David Price To Decide On Future After 2022 Season
3:27PM: Price hasn’t yet made a decision about retirement, telling reporters (including Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times) that he’ll make the call after the season. For now, he is focused on recovering from his wrist injury and getting back to the Dodgers before the season is over.
12:16PM: Former Cy Young winner, and two-time runner-up, David Price plans to retire after the 2022 season, announced by Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Price stated that “It’s just time,” and that “Everything on my body hurts.”
Price, now 37, was originally drafted in the 19th round of the 2004 MLB draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers, but chose to attend the baseball factory Vanderbilt University. As a junior, he recorded an 11-1 record with a 2.63 ERA in 133 1/3 innings, striking out 194 batters in the process and earning college baseball’s top honor, the Dick Howser Trophy.
After his dominant college career, he was drafted first overall in 2007 by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (now known as the Tampa Bay Rays) and given a six-year, $11.25MM contract, with a then second-largest signing bonus in MLB history of $5.6MM. Price quickly rose through the minor league ranks, and made his Major League debut in September of 2008, helping the Rays make the postseason and, interesting trivia alert, earning a postseason win before a regular-season win.
Price would then spend his next five and a half seasons tormenting the American League with the Rays, pitching to a dominant 3.19 ERA over 1129 2/3 innings with an 82-48 record and helping Tampa Bay reach the playoffs in 2010, 2011, and 2013. During this stretch Price was a three-time All-Star (2010, 2011, and 2012), finished second in 2010 for Cy Young against Félix Hernández, and edged out Justin Verlander in 2012 for the AL Cy Young award — pitching to a 2.56 ERA in 211 innings with a 20-5 record, garnering some MVP votes in the process.
However, at the 2014 trade deadline with the team below .500, the Rays opted to trade Price to the Detroit Tigers in a three-team deal that brought back Drew Smyly, Nick Franklin, and Willy Adames and sent Austin Jackson to the Seattle Mariners. This Tigers team, headlined by three current Cy Young winners in Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, and Price, and accompanied by future Cy Young winner in Rick Porcello, barely took the AL Central from the Royals and was swept by the Baltimore Orioles in the 2014 ALDS.
After the 2014 season, Price and the Tigers avoided arbitration and agreed on a $19.75MM salary for the 2015 season, setting a record for the largest one-year deal for an arbitration-eligible player. Price showed he was worth every penny, continuing his dominance in 2015 with a 2.53 ERA in 146 innings and earning a trip to his fifth All-Star Game in his seven-year career. Nevertheless, the Tigers fell flat in 2015 and decided to flip Price at the trade deadline to the Toronto Blue Jays for Daniel Norris, Matt Boyd, and Jairo Labourt. With the Blue Jays, Price continued to bully batters, pitching to a 9-1 record with a 2.30 ERA in 74 1/3 innings – ending the year making a combined 32 starts across both teams, with a 2.45 ERA in 220 1/3 innings and finishing runner up to Dallas Keuchel in that year’s Cy Young voting.
Although still without much playoff success, Price spun his great career and commanding contract-year performance into a massive seven-year, $217MM contract with the Boston Red Sox and bolding stating that he “was just saving all my postseason wins for the Red Sox.” His first year with Boston was rough, with Price posting a then-career worst ERA of 3.99 in 230 innings, a far cry from the 2.90 ERA he had posted during the 2012-2015 seasons. However, Price did make 35 starts, the highest market for a pitcher since Chris Carpenter in 2010. Price then battled with various elbow injuries in the 2017 season, starting the season on the injured list and returning to it in late July before returning in mid-September as a reliever to help the Red Sox’s playoff run. Nevertheless, Price returned relatively healthy in the 2018 season, posting a 16-7 record in 176 innings (30 starts) with roughly career average strikeout and walk rates, 24.5% and 6.9%, respectively, en route to his first World Series ring. Most notably, Price was able to shake off his substandard playoff performance moniker, pitching to a 3.46 ERA in 26 innings (5 starts), striking out 23 and only walking 12 as the Red Sox won the World Series for the fourth time in 15 seasons.
Price once again dealt with injuries in the 2019 season, first with left elbow tendonitis and later with a left wrist triangular fibrocartilage cyst that ended his season early. However, when healthy, Price provided solid back-of-the-rotation support, pitching to a career-high 4.28 ERA in 107 1/3 innings. Importantly, Price began to lose effectiveness against right-handed hitters, with righties slashing .257/.314/.460 for a .773 OPS in 2019 compared to a slash line of .234/.293/.402/.695 in 2019. After the 2019 season, new Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom shocked the baseball world by sending Price and former MVP Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers in what was largely considered a cost-cutting move. The trade brought Alex Verdugo, Connor Wong, and Jeter Downs to the Red Sox.
Finally a Dodger, Price opted out of the COVID-shortened 2020 season before returning in a primarily bullpen role for the first time since 2008. He pitched to a palatable 4.03 ERA in 73 2/3 innings, appearing in 39 games. However, he posted a career-low K% of 17.8% as well as a career-high BB% of 8.0% — seeing his average fastball velocity drop to 91.9 MPH. Additionally, while righties continued to square up the ball, posting a combined .270/.330/.432 slash line good for .762 OPS, lefties also began hitting Price, resulting in a .276/.353/.419 slash line with a .772 OPS – a far cry from the .210/.291/.381/.672 slash line Price gave up to lefties in the 2018 season (his last full season).
The 2022 season has been a strong rebound bullpen year for Price, with the southpaw posting a 2.58 ERA in 38 1/3 innings with a 23.3 K% and 5.0 BB%. With the Dodgers recently securing a postseason berth, Price can look to chase one more coveted ring before walking off into the sunset on his terms.
Price retires as a 5-time All-Star, Cy Young winner, and World Series Champion. For a five-to-six-year period, he was among the best pitchers in the sport. MLBTR congratulates him on his excellent run and successes, and wishes him the best in retirement.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Edwin Jackson Announces Retirement
Former All-Star Edwin Jackson took to Instagram this evening to officially announce his retirement from Major League Baseball. The right-hander pitched parts of 17 seasons in the majors, getting to the highest level every year between 2003-19. Jackson suited up for 14 different MLB teams, setting the all-time record for most uniforms donned.
“19 years ago today I was blessed with an opportunity to tie up my laces and step on the field to make my debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers,” Jackson wrote. “Today I am happily hanging up my cleats and closing a 22-year baseball career.” Jackson went on to thank his wife, parents, sisters, children and the rest of his family before expressing his gratitude to various coaches, trainers and doctors who assisted him. “This game has taught me many life lessons and allowed me to evolve into the person I am today! I will forever have memories that will live within me from the game I love and dedicated my life to. Thank you baseball for an amazing life experience I will never forget,” he concluded.
A sixth-round draftee of the Dodgers out of a Georgia high school in 2001, Jackson emerged as one of the sport’s best pitching prospects not long thereafter. He broke into the big leagues exactly 19 years ago on his 20th birthday, starting three of four appearances down the stretch. He bounced on and off Los Angeles’ active roster for the next couple seasons before being traded to the then-Devil Rays over the 2005-06 offseason.
Jackson worked primarily as a reliever for his first season in Tampa Bay, but he took a full turn of starts by the 2007 campaign. That kicked off a stretch of seven consecutive seasons in which he surpassed 30 starts and 160 innings. Jackson pitched in Tampa Bay through 2008 before being dealt to the Tigers for outfielder Matt Joyce. He tossed a career-best 214 innings the next year, posting a 3.62 ERA. Jackson earned an All-Star nod with a 2.52 mark through that season’s first half.
The next offseason, his nomadic career continued. Detroit flipped Jackson to the Diamondbacks as part of a three-team blockbuster that netted Detroit Max Scherzer and sent Curtis Granderson to the Yankees. His stint in the desert was rather brief — he’d wind up traded again at that summer’s deadline — but it provided one of the more memorable moments of his career. On June 25, 2010, he tossed a no-hitter against his former team at Tropicana Field. He threw a staggering 149 pitches in the outing, striking out six but issuing eight walks. Then-manager A.J. Hinch stuck with Jackson despite his high pitch count, and he completed one of the more remarkable single-game performances by a player in recent memory.
Not long after, the last-place club dealt Jackson to the White Sox in a trade that landed Arizona Daniel Hudson. Jackson pitched well in 11 starts down the stretch, and he got off to another solid start in 2011. The White Sox fell out of contention the latter season, though, and he was on the move again. The Blue Jays acquired Jackson from the White Sox on the morning of July 27, but his stint in Toronto lasted only a few hours. Toronto promptly flipped him to the Cardinals in a deal that sent Colby Rasmus north of the border.
Jackson played in St. Louis for the second half, pitching to a 3.58 ERA through 12 starts. He made four starts in the postseason, and while his playoff numbers weren’t great, the Cardinals secured the World Series title in a dramatic series win over the Rangers. Fresh off winning a title, Jackson signed with the Nationals during his first trip through free agency. He spent the 2012 campaign in the Nats rotation, helping Washington to their first playoff appearance since moving to D.C.
The next winter, Jackson inked a four-year, $52MM pact with the Cubs. He continued to soak up innings but didn’t post especially strong numbers in Chicago. After two and a half seasons, he was released. That kicked off an even more rapid trip around the league, as Jackson suited up with the Braves, Marlins, Padres, Orioles, Nationals (again), A’s, Blue Jays and Tigers (again) over the next four years. He alternated between the rotation and the bullpen throughout that time, generally serving as a depth option.
While Jackson signed a minor league deal with the Diamondbacks in 2020, he didn’t make it back to the majors. He did appear on the U.S. Olympic team last summer and expressed a desire to get back to the big leagues, but he didn’t get another opportunity with an affiliated organization.
Altogether, Jackson pitched in 412 major league games. He tossed 1960 innings with a 4.78 ERA, striking out a bit more than 1500 batters and winning 107 games. According to Baseball Reference, Jackson banked upwards of $66MM in earnings and incredibly logged some action for almost half the league. MLBTR congratulates Jackson on his lengthy, accomplished career and wishes him all the best in retirement.
Dellin Betances Reportedly Retires
Relief pitcher Dellin Betances has decided to retire, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The 34-year-old is apparently hanging up his cleats after a career wherein he pitched in parts of ten seasons with the Yankees and Mets. He had been with the Dodgers’ organization on a minor league deal this year.
Selected by the Yankees in the eighth round of the 2006 draft, Betances was a starting pitcher in his first few years as a professional. However, command issues and various injuries eventually pushed Betances into more relief work as he moved up the ranks. He made just one MLB start, which came back in 2011.
The move to the bullpen ended up working out fabulously for both Betances and the Yankees, starting with a tremendous breakout in 2014. Though he had just 7 2/3 innings of MLB experience coming into that year, he ended up throwing 90 innings over 70 relief appearances during that campaign. He registered an ERA of just 1.40, along with an incredible 39.6% strikeout rate, 7% walk rate and 46.6% ground ball rate. He finished third in the voting for the American League Rookie of the Year award, trailing only Jose Abreu and Matt Shoemaker.
That will arguably go down as Betances’ best season, though he was still an incredibly effective reliever for the next four years. In a five-year run beginning with that 2014 season and running through 2018, he threw 374 innings, an average of almost 75 per season. He logged a combined 2.21 ERA in that time, striking out a whopping 40.4% of batters faced, though walking 10.7% of them, and getting grounders on 48.1% of balls in play. He racked up 11.3 wins above replacement during that stretch, according to FanGraphs, which was third among all relievers in baseball, trailing only Aroldis Chapman and Kenley Jansen. He made the All-Star team in four consecutive seasons, beginning with that 2014 campaign.
Unfortunately, that five-year run of dominance has been followed by a four-year run of frustration, largely due to injuries. In 2019, he began the year on the injured list due to a shoulder impingement. He wasn’t able to make his season debut until September, but tore his achilles tendon during that game after just 2/3 of an inning.
In spite of losing essentially that entire season, Betances hit free agency as a highly-touted reliever based on his previous track record. He agreed to a contract with the Mets that paid him $7.5MM in 2020, along with a $6MM player option for 2021 that came with a $3MM buyout. He ended up getting into 15 games with the Mets that year but struggled mightily. He registered a 7.71 ERA in that time, with his velocity noticeably diminished and his strikeout rate significantly lowered. He also walked 20.3% of batters faced in that short time. He was placed on the injured list due to a lat strain at the end of August and couldn’t return. After that showing, he decided to trigger his $6MM player option instead of returning to free agency. He threw just one inning for the Mets that year, which came in one April 7 appearance that will ultimately go down as his last appearance in the majors. He went on the IL with a shoulder impingement, eventually requiring season-ending surgery. His contract also came with a vesting option for 2022, where Betances would have a $1MM player option if he pitched in 50 games in 2021, which he came nowhere near.
After returning to free agency, he signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers for 2022. Though he hadn’t been effective for a few years, the Dodgers were willing to take a chance to see if he could recover any of his previous form. If he cracked the majors, he would have earned $2.75MM with further incentives available. Unfortunately, he logged a 10.26 ERA in 16 2/3 minor league innings this year, walking 16.5% of the batters he faced. After yet another frustrating sequence of events, it seems Betances had decided to walk away.
Despite the disappointing results of the past few seasons, Betances will surely be remembered for that five-year run in pinstripes where he was one of the most dominant pitchers in the world. He spent five full seasons striking fear into the hearts of opposing teams and their fans whenever he stepped to the mound. He finishes his career with 394 1/3 innings pitched in 374 games. He’ll go down in the record books with a 2.53 ERA, 36 saves, 121 holds and 633 strikeouts. We at MLBTR congratulate Betances on an excellent career and we wish him the best in his post-playing endeavors.
Jonathan Lucroy To Announce Retirement
Veteran catcher Jonathan Lucroy is set to officially announce his retirement Saturday as part of a ceremony at American Family Field, reports Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. A third-round pick by the Brewers out of Louisiana-Lafayette in 2007, the backstop, who spent the first half of his twelve-year career in Milwaukee, will be inducted into the club’s Wall of Honor alongside former teammate Ryan Braun.
Arguably the most accomplished catcher of the 2010s not named Buster Posey or Yadier Molina, Lucroy’s best years — including a fourth-place MVP finish (and 8.2 fWAR) in 2014 — came with the Brewers, but he remained a serviceable option behind the plate for several years to come following a deadline trade to the Rangers in 2016. His production did dip considerably thereafter, however, and he became something of a journeyman in his 30s, playing for the Rockies, A’s, Angels, Cubs, Red Sox, Nationals, and Braves. He sported a robust .284/.343/.442 batting line across his first seven seasons — all but the last two months of 2016 in Milwaukee — but a comparatively paltry .248/.315/.350 thereafter. His once-elite defensive acumen also declined precipitously in the latter half of his career; after accruing 95 defensive runs saved between 2010 and 2016, he cost his teams 42 runs thereafter per the Fielding Bible metric.
For his career, Lucroy logged a more-than-respectable .274/.335/.416 triple-slash, a particularly strong output given the comparatively anemic production at his position across the majors. While he’s unlikely to receive any serious Hall of Fame consideration, the long-time Brewer can hang his hat on an excellent career that included two All-Star selections (in 2014 and 2016), 37 career fWAR, and four playoff appearances, including a 2011 NLCS run with the Brewers.
Matt Joyce Retires
After 14 Major League seasons, outfielder Matt Joyce has officially retired just two days in advance of his 38th birthday. Joyce played with the Phillies in 2021 but was released after the year, and he told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times that he waited a few months into the 2022 campaign to see if he could land any offers from non-independent teams.
When those offers didn’t come, Joyce closed the book on a career that saw him suit up for eight different teams over the course of an even 1400 career games. Spending the last half of his career bouncing around the majors, he played one season each with the Phillies, Marlins, Braves, Pirates, Angels, and Tigers, while playing two seasons with the Athletics and six seasons with the Rays.
The left-handed hitting Joyce was never able to muster much production against left-handed pitching over his career, which often relegated him to platoon or bench duties. However, he carved out a comfortable niche for himself as a righty-masher, with a .251/.353/.444 career slash line against right-handed pitching. Joyce was also one of the more prominent pinch-hitters in baseball history, as his 369 career plate appearances as a pinch-hitter ranks sixth on the all-time list.
A 12th-round pick for the Tigers in the 2006 draft, Joyce made his big league debut with Detroit in 2008 before being dealt to the Rays for (speaking of prominent journeymen) Edwin Jackson in December 2008. It was a homecoming for the Tampa native Joyce, and he told Topkin that his stint with the Rays “probably means the most to me, looking back. Just being from here, being raised here, playing here, making the playoffs three out of the five (full) years that I was up with the team. A lot of really cool memories, a lot of really cool highlights. That was special, for sure.”
Joyce’s Rays tenure peaked with the 2011 season, when he hit .277/.347/.478 with 19 home runs and was named to his only All-Star team. For his entire career, Joyce finishes with a .242/.342/.425 slash line and 149 homers over 4355 plate appearances.
“I definitely feel good, and I’m proud of what I was able to accomplish,” Joyce said. “I think overcoming the biggest trials and failures is really what I’m most proud of. That ultimately shows a lot about a person, a lot about an athlete. The fact that they’re just willing to kind of grind and persevere and continue to fail, but you continue to get back up again. So, yeah, I’m definitely proud of my career.”
We at MLB Trade Rumors congratulate Joyce on a fine career, and wish him the best in his post-baseball endeavors.
Steven Souza Jr. Announces Retirement
Outfielder Steven Souza Jr. took to Twitter today to announce his retirement from baseball after almost a decade in the big leagues.
“It’s been an incredible journey that I dreamed as a kid I would be able to go on,” wrote Souza, before going on to give a heartfelt thanks to the many people whose lives touched his along the way.
Souza, 33, was a third-round pick of the Nationals out of Cascade High School in 2007 and made his big league debut with the Nats in 2014. After getting into 21 games for Washington down the stretch, Souza went to the Rays in December 2014 as part of a convoluted three-team trade that saw Wil Myers go from Tampa to San Diego and Trea Turner go from the Padres to the Nats.
Souza would spent the next three seasons with the Rays, which will no doubt go down as the best stretch of his career. From 2015 to 2017, he played 378 games, hitting 63 home runs, 53 doubles, four triples, stealing 35 bases and hitting .238/.327/.426.
Incredibly, Souza was part of yet another three-team trade prior to the 2018 season. In this deal, Souza went to the Diamondbacks while Brandon Drury went to the Yankees, among other pieces changing hands. Unfortunately, Souza’s trip to the desert would be a disappointing one, with injuries preventing him from sustaining the production he showed in Tampa. He was limited to 72 games in 2018 due to pectoral issues and hit just .220/.309/.369 when on the field. In March of 2019, Souza sustained a far worse injury, slipping on home plate during a Spring Training game. The club would later announce that Souza tore or damaged multiple ligaments in his knee, which would require season-ending surgery.
After missing the entirety of the 2019 campaign, Arizona non-tendered him, allowing Souza to reach free agency for the first time in his career. He’d go on to see MLB action over the next three seasons with the Cubs, Dodgers and Mariners, respectively, but unable to recapture his previous form. Over those three seasons, he hit .152/.221/.291.
In the end, Souza was able to appear in 505 MLB games and make 1,895 plate appearances. He’ll head into retirement with a lifetime batting line of .229/.318/.411, 72 home runs, 71 doubles, eight triples, 383 total hits, 223 runs scored, 207 runs driven in and 42 stolen bases. He was able to earn more than $10MM over his big league tenure. MLBTR congratulates Souza on a fine career and wishes him the best of luck in his next chapter.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Aaron Barrett To Retire
After 11 professional seasons, right-hander Aaron Barrett announced (via Twitter) that he is retiring from baseball. The 34-year-old said he’ll pitch in his final game on Monday, July 4, as a member of the Phillies’ Triple-A affiliate.
Barrett began his pro career when the Nationals selected him in the ninth round of the 2010 draft, though Barrett had also been taken (but didn’t sign) in the 2006, 2008, and 2009 drafts by the Dodgers, Twins, and Rangers, respectively. This began a run in the Washington that lasted until Barrett inked a minor league deal with the Phillies this past winter, and Barrett’s final season has been a struggle, with a 13.86 ERA over 12 1/3 innings for Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
As Barrett put it in his goodbye message, “I went into this year thinking this could be my last run. I gave it EVERYTHING I had. It didn’t go the way I thought it could. That’s life! It’s time for me to start the next chapter of my life.”
Barrett appeared in parts of four MLB seasons, with most of that work coming in the 2014-15 seasons when he posted a 3.47 ERA over 70 innings and 90 relief appearances. The rest of his big league resume consists of four total innings across the 2019-20 campaigns. The gap in between those Major League stints perhaps defines Barrett’s character, as his promising was sidetracked by both a Tommy John surgery, and then a fractured humerus bone.
The latter injury was particularly devastating, as Barrett broke his arm in horrific fashion while pitching, and extensive surgery was required. However, Barrett’s long road back eventually led him to once again pitch in the majors — fans may recall the viral video of Double-A manager Matt LeCroy fighting back tears while telling Barrett that he had been promoted back to the Nationals’ active roster. While Barrett only tossed 2 1/3 innings for the 2019 Nationals, he was still part of a World Series championship team.
We at MLB Trade Rumors congratulate Barrett on his career, and we wish him the best in his post-playing endeavors.
J.A. Happ Retires
Veteran lefty J.A. Happ has retired after spending parts of 15 seasons in the Major Leagues. The 39-year-old discussed his career, his journey to pro ball and his decision to step away from the game in an appearance on the Heart Strong Podcast with Jessica Lindberg.
Happ acknowledges that he went “back and forth for pretty much the whole winter” trying to determine whether he wanted to return for another season, going through his usual training regimen to be ready in case he felt a pull to return to the mound.
“It got to the point where it was Opening Day, and I turned the first game on, and I talked to my wife, Morgan, and I said ‘What are you feeling?’ She just kind of looked at me and said, ‘A little anxiety.’ I wanted to turn it on to see what I felt, too, and I didn’t maybe feel what I needed to feel in order to think I wanted to keep doing this. I felt like that was a sign, like ‘OK, it’s time to go.’ Even though I had put the work in to be ready if the right situation came, I felt like it was time to move on and be a dad and dive into the kids. … It was emotional — something I didn’t expect. I called my agent that day, right after we turned that game on, and said, ‘I think this is it.’ I told the people I feel like I needed to tell. I think I’m still processing it, but I do wake up feeling good about it, and I’m happy to start the process of being a full-time dad, for the time being, at the very least.”
Originally a third-round pick by the Phillies back in 2004, Happ made his MLB debut with Philadelphia in 2007, appearing in just one game. He pitched in eight games the following year, earning enough trust to make the team’s NLCS roster and turn in three sharp innings of relief. By the 2009 season, Happ not only established himself as a member of the Phillies’ rotation but took home a second-place finish in NL Rookie of the Year voting after logging a 2.93 ERA in 166 innings of work. He began that year in the bullpen but moved into the rotation in late May, going on to hurl shutouts against the Blue Jays and Rockies in just the seventh and fourteenth starts of his big league career.
Strong as Happ’s early work was, the Phillies couldn’t resist the temptation to include him as part of the return for right-hander Roy Oswalt — a three-time All-Star and regular Cy Young contender at that point in his career. That 2010 swap proved to be the first of several notable trades in which Happ was involved over the course of his career. The Astros included him in a massive 11-player swap with the Jays that saw Happ land in Toronto and a then fresh-faced prospect named Joe Musgrove among the most notable names sent to Houston. Happ was also swapped straight up for outfielder Michael Saunders in 2014, and after returning to the Blue Jays on a three-year, $36MM deal as a free agent, he was flipped to the Yankees for Brandon Drury and Billy McKinney in the final season of that pact.
Happ was never a flamethrower or a perennial All-Star, but he carved out a lengthy career as a mid-rotation starter in the perennially dangerous American League East, spending six of his 15 years with the Jays and another three with the Yankees. From Happ’s peak in 2014-20, he notched 1058 2/3 innings of 3.81 ERA ball — a strong run that included an All-Star nod in 2018 and a sixth-place finish in 2016 American League Cy Young voting. His consistency netted him a trio of sizable free-agent contracts: his aforementioned $36MM deal with the Blue Jays, a two-year Yankees deal worth $34MM, and a one-year deal with the Twins that promised him $8MM just last season.
All in all, Happ steps away from the game with a lifetime 133-100 record, a 4.13 ERA, 1661 strikeouts, four complete games and three shutouts compiled while suiting up for eight teams: the Blue Jays, Phillies, Yankees, Astros, Twins, Mariners, Pirates and Cardinals. He reached the postseason six times, winning a World Series ring with the 2008 Phillies and pitching well in four of those six playoff runs. (He made one start with the Yankees both in 2018 and 2020, neither of which went particularly well.) Between the three previously referenced free-agent deals and his arbitration seasons, Happ earned more than $97MM in a career pegged at 21.5 wins above replacement by Baseball-Reference and 21.8 WAR by FanGraphs.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images/Imagn.
Russell Martin Announces Retirement
Four-time All-Star catcher Russell Martin officially announced his retirement on his Instagram page today. Martin thanked many people who helped support him throughout his career, and is now stepping away from the game after 14 MLB seasons’ worth of “timeless memories that I will cherish forever.”
A 17th-round pick for the Dodgers in the 2002 draft, Martin spent his first five Major League seasons and his final season (2019) in Dodger blue. In between his two stints in Los Angeles, Martin played two seasons apiece with the Yankees and Pirates, and four seasons playing the Blue Jays in his home country of Canada.
It didn’t take Martin long to make an impression, as he was a ninth-place finisher in NL Rookie of The Year voting in his 2006 debut season, and he then crushed the “sophomore slump” by winning a Gold Glove and a Silver Slugger Award in 2007. Martin also earned the first of his four All-Star nods that year, later returning to the Midsummer Classic in 2008, as a Yankee in 2011, and as a Blue Jay in 2015.
One of the sport’s better defenders and pitch-framers during his career, Martin would likely have captured more than one Gold Glove had he not spent so many of his prime years in the same league as Yadier Molina. Bringing some extra athleticism to the catcher position, Martin also saw some action elsewhere around the diamond during his career, appearing in 57 games at third base and making a handful of appearances at second base, shortstop, and both corner outfield slots.
Martin complemented his defense with some solid and occasionally excellent hitting, including his Silver Slugger year and a 2014 season with Pittsburgh that saw him hit .290/.402/.430 over 460 PA. That latter season was particularly timely for Martin since it came just before a trip into free agency, and the result was a five-year, $82MM deal that at the time was the second-biggest contract in Blue Jays history. It was the long-term payday that Martin had been seeking after a few underwhelming years, including an injury-marred 2010 season that led the Dodgers to non-tender him that fall.
Winning was a common element for Martin no matter where he went, as he appeared in the postseason in 10 of his 14 seasons. While none of Martin’s teams reached the World Series, he had his share of memorable playoff moments — perhaps most notably a (crowd-assisted) home run off Johnny Cueto as part of a two-homer game for Martin in the Pirates’ Wild Card game victory over the Reds in 2013.
As his career wound down, Martin did plan to play in 2020 and received a few offers from teams, but the pandemic seemed to scuttle any chances of the catcher returning for one final season. He’ll now hang up his cleats after hitting .248/.349/.397 (104 wRC+) with 191 home runs and 1416 hits over 1693 games and 6648 PA in the Show. Martin retires as an icon in Canadian baseball, as only Ferguson Jenkins, Larry Walker, and Joey Votto recorded more career bWAR amongst players born north of the border.
We at MLB Trade Rumors congratulate Martin on a terrific career, and we also congratulate his family on the impending arrival of a third child (as Martin announced in his Instagram post).
Joe Panik Retires
Former All-Star infielder Joe Panik has decided to retire, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. That concludes an eight-year MLB career for the Yonkers native.
Panik went to St. John’s University and was a first-round pick of the Giants in 2011. A contact-oriented second baseman with good strike zone awareness but limited power, Panik was seen as a solid but not top-tier prospect. He hit his way up the minor league ladder quickly, reaching the majors midway through the 2014 campaign.
The lefty-hitting Panik staked a claim to the regular second base job in San Francisco almost out of the gate. He made a brief debut in May, returned to the minors for a month, then was called up for good in late June. From that point forward, he played regularly at the keystone. Panik hit .305/.343/.368 through his first 73 games. He continued his regular role into the postseason for a San Francisco club that won its third World Series title in five years.
Panik remained the Giants second baseman for the next few seasons. He followed up his rookie showing with an excellent .312/.378/.455 campaign. Paired with sure-handed defense, he earned an All-Star nod that year. Panik’s offense took a step back in 2016 but he continued to play well on the other side of the ball, picking up the National League Gold Glove award for second basemen.
After another solid season in 2017, his offensive production dipped as he dealt with injuries (including repeated concussion issues). Panik became more of a veteran role player than a true regular from that point forward, still offering a high-contact bat but without great results on balls in play. The Giants designated him for assignment in August 2019, ending his eight-year tenure in the organization. He hooked on with the Mets for the stretch run and performed fairly well.
Panik signed successive minor league contracts with the Blue Jays heading into 2020 and ’21. He made the Opening Day roster both times, but the Jays dealt him to the Marlins last July to offset some salary in the deal that landed Adam Cimber and Corey Dickerson in Toronto. Panik finished out the season with the Fish, appearing in 53 games.
At just 31 years old, it seems likely Panik could’ve found another minor league deal had he wished to continue playing. He left the Miami organization late last season to attend the birth of his daughter, though, and Heyman writes that he’s now “enjoying family life.” Panik steps aside having appeared in 818 big league games and tallied more than 3000 trips to the plate.
All told, he was a .264/.328/.372 hitter. He only hit 42 home runs, never more than ten in a season, but he also had a minuscule 10.1% strikeout rate that’s less than half the MLB average. Panik also tallied 136 doubles, 19 triples, scored 340 runs and drove in 258. He has the aforementioned Gold Glove and All-Star selection and was a regular on a World Series winner. MLBTR congratulates Panik on an excellent career and wishes him the best in his post-playing days.