Julio Teherán Announces Retirement
Veteran righty Julio Teherán announced this afternoon that he’s officially retiring from baseball (Spanish-language video provided by Francys Romero). The 35-year-old was on the roster for his native Colombia during this year’s World Baseball Classic. Unfortunately, he had to be scratched from his scheduled start against Canada on Saturday after experiencing shoulder discomfort during warm-ups.
Although Teherán hasn’t been a factor at the MLB level in recent seasons, he had a strong career. A two-time All-Star, he pitched parts of 13 years in the big leagues. Teherán spent the bulk of his career with the Braves, who signed him for $850K as an amateur in 2008. He moved quickly through the minors and was one of the sport’s top pitching prospects within a couple years.
Atlanta called Teherán up for his first major league start in May 2011, less than four months after his 20th birthday. He made a handful of appearances over that season and the following year. By 2013, the Braves felt he was ready for a full-time rotation opportunity.
Teherán made 30 starts and turned in a 3.20 earned run average across 185 2/3 innings. He finished fifth in NL Rookie of the Year balloting on a 96-win team that won the NL East. Teherán was hit hard in his one appearance during the Division Series, but he signed a six-year extension that winter and entered the following season as Atlanta’s staff ace.
He’d hold that title for the next few seasons. Teherán made his first of six straight Opening Day starts for the Braves in 2014. Although the mid-2010s were a rough stretch for the team, that wasn’t any fault of Teherán’s. He established himself as a durable and reliable mid-rotation caliber starter.
Teherán topped 200 innings in consecutive seasons between 2014-15. He tossed a personal-high 221 frames of 2.89 ERA ball during his second full MLB campaign, earning an All-Star selection in the process. Teherán was selected back to the Midsummer Classic two years later. He turned in 188 innings of 3.21 ERA ball that year.
The 6’2″ righty only had two minimal injured list stints during his run in Atlanta. He made at least 30 starts every year from 2013-19. He got to 175 innings in all but the last of those seasons (in which he came just one out away from that mark). Teherán posted a combined 3.64 ERA with nearly 1200 strikeouts while ranking ninth in MLB in innings over those seven seasons. The Braves would return to the postseason during his final two years with the club, though he’d pitch out of the bullpen in October.
Atlanta declined a club option after the 2019 season, sending Teherán to free agency for the first time. He landed a $9MM contract from the Angels but was knocked around for 35 runs across 31 1/3 innings during the shortened schedule.
That pushed him into journeyman territory, as he bounced around via minor league deals and spent time in independent ball and the Mexican League. Teherán made brief appearances with the Tigers, Brewers and Mets between 2021-24. His final major league outing came as a member of the Mets against his old club at Truist Park in April 2024. He spent last season in Mexico.
Teherán wasn’t able to pitch in this year’s WBC, but he did earn a win for his home country in the 2017 tournament. He pitched professionally for almost two decades and retires with a sub-4.00 ERA in the big leagues despite his rocky results after leaving Atlanta.
He steps away with a 3.85 mark in nearly 1500 innings. Teherán recorded 1260 strikeouts and posted a near-.500 record (81-82). Baseball Reference credited him with roughly 20 wins above replacement, including 4-5 WAR showings during both of his All-Star seasons. He made north of $45MM in career earnings. Congratulations to Teherán on an excellent run and all the best in retirement.
Image courtesy of Jake Roth, USA Today Sports.
Mariners Add Jacob Nottingham To Minor League Coaching Staff
March 9: Nottingham was brought in as a player on a minor league deal but will actually be converting to coaching, according to a report from Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times. It’s unclear what Nottingham’s exact role in the Mariners organization will be. The news presumably ends Nottingham’s playing career, and we at MLB Trade Rumors wish him all the best in his upcoming move to coaching.
March 8: The Mariners have re-signed catcher Jacob Nottingham to a minor league deal, as noted in the transactions tracker on Nottingham’s MLB.com profile page. It’s unclear if the deal includes an invite to big league camp for the 30-year-old.
Nottingham is a veteran of four MLB seasons but hasn’t appeared in the majors since the 2021 season. A one-time top-100 prospect who was initially drafted by the Astros, he was involved in the 2015 Scott Kazmir swap between the Astros and A’s before being flipped to the Brewers in the Khris Davis deal ahead of the 2016 season. Nottingham lost his prospect shine during his time in Milwaukee and served mostly as an up-and-down catcher for the Brewers from the time of his MLB debut in 2018 until 2021, when he was claimed off waivers by the Mariners. He returned to the Brewers via trade shortly thereafter but was eventually DFA’d by Milwaukee and plucked off waivers by Seattle for a second time later in the year.
Then 26 years old, Nottingham ended the 2021 season with a career .184/.277/.421 slash line across 130 plate appearances in 54 MLB games, which remains his career slash line in the big leagues to this day. Since being outrighted off the Mariners’ roster in 2021, he’s bounced between the Mariners’, Giants’ and Nationals’ minor league systems and also enjoyed a 44-game stint in the independent Mexican League back in 2024. In 293 career minor league games, Nottingham owns a .235/.321/.415 slash line line that’s generally solid by the standards of a catcher. Those numbers are somewhat inflated by years spent in the Pacific Coast League, however, and Nottingham’s 2025 campaign left much to be desired. He appeared in just 17 games in Tacoma for the Mariners organization last year, and in those limited opportunities he struggled to the tune of a .193/.277/.298 slash line.
Given Nottingham’s limited playing time last year and struggles when he did take the field, it’s hard to imagine him being a significant part of the backup catcher conversation for Seattle. Cal Raleigh is, of course, the undisputed top catcher in not only the organization but all of baseball. The Mariners are planning on having Andrew Knizner back Raleigh up this year, although Jhonny Pereda is also on the 40-man roster while Mitch Garver, Brian O’Keefe, and Jakson Reetz are all in camp as non-roster invitees. Some of those depth options figure to have opt-outs in their contracts and could look for greener pastures elsewhere in the likely event they don’t make the MLB club. That’s where Nottingham could come into the picture as a depth piece who is familiar with the organization and can serve as a veteran mentor for pitchers at Triple-A.
Paolo Espino Announces Retirement
Right-hander Paolo Espino is retiring after 19 seasons in pro ball, as the 39-year-old announced that he is hanging up his glove after the World Baseball Classic is over. The longtime member of Panama’s national team saw action in both the 2006 and 2009 editions of the WBC, and is looking to pitch for his country one more time before calling it a career.
A 10th-round pick for Cleveland in the 2006 draft, Espino finally made it to the Show in March 2017 when he was 30 years and pitching with the Brewers. He tossed 24 total innings that season between the Brewers and Rangers and then didn’t resurface in the majors again until 2020 when he was a member of the Nationals.
The bulk of Espino’s time in the big leagues was spent in a Washington uniform, as the right-hander threw 233 innings over 82 games with the Nats (out of 265 2/3 career innings and 97 games). Throughout his time with the Nationals and over his career as a whole, Espino worked in a variety of roles, including as a regular starter, long reliever, bulk pitcher behind an opener, or as the proverbial last man in the bullpen reserved for blowout duty.
Espino posted a 5.12 ERA over his 265 frames with the Brewers, Rangers, Nationals, and Blue Jays, as his 8 2/3 innings over three outings with Toronto in 2024 marked the final appearances of his MLB career. The Jays outrighted Espino off the 40-man roster at the conclusion of the 2024 campaign and he elected free agency, eventually signing with Conspiradores de Queretaro of the Mexican League for part of the 2025 season.
We at MLB Trade Rumors congratulate Espino on his fine career, and we wish him all the best in his post-playing endeavors.
Cubs Hire Dixon Machado As Minor League Manager
The Cubs announced they’ve hired Dixon Machado to manage their Arizona Complex League affiliate. That seemingly brings an end to his playing career after 17 seasons in pro ball.
Machado spent the majority of that time in the minors. He played nearly 1300 minor league games, more than half of which came at the Triple-A level. The Venezuelan-born infielder had a four-year MLB run with the Tigers between 2015-18. He spent the ’19 campaign in the Cubs’ system before moving to Korea as a member of the Lotte Giants for two seasons. Machado came back to affiliated ball in 2022 and made a brief return to the big leagues that year, playing in five games as a member of the San Francisco Giants.
That would be Machado’s final MLB work, at least as a player. He has spent the last three years in Triple-A on minor league contracts with the Astros and Cubs. He appeared in 84 games for Chicago’s top affiliate in Iowa last season, hitting .221 with four home runs. Rather than continuing seeking minor league contracts, he’ll move into coaching as he nears his 34th birthday.
Machado appeared in 177 major league contests. He batted .226/.285/.292 with a pair of home runs and 107 hits. Machado was a .256 hitter in a little over 3000 Triple-A plate appearances and batted .279/.357/.392 over his two years in the KBO. The Cubs evidently valued him as an organizational mentor, as they signed him to a trio of minor league contracts despite never calling him up. They’ll keep him around in his first coaching opportunity, where he’ll manage a rookie ball team that’ll comprise mostly teenagers whom they’ve signed out of Latin America. Congratulations to Machado on a lengthy playing career and all the best in the next chapter of his career.
Jacob Stallings Joins Pirates’ Baseball Operations Department
Longtime major league catcher Jacob Stallings has taken on a new role in the Pirates’ baseball operations department, Stallings tells Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Specifics surrounding his job are still being ironed out, but for now the plan will be for Stallings to be in Pittsburgh around once a month to consult with the front office and spend time visiting minor league affiliates throughout the year to work on the development of the organization’s young catchers.
Stallings tells Mackey that he played through notable back pain last season and knew as the year wore on that he was likely to retire following the 2025 campaign. The veteran backstop adds that playing for Skip Schumaker with the 2023 Marlins helped him to realize the type of impact a coach/manager whose playing career has just ended could have on players throughout the organization. Time will tell whether Stallings sticks in baseball operations or takes on more of a player development or even coaching role moving forward, but he’s jumping right back into the game following what appears to be the final season of his playing career.
Stallings, 36, opened the 2025 season on the Rockies’ roster. He’d re-signed on a one-year deal after hitting .263/.357/.453 as Colorado’s primary backstop the season prior. Things didn’t go nearly as well in ’25. Stallings hit just .143/.217/.179 in 93 plate appearances before being cut loose in Denver. He briefly latched on with the Orioles when they were hit with a litany of catcher injuries but appeared in only 14 games before being passed through waivers and electing free agency.
All told, Stallings appeared in parts of 10 major league seasons. The former seventh-round pick suited up for 577 games between the Pirates, Marlins, Rockies and Orioles, tallying 1922 plate appearances and batting .232/.311/.340 (77 wRC+). While Stallings was rarely a big threat with the bat, he for several years ranked as one of the game’s premier defenders behind the plate. He won a Gold Glove with the Pirates in 2021 and nabbed 21% of runners who attempted to steal against him in his career. That mark was weighed down by some low percentages later in his career, but from 2019-20 Stallings thwarted 36.2% of the runners who took off during his watch.
Stallings accrued more than seven years of major league service time and took home about $12MM in his playing career. He’ll now have a say in helping to guide the next generation of Pirates catchers and could use that opportunity as a launching point into any number of other career paths within the sport.
Readers — Pirates fans in particular — will want to check out Stallings’ interview with Mackey in full for quotes on his experiences mentoring younger catchers as a player, his relationship with Schumaker, some of the strengths he sees in new Pittsburgh skipper Don Kelly, and more.
David Peralta Announces Retirement
Longtime Diamondbacks outfielder David Peralta is formally retiring from baseball. He provided a statement to MLBTR announcing the news:
“I want to formally announce my retirement from baseball. I want to thank God for all of the blessings he has given me, for giving me the best parents and sisters who always supported me. For my wonderful wife and beautiful kids who were always with me and supported me unconditionally. Thank you to the Arizona Diamondbacks organization for making my dreams come true, believing in me and giving me the opportunity to play the best baseball in the world — MLB. I also want to thank all of the other organizations that were a part of my career; Tampa Bay Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres. Thank you to Dave McKay for making me a Gold Glover, and thank you to Jose Amado for making me a Silver Slugger. And of course, thank you to all of the fans were always so special with me.
It was a lot of years of hard work, dedication and discipline, and I can now say with my head up that ‘I did it.’ The Freight Train has reached his final destination — HOME. Thank you baseball!”
Peralta took a winding road to what would prove to be a very productive career. He signed with the Cardinals as a left-handed pitcher out of his native Venezuela in 2004. Control issues and a pair of shoulder surgeries prevented him from getting out of rookie ball. By the time St. Louis released him, he was 21 years old and hadn’t made it to Low-A.
Peralta went into the independent ranks and reinvented himself as a hitter. It was a career-changing transition. He raked against indie ball pitching for two seasons, intriguing the Diamondbacks enough that they purchased his contract midway through the 2013 campaign. He remained on a tear in High-A and made the jump to Double-A the following season. By the middle of June, the Snakes had pushed him all the way to the big leagues. He hit .286/.320/.450 over 88 games and went into the next year as an everyday player.
Peralta’s first full MLB season was arguably the best of a strong career. He slashed .312/.371/.522 while connecting on 26 doubles, 10 triples, and 17 home runs. Peralta worked alongside AJ Pollock and Ender Inciarte in what was quietly one of the best outfields in the league. The D-Backs traded Inciarte the following offseason in the ill-fated Shelby Miller deal, while Peralta battled injuries and was limited to 48 games in 2016.
Peralta rebounded to hit .293 in consecutive seasons after that, helping the D-Backs to a playoff berth in the first of those years. He connected on 30 home runs in 2018, setting career marks in both homers and RBI (87). Peralta was one of four National League outfielders with 30+ homers and ranked sixth among the group with an .868 OPS. He was named a Silver Slugger alongside Christian Yelich and Nick Markakis.
The 2019 season saw Peralta earn the award on the other side of the ball. He led NL left fielders with +9 Defensive Runs Saved en route to a Gold Glove. He turned in a second straight season with an OPS above .800 as well, batting .275/.343/.461 with 29 doubles before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery. His production began to trend down after that, although he hit .300 during the shortened 2020 season for the second time of his career.
Arizona signed Peralta to a three-year, $22MM extension in advance of what would have been his walk year in 2020. That kept him in the desert for an extra season and a half, but the team’s underperformance led to him being on the trade block by the ’22 deadline. The Snakes traded him to the Rays in advance of his hitting free agency for the first time.
Peralta finished his career back in the NL West. He signed a one-year contract with the Dodgers in 2023 and spent the final four months of the ’24 season on the Padres roster after signing a minor league deal. Although he was more of a complementary player by that point, he finished his career with a respectable .267/.335/.415 showing over 91 games for San Diego. Getting back to the majors that year also got him to the 10-year service milestone.
His teams made the postseason each year from 2022-24. Peralta went 4-for-13 with a homer off Jack Flaherty in a five-game NLDS loss to the Dodgers in what would be his final major league action. He didn’t sign for the 2025 season, although he made a brief comeback in the Venezuelan Winter League this year.
The left-handed hitter finishes his career with a .278/.335/.448 batting line. He hit 125 home runs and topped 500 runs scored and RBI apiece. Peralta tallied 1166 hits and twice led the National League in triples. FanGraphs and Baseball Reference each credited him with roughly 17 wins above replacement, while B-Ref calculates his career earnings north of $40MM.
Peralta is one of the most successful indie ball signees ever, and he’s among the better players in Arizona’s 28-year team history. He trails only Luis Gonzalez, Paul Goldschmidt and Ketel Marte in games and hits in a D-Backs uniform, while he ranks among the top 10 in homers, RBI, and WAR among position players. Congratulations to Peralta on a fine career and all the best in his post-playing days.
Image courtesy of Imagn Images.
Avisail Garcia Announces Retirement
Avisail Garcia announced his retirement on Monday afternoon. That concludes a career which spanned parts of 13 MLB seasons and included an All-Star appearance in 2017.
“Today I formally announce the end of my career in Major League Baseball after 12 seasons of dedication and hard work. Thank you to God for the blessing of fulfilling my childhood dream—of playing baseball at its highest level,” the 34-year-old outfielder wrote on social media. He goes on to thank his family, representation at Mato Sports Management, and former teammates and coaches.
Garcia began his career with the Tigers. An under-the-radar signee out of Venezuela as a 16-year-old, he developed into one of the better offensive prospects in the game by the time he reached the big leagues in 2012. Comparisons to teammate and Hall of Fame countryman Miguel Cabrera were always ill-advised, but the 6’4″ Garcia had the physique and power potential to fit in the middle of a lineup.
Although Garcia made a brief MLB debut and factored into a 2012 pennant run in Detroit, he didn’t get a regular look until he was traded to White Sox the following year. He was the headliner for Chicago in the three-team trade that sent Jake Peavy to the Red Sox. Detroit picked up Jose Iglesias from Boston on their end. Garcia took over as Chicago’s everyday right fielder, a job he would hold for most of the next five seasons.
Garcia lost most of the ’14 season to a labrum injury. He kicked off a run of five consecutive double digit homer seasons the following year. The aforementioned All-Star campaign was the best of his career, as Garcia batted .330/.380/.506 with 18 longballs across 561 plate appearances. Only Jose Altuve’s MVP season stood in his way of winning the AL batting title.
That was the lone above-average season of Garcia’s tenure with the Sox. He otherwise hit between .236 and .257 with an on-base percentage between .281 and .309 over his full seasons there. Garcia’s free-swinging approach would be an issue throughout his career, though it didn’t stop him from turning in two solid years after the White Sox non-tendered him at the end of the 2018 season.
One of those came with the Rays, who signed Garcia to a $3.5MM contract after the Sox cut him. He managed a 20-homer campaign while batting .282/.332/.464 in the regular season. The Rays secured a Wild Card berth, and Garcia hit .300 with a homer in five playoff games in his first October action since his rookie year. He returned to free agency in a much better position that offseason, leading to a two-year deal with Milwaukee that guaranteed $20MM.
Garcia’s first year with the Brewers was a disappointment, as he hit .238 with only two homers during the shortened season. He made up for it by popping a career-best 29 longballs a year later, slashing .262/.330/.490 and driving in 86 runs. He helped Milwaukee to a 95-win campaign and an NL Central title. Garcia hit the market at age 31. The Marlins bought into his power production and strong batted ball metrics and signed him to a four-year, $53MM deal.
That was a strong deal for the player but a big misfire for the team. Garcia’s production immediately tanked and he’d only play out a little more than half the contract. He hit .217/.260/.322 with 13 homers in 549 plate appearances in a Miami uniform. The Marlins released him in June 2024. Garcia underwent postseason surgery to address a fracture and a disc injury in his lower back. That sidelined him for the entire ’25 campaign and ultimately ended his career. He would have been limited to minor league offers even if he came back fully healthy, so it doesn’t come as a huge surprise that he decided to move on to his post-playing days.
Garcia played in a little over 1100 big league games divided among five clubs. He topped 1000 hits and 500 RBI while connecting on 140 home runs. He was a lifetime .263/.316/.417 hitter. While it came with plenty of peaks and valleys, that amounts to league average offense overall. FanGraphs and Baseball Reference credited him around 8-9 wins above replacement, with both outlets valuing his 2017 season above 4 WAR. According to Baseball Reference, he earned more than $84MM and logged more than 11 years of major league service time. MLBTR congratulates Garcia on his career and wishes him the best in retirement.
Image courtesy of Imagn Images.
David Robertson Announces Retirement
Veteran reliever David Robertson has decided to hang up his spikes. He announced the decision on his personal social media pages, issuing the following statement:
“I’ve decided it’s time for me to hang up my spikes and retire from the game I’ve loved for as long as I can remember. Baseball has given me more than I ever dreamed possible over the last 19 seasons. From winning a World Series, to pitching in an All-Star game, to representing the United States and bringing home a World Baseball Classic Gold and Olympic silver. I’ve had the privilege of playing alongside amazing teammates, learning from outstanding coaches, and being welcomed into organizations that felt like family. To the trainers, clubhouse staff, front offices, and everyone behind the scenes, thank you for all that you do. And to the fans who supported me, thank you, your passion fueled me every single day.
Most importantly, thank you to my wife and children. Your love, sacrifice, patience, and dedication made this career possible. As I step away from the game, I’m excited to be home with my family, to focus on our farms, and to continue growing High Socks for Hope. Helping families rebuild after disaster has been one of the most rewarding parts of my life outside baseball.
Saying goodbye isn’t easy, but I do so with deep gratitude for every opportunity, challenge, and memory. I’ll forever be thankful for the game and for everyone who made this journey extraordinary.”
Robertson retires after a two-decade run in professional baseball. He signed an overslot deal as a 17th-round pick of the Yankees in 2006. He was in the big leagues two years later. He began his career in middle relief but impressed with a 3.30 earned run average across 45 appearances in his first full season. Robertson added 5 1/3 scoreless innings and earned a pair of wins as the Yankees went on to win the World Series in 2009.
By the following season, the righty was a fixture in the Yankee bullpen in front of Mariano Rivera. He was exceptionally durable and consistently effective. Robertson reeled off a streak of 10 straight sub-4.00 ERA seasons between 2009-18. He surpassed 60 innings in the final nine of those years.
His most accomplished statistical season came in 2011, when he fired 66 2/3 frames with a career-low 1.08 ERA. Robertson picked up 34 holds against three blown leads. He earned his first and, somewhat surprisingly, only All-Star selection while receiving down-ballot Cy Young and MVP votes. He recorded a personal-best 100 strikeouts. He trailed only Craig Kimbrel and Tyler Clippard among relievers in punchouts, while Atlanta’s Eric O’Flaherty was the only pitcher with a lower earned run average.
Robertson remained in a setup role until Rivera ended his Hall of Fame career after the 2013 season. Robertson, an impending free agent, stepped seamlessly into the closer role. He recorded 39 saves with a 3.08 ERA in his walk year. He hit free agency at age 30 and rejected a qualifying offer before landing a four-year, $46MM deal from the White Sox.
He held up his end of the bargain, topping 30 saves in his two full seasons in Chicago. The Sox weren’t good overall, however, and they embarked on a teardown by 2017. They shipped Robertson back to the Bronx alongside Todd Frazier and Tommy Kahnle. Robertson played out the final season and a half of the contract and helped New York back to the postseason in both years. He was part of the 2017 national team that won the World Baseball Classic, tossing a scoreless inning to close an 8-0 win over Puerto Rico in the final.
A return trip to free agency was never going to be as lucrative as he entered his age-34 season. He signed a two-year, $23MM deal with the Phillies. That was a precursor to the first real setback of his entire career. Robertson’s elbow gave out seven appearances into his first season in Philadelphia. He missed most of the year rehabbing before it was revealed that he needed Tommy John surgery. Robertson lost all of 2020 and most of ’21 before making a comeback with the U.S. National Team at the Tokyo Olympics (which were held in ’21 because of the pandemic).
Robertson carved out an impressive final act after the surgery. He bounced around as a setup man, mostly on contending clubs. Robertson made the playoffs with the Rays in ’21 and returned to the World Series the following year. A $3.5MM free agent deal with the Cubs led to a midseason trade back to Philadelphia, and he wound up tossing 7 2/3 innings of one-run ball in October for the pennant winning Phils. Robertson split the ’23 season between the Mets and Marlins — Miami was a deadline buyer who snuck into the playoffs — and remained an excellent leverage arm with the Rangers in 2024. He worked a career-high 72 innings of 3.00 ERA ball with 99 punchouts for Texas in what would be his final full season in the big leagues.
Despite his continued strong performance, Robertson didn’t find the contract he was seeking last offseason. He waited until July before signing a one-year deal for his third stint with the Phillies. Robertson made 20 regular season appearances and one final playoff outing in the Division Series loss to the Dodgers.
Robertson finishes his playing days with a 2.93 ERA in just shy of 900 regular season innings. Only Kenley Jansen has pitched in more games than his 881 going back to his debut. Robertson recorded nearly 1200 strikeouts. He saved 179 games and recorded 206 holds, ranking top 20 in both stats over his career. He had a 2.88 ERA in his first 10-year peak and came back from elbow surgery to add 230 2/3 frames of 3.00 ERA ball with a 31% strikeout rate from ages 36-40.
It’s a remarkable run of consistency at a position that is generally viewed as the sport’s most volatile. Robertson only had four seasons in which he allowed more than four earned runs per nine: his first and last years and the ’19 and ’21 campaigns that were shortened by the one significant injury he incurred. That’s all before considering his postseason résumé — 47 2/3 innings of 3.47 ERA ball in 10 different trips to October.
Robertson spent the majority of his career in the Bronx. He’ll be best remembered as a Yankee but appeared for eight clubs overall. Although he’s not going to get much consideration for induction into Cooperstown, he’s a lock to appear on the Hall of Fame ballot five years from now and could see his name checked by a few voters who want to honor his longevity and reliability. MLBTR congratulates him on an excellent career and sends our best wishes in whatever comes next.
Image courtesy of Thomas Shea, USA Today Sports.
Hanser Alberto Announces Retirement
Veteran infielder Hanser Alberto announced his retirement via Instagram earlier this week, bringing a career that saw him spend parts of eight seasons in the majors to a close. He played for the Rangers, Orioles, Dodgers, Royals, and White Sox throughout his time in the big leagues.
Alberto, 33, signed with the Rangers out of the Dominican Republic as an amateur and made his pro debut back in 2010. He hit well out the gate in the Dominican Summer League and went on to slowly climb his way through the minors before making it to the majors in 2015. He struggled early on in his big league career and hit just .194/.204/.226 across 76 games in the majors as an up-and-down bench bat for Texas during his first two years in the show. After missing the 2017 season due to a shoulder injury, Alberto re-emerged with the Rangers in 2018 but once again struggled badly across a 13-game sample.
After being designated for assignment by Texas during the 2018-19 offseason, Alberto bounced around the league on waivers before finally landing in Baltimore ahead of the 2019 campaign. The Orioles were headed for a 108-loss campaign that year, but Alberto proved to be a major bright spot for the club as he took over a regular role with the team. He enjoyed a career year in Baltimore, slashing .305/.329/.442 in 139 games. That batting line was good for a 95 wRC+, and combined with strong defense at second base was enough to make Alberto a 3.4-win player according to Baseball Reference. He also struck out at a career-low 9.1% clip. Alberto took a step back during the shortened 2020 season, posting an 87 wRC+ with 13.1% strikeout rate, but still managed to appear in 54 of the Orioles’ 60 games that season.
Impressive as he had been in 2019, the Orioles opted to non-tender Alberto rather than carry him on the 2021 roster at his arbitration price tag. Over the final three seasons of his career in the majors, Alberto bounced between various clubs in a utility role. He joined the Royals on a minor league deal for the 2021 campaign, and his 83 wRC+ in 103 games for the rebuilding club was enough to convince the Dodgers to give him a major league contract for 2022. Alberto’s productivity took a step back as he neared his 30th birthday, however, and he slashed just .235/.259/.374 with a wRC+ of 74 over his final two years in the majors with L.A. and Chicago.
After being dogged by injuries during his time with the White Sox, Alberto missed most of the 2024 campaign and was limited to only playing winter ball. He returned to full-season play in 2025 when he joined the Mexican League’s Piratas de Campeche, and ultimately appeared in 26 games for them (plus an additional one for the Saraperos de Saltillo) before returning to winter ball. He appeared in 24 winter league games during the 2025-26 season for the Gigantes del Cibao but has now called it a career.
In all, Alberto made it into 488 games at the big league level. Along the way, he collected 378 hits, 22 homers, 12 steals, and 4.4 bWAR. He wraps up his career with a lifetime .269/.292/.381 slash line. MLB Trade Rumors congratulates Alberto on his career and wishes him the best in his future pursuits as his playing career comes to a close.
Rich Hill Not Planning To Play In 2026
Left-hander Rich Hill doesn’t want to use the word but it seems to be leaning towards retirement. Appearing on the Baseball Isn’t Boring podcast, Hill was asked by host Rob Bradford if he was retiring and said “I don’t have any plans on playing next year.” The situation is somewhat analogous to that of Joe Kelly, who announced on the same podcast last month that he didn’t want to use the word “retire” but wasn’t planning on playing anymore.
“I’m looking for open possibilities to stay in the game of baseball and be a contributory factor,” Hill continued. “I enjoy the work aspect of whatever it might be that’s next. I think that’s one thing that… why athletes get hired in other positions and other… outside of sports is because they are highly-driven people that want to succeed. And that’s something that I’m looking forward to.”
It’s not shocking that Hill is slowly wafting into the next stage of his career. Though he did pitch in the 2025 season, he was easily the oldest player in the league. He was 45 years old when he suited up for the Royals and will turn 46 in March. Though he has continued pitching to an age when most other players have called it quits long ago, he did so with some unconventional approaches. He waited until midseason to sign in 2024 in a deliberate attempt to be more fresh for a stretch run.
If this is indeed the end, it will wrap up one of the more unique arcs of a player in recent history. Hill was drafted by the Cubs way back in 2002 and made his major league debut in 2005. He didn’t find immediate success but had a really good season in 2007, posting a 3.92 earned run average over 32 starts.
But from there, he went into a really challenging period of his career. He struggled with results and health for many years, leading him to be bounced between the majors and minors and between various different organizations. From 2008 to 2014, he tossed a total of 153 innings split between the Cubs, Baltimore, Boston, Cleveland, the Angels and Yankees. He posted a 5.41 ERA over that stretch.
2015 would turn out to be an incredible comeback season. He started the year on a minor league deal with the Nationals. He opted out of that contract in June and signed with the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League. He made just two starts for that club but struck out 21 opponents in 11 innings. That was enough to get him back into affiliated baseball via a minor league deal with the Red Sox.
Boston called him up in September and he made four starts as the season was winding down. In those, he logged 29 innings with a 1.55 ERA. He had a mammoth 34% strikeout rate, a tiny 4.7% walk rate and a strong 48.4% ground ball rate. That was a tiny sample size but the Athletics made a bet on it, signing Hill to a one-year, $6MM deal for 2016. That wager paid off handsomely, with Hill giving the A’s 14 starts with a 2.25 ERA.
At that year’s deadline, he was traded to the Dodgers alongside Josh Reddick, with the A’s getting Frankie Montas, Grant Holmes, and Jharel Cotton in return. Hill gave the Dodgers six starts with an ERA of 1.83 and then three postseason starts with a 3.46 ERA.
The Dodgers were happy enough with that showing to bring Hill back via a three-year, $48MM contract. That was a pretty staggering deal for a 37-year-old who was not too far removed from being in indy ball but it worked out well. He logged 327 innings over those three seasons with a 3.30 ERA, plus 37 postseason innings with a 2.43 ERA.
After that deal ran its course, Hill went into his 40s and mercenary mode. He signed a series of one-year deal with the Twins, Rays, Red Sox and Pirates. In 2023, he seemed to wear down as the season went along, not surprising for a 43-year-old. His 4.76 ERA with Pittsburgh was still respectable but he collapsed after a deadline deal to the Padres, posting an 8.23 ERA after the swap.
As mentioned, he then tried to think outside the box to continue as an effective big league pitcher. He planned to intentionally sign at midseason in 2024 in order to spend more time with his family and also save his bullets for the second half and postseason. He stayed unsigned until inking a minor league deal with the Red Sox in August. He did get called up but only for four relief appearances before being released. In 2025, he signed a minor league deal with the Royals in May. He got called up in July but was designated for assignment after just two starts.
Given the unusual shape of his career and his willingness to buck conventions, it’s possible he’ll change his mind and find his way back to the mound. But if Hill doesn’t make it back to the majors, he will finish with 1,418 innings tossed over 388 games for 14 different clubs. In that time, he posted a 4.02 ERA but will likely be best remembered for the 2015-2021 run which saw him post a 3.15 ERA in his late 30s and early 40s. Baseball Reference pegs his career earnings over $75MM, most of that coming to Hill in his late-career surge. We at MLB Trade Rumors salute him on a fine career, which may or may not be done, and wish him the best on whatever is next.
Photo courtesy of Peter Aiken, Imagn Images