Veteran lefty Randy Wolf has decided to retire, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link). Though a club recently called to inquire about his availability, the 39-year-old is uninterested in taking another shot at a return to the majors.
Wolf spent parts of 16 seasons in the majors with a total of eight different clubs. Most recently, he contributed 60 1/3 innings over the last two seasons for the Marlins and Tigers. He has also pitched at the Triple-A level for the Angels, Diamondbacks, Orioles, and Blue Jays organizations since the start of 2014, making for quite a farewell tour.
It had seemed that Wolf would break camp with the Mariners back in 2014, but he resisted the organization’s demands for an advance consent form that would have allowed Seattle to cut him loose without a full year’s pay within 45 days of the start of the season. As MLBTR’s Zach Links explored at the time, that decision highlighted a little-known but frequently-used approach for teams dealing with veterans on minor league deals.
There’s little question, though, that Wolf will be best remembered for his time with the Phillies, which accounted for about half of his total career (in seasons, innings, and starts). After breaking in at age 22 back in 1999, Wolf provided Philadelphia with 1,175 frames of 4.21 ERA pitching with 7.4 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9.
Those early-career numbers in Philly largely mirror Wolf’s overall stat line, which serves as a testament to his longevity. Wolf worked almost exclusively as a starter, with 379 of his 390 appearances coming from the rotation. Beyond his time with the clubs mentioned above, Wolf appeared in parts of three consecutive campaigns for the Brewers, worked for two seasons with the Dodgers, and appeared with the Padres, Astros, and O’s.
MLBTR congratulates Wolf on his long and productive career, and wishes him the best in his future endeavors.
Congrats Randy Wolf!
68 million for a career 4.24 ERA…..
He threw 1998 innings with an even 4.00 ERA from 2000-11 — it pays to be a league-average starter with some longevity. There aren’t many guys that get to the point where they can consistently deliver 30 league-average starts on a year-to-year basis.
A lot of innings in hitters parks too as his 99 career ERA+ shows he was right at league average in terms of run prevention, as you said.
He should of taken the deal the Mariners gave him in 2014, but I’m glad he diddnt
The epitome of ‘crafty lefty.’ A real decent career!
I’ll never forget every time he started at the Vet, there was the Wolf Pack to cheer him on. Quite the group of enthusiastic characters.
Was trying to remember him signing with the Diamondbacks but he only lasted a month in the minors.
Congrats to Randy Wolf.
His tenure in Detroit last season was like throwing himself on a grenade. He came to a team and rotation in shambles and somehow helped them limp to the finish line without any further major catastrophes. It was a thankless job, but it did not go unnoticed here. Wish him the best in his well earned retirement.