Longtime catcher Wilson Ramos is retiring after 12 seasons in the majors and 18 overall seasons of pro ball. The 37-year-old Ramos announced back in February that he was stepping away from the game, and it became official today when “the Buffalo” signed a one-day ceremonial contract to retire as a member of the Nationals.
Beginning his career as an international signing for the Twins back in 2004, Ramos broke into the majors with Minnesota in 2010 but was dealt to the Nationals at the trade deadline that same season. That kicked off a long run for Ramos in Washington that lasted through the 2016 campaign, with Ramos first splitting time behind the plate with Kurt Suzuki, then emerging as the clear starting catcher by the end of his tenure with the Nats.
Ramos’ first full MLB season in 2011 earned him a fourth-place finish in NL Rookie of the Year voting, and his final year in D.C. saw him earn an All-Star nod and a Silver Slugger Award when he hit .307/.354/.496 with 22 home runs over 523 plate appearances. Unfortunately for Ramos, he also suffered a torn ACL right near the end of the 2016 season, which kept him out of the playoffs (the NL East-winning Nationals lost the NLDS to the Dodgers) and severely limited his earning potential as he entered free agency.
Inking a two-year, $12.5MM deal with the Rays, Ramos returned to play in 64 games in 2017, and then looked like his old self with another All-Star season in 2018. He switched teams again this year when the Rays dealt the catcher to the Phillies at the trade deadline, and Ramos continued his tour of the NL East when he signed a two-year, $19MM contract with the Mets the following offseason. He continued to hit well in the first year of that deal, but his play diminished after the 2019 season, and Ramos didn’t play again in the big leagues following his 2021 season with Detroit and Cleveland.
That 2021 season ended in painful fashion for Ramos, as he tore his left ACL that August. Between this injury and the two right ACL tears that sidelined him earlier in his career, it is fair to wonder how Ramos might have fared if he had enjoyed better health. Nonetheless, it is somewhat remarkable that Ramos still had such a long career as a catcher despite multiple major knee injuries. Ramos attempted a comeback following his third ACL tear, playing with the Rangers’ Triple-A club in 2022, playing in the Mexican League and with the independent Long Island Ducks in 2023, and he suited up for some Venezuelan Winter League action just this past offseason.
Ramos retires with a .271/.318/.432 slash line and 136 home runs over 3786 plate appearances and 990 games in the big leagues. We at MLB Trade Rumors congratulate Ramos on a tremendous career and we wish him all the best in retirement.
I don’t remember his defense but I thought he was an underrated catcher
His defense was awfully forgettable.
Congrats on a fine career. With a little more health you might have cracked 200 HRS and gotten close to 1500 hits in your career.
That isn’t really an accomplishment.
1500 hits and 200 home runs? Only abou 1.5% of all MLB players ever have achieved that feat. Only about 3% ever had as many hits and homers as Wilson is retiring with. Seems like a pretty big accomplishment to me.
It’s relative, some days I feel like putting on pants is an accomplishment.
Future Hall of Pretty Good lock
@GareBear You know ball
He’d have been only the 20th catcher in the history of MLB to have 200 HR and 1500 H.
really?, how many MLB HRs and hits did you have? it’s a pretty huge accomplishment actually
How many catchers boast those totals?
A fine gentleman, and as tough as they come.
He’s got 45m in the bag and going by baseball reference, he’s got over 10 years of service time, pretty good career I’d say!
Imagine trading this guy as a rookie for 95 innings from a mediocre reliever.
Imagine trading Oneil Cruz for 20 innings of Tony Watson or Yordan Alvarez for 114 innings of Josh Fields.
Imagine already having a HoF catcher in his prime
Imagine if we had feet where our hands are and hands where our feet are? What would baseball be in that scenario, and would it even exist?
Really puts things into perspective.
I wonder who the Twins’ starting catcher was in 2010…
You’re both absolutely right – trading Wilson Ramos for Matt Capps was a great use of resources because, Joe Mauer.
Also, writing was already on the wall with Mauer at time of trade – he started transitioning to 1b in 2011.
WILSON!
Such a very nice man. I so enjoyed meeting him when he was with the Rays. Good player with a nice career. Enjoy the extra family time! 💕
Congrats on your retirement, Wilson.
Rest your knees, my friend!
He started playing professional baseball the same year that Jackson Chourio was born, that’s in itself impressive that he played for this long! Congrats to Ramos on a good career.
No mention of Ramos being kidnapped in Venezuela when he was playing in the winter Venezuelan League?
Wilson Ramos Kidnapping
espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/7222317/wilson-ramos-washi…
He’s a great player if you need to think of someone who played with Cleveland for immaculate grid.
Same for guys like Hanley Ramirez, Marlon Byrd, Bruce Chen, Johnny Damon, Derek Lowe, Rene Rivera, Orlando Cabrera, Noah Syndergaard, and Kole Calhoun.
Congrats to the Buffalo, always one of my favorite Nats. Glad he got to retire with them.
Absolutely love the Buffalo! He really was beloved here in DC. I’ll always remember that when he was kidnapped many Nats fans went out of their way to set up a display of well wishes for Ramos’s safe return to his family outside Nats Park.
Hope he’ll be successful in whatever he chooses to do with his life next.
This man persevered. Injuries, and literally being kidnapped and rescued after a shootout. When healthy he was one of the better offensive catchers in the league. My baseball fandom was formed watching guys like Wilson. Happy to see him retire a Nat!
Salute. Big fan of The Buffalo.
Well done Mr. Ramos! 45 mil in earnings, two all-star teams. Over 100 hr’s. Enjoy retirement and see you later in a coaching capacity.
I kind of thought he already did…
I was at the Nats game in ‘16 when he got injured, that was brutal. Congrats Wilson!