on their postseason roster.

Cardinals Place Tyler O’Neill On IL With Hamstring Strain

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The Cardinals announced some roster moves prior to today’s doubleheader, with right-hander Dakota Hudson coming up as the “29th man.” Additionally, outfielders Dylan Carlson and Tyler O’Neill are swapping places, with Carlson coming off the IL and O’Neill heading onto it due to a left hamstring strain.

The injury to O’Neill is a bit ominous it was a left hamstring strain that sent him to the IL for about a month earlier this year. An injury of similar severity would keep him out of action until mid-October, but O’Neill seems optimistic that won’t be the case. John Denton of MLB.com relays word from the outfielder that it’s a Grade 1 strain, which is the lesser kind. Perhaps O’Neill can avoid a lengthy absence, though he will miss at least the next ten days. With just over two weeks remaining on the schedule, anything beyond a minimum stint will make it difficult to return during the regular season.

Of course, the Cardinals are a virtual lock to play in the playoffs, since they are 7.5 games ahead of the Brewers in the NL Central. A deep postseason run would give O’Neill more time to return to the field and get back into a groove, though the Cards will likely have to play the first round of the playoffs. This year, the top two division winners get a bye past the Wild Card round, but the Cardinals are well back of the Dodgers and 5.5 games behind the East-leading Mets.

O’Neill’s campaign got off to a rough start, though he righted the ship a bit recently. Before going on the IL in June, he was hitting just .241/.292/.361, but has hit a much better .214/.323/.423 since returning. The combined batting line amounts to a 100 wRC+, exactly league average, though O’Neill has accrued 1.2 wins above replacement thanks to his baserunning and defense, in the eyes of FanGraphs. With O’Neill out, Carlson will step into the outfield mix and try to keep the club from missing a beat. He has also spent some time on the IL this year, going on the shelf once due to a hamstring strain and then a thumb sprain. He’s hitting just a hair above league average overall, as his .240/.316/.386 batting line amounts to a wRC+ of 101. Thanks to strong work in center field, he’s produced 2.3 fWAR in 112 games. He will likely get regular work up the middle, flanked by Corey Dickerson and Lars Nootbaar.

Edwin Jackson Announces Retirement

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Former All-Star Edwin Jackson took to Instagram this evening to officially announce his retirement from Major League Baseball. The right-hander pitched parts of 17 seasons in the majors, getting to the highest level every year between 2003-19. Jackson suited up for 14 different MLB teams, setting the all-time record for most uniforms donned.

“19 years ago today I was blessed with an opportunity to tie up my laces and step on the field to make my debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers,” Jackson wrote. “Today I am happily hanging up my cleats and closing a 22-year baseball career.” Jackson went on to thank his wife, parents, sisters, children and the rest of his family before expressing his gratitude to various coaches, trainers and doctors who assisted him. “This game has taught me many life lessons and allowed me to evolve into the person I am today! I will forever have memories that will live within me from the game I love and dedicated my life to. Thank you baseball for an amazing life experience I will never forget,” he concluded.

A sixth-round draftee of the Dodgers out of a Georgia high school in 2001, Jackson emerged as one of the sport’s best pitching prospects not long thereafter. He broke into the big leagues exactly 19 years ago on his 20th birthday, starting three of four appearances down the stretch. He bounced on and off Los Angeles’ active roster for the next couple seasons before being traded to the then-Devil Rays over the 2005-06 offseason.

Jackson worked primarily as a reliever for his first season in Tampa Bay, but he took a full turn of starts by the 2007 campaign. That kicked off a stretch of seven consecutive seasons in which he surpassed 30 starts and 160 innings. Jackson pitched in Tampa Bay through 2008 before being dealt to the Tigers for outfielder Matt Joyce. He tossed a career-best 214 innings the next year, posting a 3.62 ERA. Jackson earned an All-Star nod with a 2.52 mark through that season’s first half.

The next offseason, his nomadic career continued. Detroit flipped Jackson to the Diamondbacks as part of a three-team blockbuster that netted Detroit Max Scherzer and sent Curtis Granderson to the Yankees. His stint in the desert was rather brief — he’d wind up traded again at that summer’s deadline — but it provided one of the more memorable moments of his career. On June 25, 2010, he tossed a no-hitter against his former team at Tropicana Field. He threw a staggering 149 pitches in the outing, striking out six but issuing eight walks. Then-manager A.J. Hinch stuck with Jackson despite his high pitch count, and he completed one of the more remarkable single-game performances by a player in recent memory.

Not long after, the last-place club dealt Jackson to the White Sox in a trade that landed Arizona Daniel Hudson. Jackson pitched well in 11 starts down the stretch, and he got off to another solid start in 2011. The White Sox fell out of contention the latter season, though, and he was on the move again. The Blue Jays acquired Jackson from the White Sox on the morning of July 27, but his stint in Toronto lasted only a few hours. Toronto promptly flipped him to the Cardinals in a deal that sent Colby Rasmus north of the border.

Jackson played in St. Louis for the second half, pitching to a 3.58 ERA through 12 starts. He made four starts in the postseason, and while his playoff numbers weren’t great, the Cardinals secured the World Series title in a dramatic series win over the Rangers. Fresh off winning a title, Jackson signed with the Nationals during his first trip through free agency. He spent the 2012 campaign in the Nats rotation, helping Washington to their first playoff appearance since moving to D.C.

The next winter, Jackson inked a four-year, $52MM pact with the Cubs. He continued to soak up innings but didn’t post especially strong numbers in Chicago. After two and a half seasons, he was released. That kicked off an even more rapid trip around the league, as Jackson suited up with the Braves, Marlins, Padres, Orioles, Nationals (again), A’s, Blue Jays and Tigers (again) over the next four years. He alternated between the rotation and the bullpen throughout that time, generally serving as a depth option.

While Jackson signed a minor league deal with the Diamondbacks in 2020, he didn’t make it back to the majors. He did appear on the U.S. Olympic team last summer and expressed a desire to get back to the big leagues, but he didn’t get another opportunity with an affiliated organization.

Altogether, Jackson pitched in 412 major league games. He tossed 1960 innings with a 4.78 ERA, striking out a bit more than 1500 batters and winning 107 games. According to Baseball Reference, Jackson banked upwards of $66MM in earnings and incredibly logged some action for almost half the league. MLBTR congratulates Jackson on his lengthy, accomplished career and wishes him all the best in retirement.

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