Veteran catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia has announced that he is calling it a career. The 33-year-old spent parts of a dozen seasons at the MLB level.
In a statement to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (Facebook link), Saltalamacchia expressed gratitude to his former organizations, teammates and fans, along with his family and agent Jim Munsey. He also spoke of the honor he felt following in the footsteps of his childhood idol, Jason Varitek, over a four-year run with the Red Sox.
Ultimately, Saltalamacchia will be remembered best for his time in Boston, over which he turned in 1,329 plate appearances of .243/.307/.455 hitting with 55 home runs. He was a big part of the team’s 2013 World Series championship outfit, turning in a career year at the plate (.273/.338/.466) while appearing in 121 games for the second-straight season.
That platform campaign set the stage for a successful trip onto the open market, as he landed a three-year, $21MM deal with the Marlins. Unfortunately, things didn’t really work out in Miami. Indeed, many of the drawbacks we noted in the post on that signing — high strikeout rate, difficulties against left-handed pitching, and questionable glovework behind the dish — led to an unexpectedly brief tenure with the Fish.
Saltalamacchia ultimately made it through just nine games in the second season of that deal before he was cut loose. He rebounded later in 2015 with the Diamondbacks, and earned a significant role with the Tigers in the ensuing campaign, but never really regained his footing in the big leagues. Saltalamacchia had brief showings over the past two seasons with the Blue Jays and Tigers.
Of course, all that occurred following Salty’s most memorable moment from a hot stove perspective. After being taken 36th overall by the Braves, and debuting in the big leagues on his 22nd birthday in 2007, Saltalamacchia was shipped to the Rangers along with four other talented young players in exchange for then-star first baseman Mark Teixeira. Saltalamacchia never fully established himself in parts of four seasons in Texas before he was swapped to the Red Sox in a decidedly less flashy deal that nevertheless paid dividends for his new team.
It’s not yet clear what Saltalamacchia will pursue next from a professional perspective, but he says his initial focus will be outside of the game. As he puts it, it is now his turn to join the “cheering section” for his wife and four daughters after they did the same for him over his long playing career. MLBTR extends its best wishes to Saltalamacchia and his family.
Happy Retirement to one of the greatest names in MLB history
Phillies to sign Bryce Harper. Will be announced within next couple of days.
that’s all and well, but this article has nothing to do with Bryce Harper.
Not a made up fact – longest last sign in the history of MLB! That record will NEVER be broken.
Also best perm in the MLB for sure lol
PickleRiccck
If you are basing it on Twitter/Vegas you have been duped.
Scot Boreass has filed a grievance with mlb that salty did not get a 15 yr 500mil contract.
Agreed. His FL contract is also the type the teams are moving on from. He was replaced by Ross for the big games in 2013 and was rewarded with a nice deal. Good for him but…
Good luck in retirementacchia!
Well played
Many thought that Marlins contract for Salty was a steal at the time (myself included), but as Steve notes, the warning signs scared many away…rightfully so.
Still, great career, enjoy retirement!
Happy retirement Saltalamaggio!!!
I was a really big fan of Saltys. Followed him from day one to retirement. Best wishes and good luck in whatever you do. You will be missed highly in our household and through MLB
That’s like 10% of the walks and strikeouts in the MLB gone in a single blow.
RIP
Say what you want about him, but you cannot deny that he was an all time great in terms of value of his jerseys/shirsey as measured by number of letters stitched on the back. The opposite of Fu Te Ne.
Yogi Berra, Johnny Bench and Salty. See you in Cooperstown in 5 years. Amazing career.
Happy retirement to an all time great, Salty will be truly missed.
The man with the longest last name in baseball. His name made an arch on the back of the jersey.
One of the greatest six-syllable catchers to ever play the game
Wish you all the best Salty
Quite possibly the greatest 14 letter name catcher in mlb history.
always seemed like a good fella
Hope he has a savings account.
no mention of salty’s great hair flow?
I guess he finally got around to filling out the paperwork.
Met him back in 2012 at a Red Sox banquet. My younger cousin approached him for an autograph while he was getting interviewed by like 3 different reporters, and he promised to come find my cousin after he was done – and actually did. He seemed like a genuinely good dude, and I wish him nothing but the best in retirement.
Thank you Salty
We heard in these very pages back in spring training in 2017 that Salty was done then and shouldn’t come north with the Jays.
Happy retirement. Finally. #Scoutseyes
Must be a bunch of Red Sox fans commenting here. He had a great streak of seasons at the replacement player level or below (offensively and defensively). The best thing he offered the game was his perm
Rotogeek here who signed Salty as a prospect. Hoped he would be the next big thing.
Dang I was still expecting him to break out one of these seasons
Between Saltalamachia, and Albuquerque, the Tigers have announced that they have run out of jersey letters!