The Indians have hired former Major League outfielder Grady Sizemore as an advisor to their player development staff, reports Jordan Bastian of MLB.com. While there’s no specific mention of Sizemore formally retiring, Bastian does reference the the playing career of Sizemore, who was a superstar-caliber outfielder with Cleveland early in his career, in the past tense.
Per Bastian, the 34-year-old Sizemore reached out to Indians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti over the winter to gauge what type of opportunities were available with the team. That initial conversation led to Sizemore’s current role, where he’ll be with the team’s Major League squad and work with the outfielders early in Spring Training. After a couple of weeks, Bastian continues, Sizemore will transition over to the minor league camp and work with the team’s younger outfielders.
It seems that Sizemore’s ultimate role with the team is yet to be determined, as GM Mike Chernoff tells Bastian that the Indians are trying to “expose him to as much as we can.” Sizemore has participated in closed-door meetings between the front office and the coaching staff, during which each player is discussed and evaluated at length. “When you have a guy of that stature, he’s welcome to help wherever he can,” skipper Terry Francona told Bastian.
If Sizemore’s playing days are indeed behind him, he’ll wrap up his career with a .265/.349/.457 batting line, 150 homers and 143 steals through 1101 games and 4724 plate appearances. Those basic stats, however, don’t tell the full story of Sizemore, who was one of the must dynamic talents in all of Major League Baseball in his early 20s.
Acquired alongside Brandon Phillips and Cliff Lee in the 2002 blockbuster that sent Bartolo Colon to the Expos, Sizemore made his Major League debut as a 21-year-old in 2004 and never looked back. From 2005-08, he was on a short list of MLB’s best players, hitting .281/.372/.496 with three All-Star nominations, two Gold Gloves and a Silver Slugger. During that meteoric rise to fame, Sizemore received MVP votes in four straight seasons and averaged 27 homers, 28 steals and 160 games played per season.
Unfortunately (not only for Sizemore but for baseball fans everywhere), an elbow injury cut short Sizemore’s 2009 campaign and ultimately required surgery. Upon returning in 2010, he incurred a knee injury that also required surgery and would cut into his 2011 playing time as well. The barrage of injuries didn’t stop there, as Sizemore had back surgery in March 2012 and missed both the 2012 and 2013 seasons in their entirety. Sizemore did return to the diamond in 2014-15, spending time with the Red Sox, Phillies and Rays. In those 209 games, though, his .242/.303/.366 batting line and diminished speed/power no longer resembled the output of his brief but brilliant peak.
Though injuries cut short a potentially sensational career, Sizemore’s natural ability and experience will undoubtedly give him plenty of insight and advice to pass on to Cleveland’s younger players in Spring Training and, potentially, throughout the year (depending on his ultimate role with the club). We at MLBTR wish Sizemore the very best in his new career track and whatever other opportunities he may pursue in the future.
I had high hopes for him when he returned to the MLB with the Red Sox in 2014. Always enjoyed watching him play in his Cleveland days. Wish him the best of luck in his new role!
I bet he still misses most of the season
Lmao, that’s cold blooded.
I heard he Pulled his hammy during the closed door meeting too…
“Wheel chair Sizemore” chants at ballparks always cracked me up.
It’s always great when an experienced MLB player comes back to help out the next generation. Especially in this case since Cleveland has two up and coming outfielders in Naquin and Zimmer. Naquin got third in the AL ROY voting last year and Zimmer is the #22 prospect according to MLB. So they both should have relatively high ceilings.
Naquin ran a .411 babip I would not be at all surprised if he has a huge regression in that
Shame that injuries really derailed his career. Was always one of my favorite players and one of the best players in the league during his prime.
Exactly, when he played he played extremely hard which led to the nagging injuries. Shame his career flamed out the way it did.
He was just placed on the DL for suffering a paper cut from shuffling all that paper work ..
Such an incredibly talented guy – it’s a real shame his body robbed him of so many games.
That 2007 Cleveland Indians team gave us a thrill. At the time, the other than CC Sabathia, the SPs were unknowns Fausto Carmona, Paul Byrd, Jake Westbrook, Cliff Lee and a swarm of Lake Flies. Grady Sizemore was the best position player supported by Jhonny Peralta, Asdrubal Cabrera, Victor Martinez, Kenny Loften, Casey Blake and “Gronk” Travis Hafner. The set up men in the pen may have been the best part of the team with RRP Rafael Betnacourt and LRP Rafael Perez and their ERAs under 1.80
Pronk
Pronk was a waste. His inability to even DH three straight games or play the field really made his contract a huge burden. They were stuck with him which forced them to unload several quality players they could no longer afford because they were stuck paying that guy to take a day off to recover after making 4 plate appearances.
The artist formerly known as Fausto Carmona!
I like this news. Just wish they had hired Omar when they had the chance. I can’t stand to see him in a stinking Tiggers uniform.
Yes that prospect hasn’t cheated the system like Bartolo which the PEDs and experimental surgeries.
Hey, Steve. No article written yet about the Tribe signing Russell and Narveson?
Not worth the time to write an article for two guys that will not make the squad.
I think the rise and then fall give sizemore a pretty interesting point of view. Having someone like that for players who deal with injuries to talk to could be helpful.
Colon is still pitching and the prospect he was traded for is retired!
GM Mike Chernoff tells Bastian that the Indians are trying to “expose him to as much as we can.”
The women of Cleveland will thank you.