Martin Prado Appears Likely To Retire

Veteran infielder Martin Prado appears to be preparing to call it quits, sources tell Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link). The 36-year-old reached the open market after wrapping up a three-year extension with the Marlins.

Prado was in the midst of a solid campaign when he re-upped with the Fish late in the 2016 season. It seemed at the time like a bit of a hefty guarantee, but not wildly out of whack for the value he might have commanded on the open market in the ensuing winter.

Unfortunately, that proved to be a last hurrah in an otherwise excellent career. A string of leg injuries limited Prado’s availability and his performance fell off a cliff. In the three campaigns that followed, Prado has been limited to just 616 plate appearances of .241/.276/.313 hitting.

Prado spent most of his time in 2019 at first base; clearly, there aren’t any organizations that would prefer to have that sort of offensive production occupying that position. There’s no question Prado would need to settle for a minor-league deal if he decides to play.

The rough ending doesn’t detract from Prado’s worthwhile time in the majors. He spent half of his 14 years with the Braves before stints with the Diamondbacks, Yankees, and Marlins. In total, he owns a .287/.335/.412 slash over 5,861 trips to the plate in that span.