Veteran infielder David Fletcher is retiring, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. The 31-year-old spent the majority of his seven-year MLB career with the Angels.
Los Angeles took Fletcher in the sixth round of the 2015 draft. The 5’9″ infielder posted strong batted-ball skills at each level of the minors, reaching Triple-A in 2017. Fletcher put up a healthy 143 wRC+ over 58 games with Triple-A Salt Lake in 2018, earning a callup to the big-league club. Los Angeles had Andrelton Simmons penciled in at shortstop, but an Ian Kinsler trade opened up regular playing time at second base. Fletcher hit .275 over 307 plate appearances in his first taste of MLB action.
Fletcher delivered his best results in the shortened 2020 season. He slashed .319/.376/.425 across 49 games. Fletcher bounced around the infield, making starts at second base, shortstop, and third base. He also appeared once in right field. The strong campaign helped Fletcher land a five-year, $26MM extension just before the 2021 season.
Following the extension, Fletcher took over as the Angels’ full-time second baseman. He played a career-high 157 games in 2021. Fletcher earned strong defensive marks (9 DRS, 8 Outs Above Average) in 1,212 innings at second base. He also swiped 15 bags, after coming into the season with just 13 career steals. Fletcher’s production at the plate, however, trailed off considerably. He scuffled to a 69 wRC+ over 665 plate appearances. Fletcher was dropped from the leadoff spot to ninth in the order by May. He regained the leadoff spot midseason, but closed the year back in the nine hole.
Hip and hand injuries derailed Fletcher’s 2022 campaign. He was available for just 61 games. Fletcher once again performed well in the field, while he struggled as a hitter. He opened the 2023 season healthy, but went 2-for-16 in April and was demoted to Triple-A Sacramento. Fletcher appeared in just 33 games with the Angels that year. Los Angeles flipped him to Atlanta in December 2023, allowing the team some short-term financial flexibility.
Fletcher’s career would take some twists and turns after his tenure with the Angels. Atlanta passed him through waivers shortly after the trade. Unsurprisingly, no team wanted to pick up the rest of Fletcher’s deal, and he went unclaimed. He spent the majority of the season in the minors with Atlanta, but not as an infielder. Fletcher transitioned to pitching that season, utilizing a knuckleball to try to make an MLB comeback. He made 22 appearances across two levels, posting a 6.39 ERA. During the middle of the 2024 season, a report emerged linking Fletcher to the bookmaker used by Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara. According to the report, Fletcher placed bets with the illegal Southern California gambling ring, though those wagers were not on baseball.
Fletcher ditched the pitching experiment and went back to the infield in 2025. He played in 83 games across Double-A and Triple-A this past season, slashing .185/.233/.258. Atlanta declined his $8MM club option last week. He elected minor league free agency, but will now head into retirement.
We at MLB Trade Rumors congratulate Fletcher on a solid career and wish him the best in his future endeavours.
Photo courtesy of Gary A. Vasquez, Imagn Images
$26 million = set for life.
Well done, young man.
AAA Sacramento???
Dear Fletch,
I can hardly believe I’m writing this letter—your retirement. The words still don’t feel real. You’ve been more than a baseball player to me; you’ve been the quiet heartbeat of the game I love.
From the moment I first watched you take the field, I knew there was something different about you. You didn’t rely on flash or noise. You played with precision, humility, and heart. Every at-bat was a master class in focus. Every throw, every turn at second, every barehanded grab was a reminder that greatness doesn’t always shout—it can whisper.
You were the kind of player who made people fall in love with baseball all over again. The way you hustled down the line on a routine grounder, the way you stretched a single into a double, or somehow got a hit off a pitch six inches off the plate—those little things meant everything. You made the game pure.
I remember bringing my glove to the stadium just to be part of that energy, hoping maybe I’d catch a foul ball, or maybe just see that quiet grin of yours after another impossible play. You weren’t the biggest guy on the field, but you played like you belonged to the diamond itself—like the infield dirt knew your name.
You reminded fans like me that the beauty of baseball isn’t just in home runs or strikeouts—it’s in the rhythm of a good at-bat, the art of defense, the joy of doing the small things right. You were proof that effort and heart can still be heroic.
As you step away from the game, know that you’ve left behind more than stats or highlights. You’ve left a legacy of integrity, of hard work, of quiet excellence. You made being a fan feel personal. You made us proud.
So thank you, David—for every inning, every moment, every reason you gave us to believe in the power of playing the game the right way. Baseball won’t be the same without you, but it’s better because you were part of it.
With all my respect and gratitude,
– YourBiggestFan69
Productive player, but his name will be linked to non-baseball reasons.
There has to be at least a footnote that Fletch’s bookie was the one who got Ohtani hooked.
Yeah, I thought so.