Right-hander Rob Wooten announced his retirement (Twitter links) today, ending a career that spanned 12 professional seasons. Wooten will remain involved in the game, as the 34-year-old will “transition into a new role” with the Reds after pitching in Cincinnati’s system for the past three years.
Originally a 13th-round pick for the Brewers in the 2008 draft, all 71 of Wooten’s career Major League games came in a Milwaukee uniform, as he posted a 5.03 ERA, 2.41 K/BB rate, and 7.0 K/9 over 68 innings (all out of the bullpen) from 2013-15. Wooten lacked the big fastball usually possessed by most relievers, instead relying on a cutter-heavy arsenal that limited hard contact. As evidenced by ERA predictors like FIP (3.22), xFIP (3.90), and SIERA (3.62) over his career, Wooten’s 5.03 ERA was perhaps not indicative of his actual performance, though his overall numbers were inflated by allowing eight runs in his six MLB innings during the 2015 season.
After spending 2016 with the Braves’ Triple-A affiliate, Wooten began his Cincinnati tenure, though he was greatly limited by injuries over his three seasons in the Reds’ organization. Over his entire career, Wooten posted a 3.88 ERA, 4.00 K/BB rate, and 9.00 K/9 over 501 2/3 minor league frames.
We at MLB Trade Rumors wish Wooten all the best in the next phase of his baseball career.
Good luck to Rob!
Remember Sean Wooten?
Yes!!! I was wicked confused… I was thinking Wooten is a catcher that played for the Angels… But I haven’t heard of him in like 10 years??!!! He could hit it a mile. I wanted him to be good, but I think he was only around a few years.
Haha same here
I looked him up. He’s an assistant hitting coach for the Angels now. He’s 47 years old. (He’s probably the reason Mike Trout is awesome!) Fly ball…. Caught.
Yeah I did the same. I saw he appeared in 1 game and had 1 at bat for the 2005 Red Sox. Always good to go out on a high note!
I remember being at a Red Sox/Angels game in Anaheim during Wooten’s rookie year and the people sitting in front of me proclaimed Wooten to be the next Carlton Fisk. Unfortunately for Shawn he was barely the next John Orton (for you Angel fans old enough to remember)
Best of luck, that’s a difficult road traveled. Would you do it all over again? I respect your efforts.
Man I thought he retired like 5 years ago best of luck in retirement!
Hahaha I love it when people comment like they’re talking directly to the player.
Lol yeah that always cracks me up. It’s kind of adorable, in a childish naive way
Well to be fair, I wouldn’t be surprised if non-superstar level players come on here to read posts about their retirement. I think there is a strong possibility that he will read the comments. Which is part of the reason that comments like “Huh, thought he retired a long time ago” or “who cares” annoy me
@johnrealtime I was just associating him with something I remembered him for. It shows he had perseverance to grind in the minors even though I thought he was gone. Wasn’t meant as a derogatory comment at all
@Metsfan9 Yeah I didn’t read anything negative in your comment. If he hadn’t been in the Reds system the last couple years, I wouldn’t have even known he existed. Haha
I wasn’t referring to your original comment, it has positivity in it at least. Wasn’t even referring to anyone in this comment section, as everyone has been nice. Was just generalizing. Nice of you add to more kind words though
Good luck to Rob in retirement. 11 years of pro ball is quite an achievement
Wow this may just be the most cordial and constructing discourse this site has seen in some time.
Well done, sirs and or madams
Constructive*
I’d like to think that when Mike Trout retires he comes to MLBTR and trolls everyone under the alias of “Angels4life” and says stuff like “Mike Trout is trash” lol.
nothing wrong with being respectful.
But I mean he might read it
What a shame. I was really Wooten for him to make it.
He was robbed of opportunities to show what he was truly capable of.
He wasn’t too good, but hey, he made it to the Majors, not too many people can say that.
Reds have a habit of taking subpar pitchers and putting them on their staff lol and I’m a die hard Reds fan. They’re always spoken of highly though by the players so that’s good.
There’s a difference between playing and coaching. Often, players who may have been “subpar” at the highest level are able to communicate their understanding of the game better than those who performed at a higher level. Coaching, like teaching, is also about building relationships; the “subpar” can often build relationships well, too.
Who?
Rob Wooten. There’s a nice bio in the post you’re commenting on
Ha!
So long rooten, tooten, cowboy rob Wooten.