Former National League Cy Young winner Brandon Webb is retiring from baseball, agents Jonathan Maurer and Mike Montana of Millennium Sports told Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com. Webb, a three-time All-Star who last pitched at the MLB level in 2009, had been considering another comeback attempt.
The Diamondbacks initially selected Webb in the eighth round of the 2000 draft. Three years later he posted a 2.84 ERA with Arizona over the course of 180 2/3 innings. From 2004-08 the groundball pitcher averaged 227 innings with a 3.30 ERA, 7.1 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9. That stretch included his three All-Star appearances and the 2006 NL Cy Young Award. However, Webb hasn't pitched in the big leagues since Opening Day 2009. Shoulder injuries have limited him for the past few years, and though the Rangers took a chance on him in 2011, he didn't make it back to MLB.
Teams such as the Rockies, Twins, Phillies, Marlins, Nationals and Mets had interest in Webb this winter. The 33-year-old earned more than $31MM during his MLB career, according to Baseball-Reference. Webb will retire with an 87-62 record and a 3.27 ERA in 1319 2/3 innings pitched over the course of 199 career appearances.
