Outfielder David Dahl announced his retirement on his X feed earlier this week, opting to end his playing career at age 31. As Dahl wrote in his farewell post, “Baseball has been my life for as long as I can remember. From being a kid in Alabama chasing a lifelong dream to stepping foot on a big-league field…after 13 seasons and several months to reflect on it, it’s officially time for the next chapter. Thank you, baseball.”
Dahl appeared in parts of seven Major League seasons from 2016-24, playing in 350 games and hitting .268/.313/.460 with 46 home runs over 1311 career plate appearances. The majority of Dahl’s pro career was spent in the Rockies organization, beginning when Colorado selected the outfielder with the 10th overall pick of the 2012 draft.
A regular on top-100 prospect rankings during his minor league career, Dahl’s progress hit an unexpected roadblock when he suffered a lacerated spleen after colliding with a teammate during a 2015 Double-A game. Dahl opted to have his spleen removed entirely in order to get back onto the field before season’s end, as waiting for the spleen to heal would’ve likely cost him the entirety of the season. This unusual situation in some ways defined Dahl’s career, highlighting his grit in trying to play through what ended up being a long list of injuries that set back his career.
Dahl had an impressive MLB debut in 2016, hitting .315/.359/.500 over his first 237 PA in the Show. A stress fracture in his rib and then back spasms limited him to just 19 minor league games and no big league action in 2017, but Dahl was able to recover and appear in 177 games for Colorado over the 2018-19 seasons. The outfielder batted .291/.342/.528 with 31 homers in 684 PA over this two-year stretch, helping the Rockies reach the postseason in 2018 and earning an All-Star nod for himself in 2019.
Even during those two seasons, however, Dahl missed a good deal of time recovering from a right foot fracture and then a right high ankle sprain. 2019 ended up being the high point of Dahl’s production, as after Opening Day 2020, he hit only .200/.237/.318 over the final 390 PA of his big league career. Shoulder problems in 2020 led to a surgery after the season, and the Rockies chose to non-tender Dahl. He bounced around to six different teams over the next four seasons, and saw some more MLB time with the Rangers, Padres, and Phillies.
After not playing at all in 2025, Dahl has now decided to hang up the cleats. We at MLB Trade Rumors congratulate Dahl on a fine career and wish him all the best in his post-playing endeavors.
Good baseball player, injuries took away a once promising career
Chris Simms got hit so hard they had to remove his spleen too. David Dahl seems like a modern BJ Surhoff. Happy trails Mr. Dahl.
BJ and Mike Heath were some of my favorite catchers from yesteryear ⚾
What does your “favorite catchers from yesteryear” have to do with David Dahl retiring?
Bill Plummer and Vic Correl were my favorite catchers
A respectable career no less
Definitely in the Hall of What Might Have Been. It’s quite sad given his potential. There is a dimension where Dahl is in the midst of a HOF career, and he just signed a 6-year, $180M contract with the Mets.
I’m surprised Stearns didn’t try to lowball him to stay out of retirement
Stearns: “I heard that!”
I met him when he played for the Asheville Tourists. Super nice guy!
He really looked like he was going to be something before the injuries.
P.S. If you want to know about Coors Field park effects, his career OPS is .773 and his OPS+ is underwater at 94..
Didn’t know he was still around
I remember seeing him play for Oak Mountain. He was a man amongst boys.