Veteran left-hander Gio Gonzalez took to Instagram this afternoon to announce his retirement from baseball after a 13-year Major League career. The 35-year-old Hialeah, Fla. native was in camp with the Marlins on a minor league deal and called simply donning the jersey of his hometown club one of his “biggest dreams.” However, Gonzalez also added that his “body wasn’t keeping up with [his] mind.” The lefty offered a heartfelt thanks to the Athletics, Nationals, Brewers, White Sox, Yankees and Marlins organizations.
“My heart and mind are finally at peace with my decision,” Gonzalez wrote at the conclusion of his post. “Here’s one last tip of the cap! I’m coming home to my wonderful family. I love u!”
Gonzalez was the No. 38 overall draft pick by the White Sox back in 2004 and had, to say the least, an unconventional career arc with the team. Chicago traded him to the Phillies in Dec. 2005 as part of the Jim Thome blockbuster, only to reacquire him a year later alongside Gavin Floyd in the trade that sent Freddy Garcia to Philadelphia. Gonzalez was close to big league ready at that point and looked as though he could make his debut with the team that originally drafted him … until the White Sox again traded him away — this time to the Athletics as part of the return for Nick Swisher.
Between his draft status, his inclusion in trades for three high-profile big leaguers and his annual placement on Baseball America’s Top 100 prospect list from 2006-09, it was clear that Gonzalez was highly regarded within the industry. It took him a bit to deliver on that talent, but he did so in a big way with a breakout showing in 2010, when he tossed 200 2/3 innings of 3.23 ERA ball and solidified himself as part of the Athletics’ rotation.
That marked the first of six consecutive seasons in which the durable Gonzalez would make at least 27 starts and pitch to a sub-4.00 ERA. Oakland, as is often the case, traded him when he was on the cusp of arbitration eligibility, shipping him to the Nationals in return for a prospect package of four future big leaguers: A.J. Cole, Tommy Milone, Derek Norris and Brad Peacock.
Gonzalez was nothing short of excellent in Washington, finishing third in National League Cy Young voting in his first season as a Nat. He inked a five-year, $42MM contract extension with the Nats in Jan. 2012 and would go on to spend the next seven seasons in D.C. under the terms of that deal (which contained a pair of club options). Gonzalez’s first season with the Nationals was his best, but he finished sixth in NL Cy Young voting in 2017 — his final full year with the club. In parts of seven years there overall, Gonzalez racked up 1263 1/3 innings of 3.62 ERA ball and helped the Nats to four postseason berths.
With the Nats out of playoff contention in 2018, they traded Gonzalez to the Brewers for a pair of prospects. Gonzalez was brilliant in five starts down the stretch with Milwaukee, helping pitch the Brewers into the postseason. He re-signed with the Brewers in April 2019 after being granted his release from a minor league deal with the Yankees organization and again pitched quite well, tossing 87 1/3 frames of 3.50 ERA ball.
In the 2019-20 offseason, Gonzalez had a full-circle moment when he signed a one-year contract to return to the White Sox. He finally took the mound with his original organization on July 26 last summer. Gonzalez was tagged for six runs in his first appearance, but he bounced back with 28 innings of 3.54 ERA ball for the South Siders the rest of the way.
Gonzalez will walk away from baseball as a two-time All-Star who twice finished sixth or better in his league’s Cy Young voting. Long one of the game’s more underrated starters, his career body of work stands as a testament to his consistency: in 1933 innings, Gonzalez went 131-101 a 3.70 ERA and 1860 strikeouts. He earned more than $73MM in a career valued by Baseball-Reference at 30.1 wins above replacement and valued by FanGraphs at 32.1 WAR. Gonzalez never won a ring but appeared in the postseason five different times, made a pair of All-Star Games and was always good for an entertaining interview. It was a strong career by any measure, and Gonzalez will head into retirement having left his mark on several fanbases and countless teammates and coaches around the sport.
Loved watching Gio grow as a pitcher with Oakland. He played with a lot of passion and early in his career he’d get flustered when struggling and let it get best of him. But soon after he’d be in the All-Star game.
I always enjoyed watching Gio pitch, especially during his run in Washington. Congrats to him on a great career.
From the outside, Gio is one of my favorite baseball personalities. Always smiling, appears to love the game and have the respect of all his teammates.
What a simple but great toast for retirement.
As a Mets fan, this couldn’t have come any sooner. Happy Retirement Gio.
Exactly! He seemed to always have the Mets’ number. lol
Wanted him on the Mets for quite a while (even this year). Congrats on an excellent career.
Yup. He had the Mets in the palm of his hand while pitching for more than one division rival
One of the few pitchers to win 20 while pitching fewer than 200 innings
Good for Gio. Was always a solid, dependable middle of the rotation arm. Glad he finally got to pitch for the White Sox last season after being part of three separate trades with organization. Probably not how he wanted to retire but at least he got to wear his home team jersey to do it.
One of my favorites to watch. As someone else said, he seemed to have a real love for the game.
Happy Retirement, Gio!
I was happy when Yankees signed him but he never got a chance. Enjoy retirement
A 3.70 ERA over 300 plus starts is a nice career.
underrated after his Nats days for sure. congrats Gio.
For the first time in seemingly forever, the Marlins have a pretty appealing 1-5 in their rotation. Any other year I would’ve loved to see him start for Miami. Good career, good guy.
One of the most shining examples of a player who seemingly just loved to play the game, and that’s reflected even in the announcement of his retirement. Congrats on a life most of us could only dream of!! It’s always wonderful to see a career like Gio’s happen to somebody who truly appreciated it.
Pretty classy way to go out. We need more guys like this
I agree. He knew it was time and didn’t try to just hang around and collect a paycheck. Very classy and admirable.
Over $63,000,000 in career earnings – well done Gio…
I still blame him for 2012 Game 5 meltdown
How is it his fault? He pitched 5 innings and the Nats were winning 6-3 after the 5th.
Your blame is ill placed, my friend…
Congrats on a good career Gio
i hope you have success in the next phase of your life
Great career. Definitely one of the more underrated guys of his era.
Best of luck Gio. Thanks for the memories with the Nats. When that curve was working, it was wicked.
Will miss you Gio as it was great watching your entire career from beginning to end. You were always a great pitcher in the fact that you loved every minute you were out there. Thanks for always sharing time to say Hi during BP too. Best wishes for your future endeavors!
That Phillies/White Sox deal…Gio and Gavin Floyd for a year of mediocre Freddy Garcia…ouch.
Reading legend!
They played Rube or Ed, whoever was responsible.
I didn’t know the Marlins were his hometown team.
Ba-dum tsss.
You got the whole squad laughin at that one
I was hoping to see him in ’19 with the Yankees when he signed a MiLB contract. Happy Retirement Gio!
Will always be known to me as a Mets killer…always came out and dominated us. Wish him luck in retirement!
Solid career Gio, happy retirement.
Well done Gio…enjoy life!
Pretty wild, it’s almost like he knew when he signed the deal. In his outing he gave up like 6ER without getting an out. Someone else ended the inning. Then he was allowed to go back out (is thing a Spring thing I don’t know about?) And he managed to get an out. Then he left. Now he retired. So maybe he wanted that one official .1IP as a Marlin. He grew up a big Marlins fan and was devastated when Jose passed away. I was happy to see him try here one last time. Figured maybe he would go to the minors for a couple weeks (he was signed so late in to Spring) and maybe get a couple spot starts for depth and then asses his career. But the man knew.
I bet he gets a job in baseball somewhere. I remember when the Nats traded for him being so angry. A bunch of us Marlins fans wanted him home so bad at the time.
Good luck Good! Beware Hialeah insurance fraud!
It feels like he’s been semi-retired for about three years. He went from being fairly dominant to falling off of the table. Enjoy your retirement, Gio.
I wish the NY Mets had traded for him when he was in the prime of his career. Excellent pitcher. Best of Luck and happiness in future endeavors.
What? No mention of his steroid use? I guess that has been swept under the rug. He was great because of the juice. He’s just another cheater in my book. Let’s put him the Hall of Fame anyway.
I always like Gio Gonzalez. I was honored at a Mets Game for My Service in Iraq and the Mets were playing the Nationals. He was very respectful and nice to me. I wish hm luck, a real class individual!