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Retirement Rumors
Eric Chavez Retires
Third baseman Eric Chavez has retired, effective immediately, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (Twitter link). The 36-year-old has seen time in 17 MLB seasons.
Chavez hit .246/.346/.449 in 81 plate appearances for the Diamondbacks this season, but hasn’t played since early June due to injury. He’s battled knee trouble this season and also has a long history of back issues.
Of course, his best seasons came earlier in his career with the Athletics, when Chavez was among the game’s more productive players. Over the 2000-2006 time frame, Chavez compiled a .273/.352/.495 slash with 199 home runs. With outstanding defense, he was worth 31 rWAR and 31.1 fWAR during that stretch.
From that point forward, Chavez was limited by injuries, and never saw more than 400 trips to the plate in a season. But he remained a productive reserve, ultimately moving to the Yankees and then Diamondbacks.
It was no coincidence that the “Moneyball” Athletics made five postseason appearances in the time that Chavez was at his peak. Though he never quite delivered full value on a six-year, $66MM extension signed before the 2004 campaign, Chavez nevertheless was, in the aggregate, a cheap source of top-level production for Oakland after being taken 10th overall in the 1996 draft.
Chris Getz Retires
Second baseman Chris Getz, who was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays and outrighted to Triple-A Buffalo, has decided to retire rather than accept his outright assignment, reports MLB Daily Dish’s Chris Cotillo. He quotes Getz:
“I’ve enjoyed every minute that I’ve played and will always be passionate about the game. I’m starting a family, and I’m interested in other endeavors both inside and outside of the game.”
The 30-year-old Getz signed a minor league deal with Toronto this offseason after being non-tendered by the Royals last November but struggled in his 10 games with the Jays, hitting .160/.222/.200.
Getz spent the 2009 season as the primary second base option for the White Sox and posted a .261/.324/.347 batting line, delivering outstanding value on the basepaths that year and going 25-for-27 in stolen base attempts. He was afforded similar playing time with the Royals in 2011 and batted .255/.313/.287 with 21 steals in 28 attempts.
Overall, Getz’s big league career will come to a close with a .250/.309/.307 batting line in 1574 plate appearances. The former fourth-round pick stole 89 bases in 107 attempts, good for an 82 percent success rate. Between his $225K signing bonus out of the draft and his yearly salaries, Getz made more than $3.5MM in his big league career. MLBTR wishes Chris the best of luck in his post-playing endeavors.
Matt Treanor Retires
Veteran catcher Matt Treanor has officially retired from his playing career, according to the Triple-A International League’s transactions page. MLBTR’s Zach Links has confirmed the news (Twitter link).
The 38-year-old Treanor signed a minor league deal with Cleveland this offseason but didn’t get into a game for the team’s Triple-A affiliate in Columbus as he dealt with a hamstring injury. After a setback in his rehab and with the birth of his first child nearing, Treanor has elected to spend time with his wife (three-time Olympic Gold Medalist Misty May) and child rather than pursue further rehab of the injury, according to Links.
In parts of nine Major League seasons between the Marlins, Rangers, Tigers, Royals and Dodgers, Treanor posted a .221/.313/.305 batting line and gunned down 26 percent of the baserunners who attempted to steal against him — highlighted by a league-leading 47 percent for the 2006 Marlins.
Clay Hensley Retires
Pitcher Clay Hensley has retired, James Larken Smith of KFFE tweets. Hensley, 34, pitched in 2013 for Triple-A Nashville (Brewers) and Louisville (Reds), and for the Sugar Land Skeeters in the independent Atlantic League.
Hensley pitched parts of seven seasons in the big leagues, appearing with the Padres, Marlins and Giants with a 4.00 ERA, 6.5 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 over 571 innings. 187 of those came with the Padres in 2006, when he had a solid first full season in a big-league rotation. He mostly appeared as a reliever after that, with his best season out of the bullpen coming with the 2010 Marlins, when he posted a 2.16 ERA with 9.2 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 75 innings.
Chad Tracy Retires
Veteran infielder Chad Tracy is retiring, Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish reports. The Angels had released him this spring.
Tracy played parts of nine seasons in the big leagues, including 2013, when he hit .202/.243/.326 in 136 plate appearances with the Nationals. Tracy finishes his career with a .274/.333/.439 line in 2,988 plate appearances. In addition to the Nats, he also played for the Diamondbacks, Cubs and Marlins. He hit 27 homers with Arizona in 2005, then 20 more the following season.
Chris Snyder Retires
Catcher Chris Snyder has retired, Anthony Andro of FOX Sports Southwest tweets. Snyder had been playing for Triple-A Round Rock.
Snyder played for ten seasons in the big leagues, collecting 2,459 at bats and finishing with a career line of .224/.328/.382. The Diamondbacks drafted Snyder in 2002, and for several years, he shared Arizona's catching duties with Miguel Montero. In 2010, the Pirates acquired Snyder (and Pedro Ciriaco) for D.J. Carrasco, Ryan Church and Bobby Crosby, and Snyder spent an injury-plagued season and a half with Pittsburgh.
Snyder played in 76 games with the Astros in 2012, and spent a short time with the Orioles in 2013, playing for much of the season in Triple-A. The Rangers signed him in March after losing Geovany Soto to injury, but have gone with J.P. Arencibia and Robinson Chirinos at the big-league level since then.
Athletics Release Joe Blanton
TUESDAY: Blanton has been released by the Athletics, tweets Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com.
SUNDAY, 9:57pm: Fletcher now clarifies that Blanton has left the Athletics' Triple-A team, but it's unclear whether he's actually retiring.
8:56pm: Longtime starting pitcher Joe Blanton has retired, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets. Fletcher notes that the Angels are still on the hook for the remainder of Blanton's $7.5MM salary for 2014, plus a $1MM buyout for 2015, even though Blanton has started two games for the Athletics' Triple-A team in Sacramento this year. The Angels released Blanton in March.
The Athletics drafted Blanton out of the University of Kentucky with the 24th pick in the first round in 2002, making him the second selection in their "Moneyball" draft class, after Nick Swisher. Blanton made his big-league debut in 2004, then became a regular in the A's rotation in 2005. After several years eating innings in Oakland, Blanton headed to Philadelphia for Josh Outman and two other prospects in 2008. Blanton pitched in the World Series for the Phillies in both 2008 and 2009, and the Phils signed Blanton to a three-year extension prior to the 2010 season. He stuck with the Phillies until 2012 before they traded him to the Dodgers for the stretch run that year.
Blanton then signed an ill-fated two-year, $15MM deal with the Angels, struggling while posting a 6.04 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 132 2/3 innings last season. Blanton, 33, finishes his career with a 4.51 ERA, 6.2 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 1,567 1/3 innings.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Full Story | Comments | Categories: Joe Blanton | Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | Retirement | Transactions
Darnell McDonald Retires
Veteran outfielder Darnell McDonald announced his retirement from baseball late last night via Instagram. McDonald re-signed with the Cubs on a minor league deal in December, but he has instead decided to call it a career.
"After playing [15 years] professionally I'm humbled to announce that I'm hanging up my spikes. When one dream ends a new one begins. BIG thanks to everyone that has helped me fulfill my dream of playing in the show," the 35-year-old wrote.
McDonald posted a career .285/.353/.453 slash line against left-handed pitchers at the Major League level. The Colorado native spent the bulk of 2013 at Triple-A Iowa, where he slashed .236/.307/.346 in 294 plate appearances with four homers. He was solid in the bigs as well, however, hitting .302/.351/.434 with a homer in 57 PAs. McDonald will be remembered mostly for his time with the Red Sox, but he also saw big league action with the Orioles, Twins, Reds, Yankees, and Cubs.
Henry Blanco Joins Diamondbacks’ Coaching Staff
5:28pm: Blanco has not officially retired, reports Jack Magruder of FOXSportsArizona.com (via Twitter).
5:17pm: Veteran catcher Henry Blanco has officially retired and accepted an unspecified position with the Diamondbacks' Major League coaching staff, the D'Backs announced via press release.
A veteran of parts of 16 Major League seasons, Blanco split the 2013 season between the Diamondbacks and Mariners, batting .142/.228/.246. Though his overall numbers weren't much to look at, Blanco clubbed a grand slam in his first game with the Mariners and chipped in another slam later in the season with Seattle. He had signed a minor league deal to return to the D'Backs this winter but did not win the backup catcher's role in Spring Training.
Blanco's lengthy professional career began in the 1980s, when the Dodgers inked him as an amateur free agent out of Venezuela. He would make his big league debut with Los Angeles nine years later in 1997 and go on to also don the uniforms of the Rockies, Brewers, Braves, Twins, Cubs, Padres, Mets, D'Backs and Mariners. Blanco finishes his career with a .223/.288/.361 batting line to go along with 72 homers in 3097 big league plate appearances. Always known for his defense behind the plate, Blanco gunned down a highly impressive 43 percent of attempted baserunners in more than 7000 career innings behind the plate.
Blanco earned just shy of $17MM in his playing career, per Baseball-Reference.com, and should have a wealth of knowledge to instill upon younger players as he begins his coaching career in Arizona. MLBTR wishes Blanco the best of luck in his coaching career.