Joe Nathan To Formally Announce Retirement
Six-time All-Star Joe Nathan will formally announce his retirement in a press conference at Target Field on Friday, the Twins announced. The Twins will not only host Nathan’s press conference, they’ll honor arguably the best reliever in franchise history in a pregame ceremony prior to Friday’s game against the Royals.
Nathan, 42, broke into the Majors as a 24-year-old with the Giants in 1999, but he didn’t establish himself as a quality big league reliever until his age-28 season in San Francisco. Few would’ve predicted that he’d go on to solidify himself as one of the best relievers on the planet in the years to come, but the Twins were the beneficiary of Nathan’s late-blooming right arm. Minnesota acquired Nathan, Francisco Liriano and right-hander Boof Bonser from the Giants in exchange for the final year of A.J. Pierzynski‘s contract in a swap that would help to serve as a foundational move for a sustained run of division contenders in the final years of the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
Nathan spent eight years in a Twins uniform (though his 2010 season was lost to Tommy John surgery), during which time he posted a sensational 2.16 ERA with averages of 10.9 strikeouts and 2.6 walks per nine innings pitched. From 2004-09, in particular, Nathan dominated to the tune of a 1.87 ERA with an average of 41 saves per season. Overall, Nathan saved 260 games for the Twins from 2004-11, helping Minnesota to the postseason in 2004, 2006 and 2009 (in addition to a Game 163 playoff against the White Sox in 2008).
Following his time in Minnesota, he enjoyed two excellent seasons with the Rangers before signing one last significant contract: a two-year deal with the Tigers. Nathan struggled in his first season in Detroit, then missed nearly the entire second season of that pact due to another Tommy John surgery.
Undeterred by another UCL tear at the age of 40, Nathan rehabbed his elbow and worked his way back to the big leagues at the tail end of the 2016 season, tossing a combined 6 1/3 scoreless innings for the Cubs and the Giants. He inked a minor league deal with the Nationals this winter but wasn’t able to crack the team’s big league roster in Spring Training. After two months pitching for Washington’s Triple-A affiliate, Nathan requested his release.
Nathan’s career will officially come to a close with a 64-34 record and 377 saves. He’ll retire with a lifetime 2.87 ERA, 9.5 K/9, 3.4 BB/9, roughly 27 wins above replacement under his belt (per rWAR and RA9-WAR) and more than $86MM in career earnings. Twins fans will remember Nathan for his quirks on the mound, his leadership on the pitching staff and one of the most prolonged stretches of dominance of any pitcher in Twins history. Congratulations to Joe on an outstanding career.
Paul Janish To Retire, Join Rice University Coaching Staff
Veteran utility infielder Paul Janish has been granted his release from the Orioles’ Triple-A affiliate and “has left the club with plans to retire,” reports David Hall of the Virginian Pilot (on Twitter). Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets that O’s skipper Buck Showalter confirmed the release, and Kubatko adds that Janish will join the coaching staff at his alma mater, Rice University.
The 34-year-old Janish was a fifth-round selection out of Rice by the Reds back in the 2004 draft. He debuted with the Reds just under four years later, appearing in 38 games as a rookie. While he never fully cemented himself as a regular with the Reds, Janish spent parts of the next four seasons in Cincinnati before joining the Braves for the 2012-13 seasons. He’s appeared in 14 games with the Orioles in each of the past three seasons, including the current campaign.
All told, the light-hitting Janish will wrap up his career as a .212/.280/.284 batter over the life of 473 Major League games and 1305 Major League plate appearances. Despite that lack of offensive production, though, Janish’s superlative glovework allowed him to spend parts of nine seasons in the Majors. Primarily a shortstop, Janish graded out at 21 runs above average, per Defensive Runs Saved, and 17.3 runs above average, per Ultimate Zone Rating. He also logged 140 innings at second base and 262 innings at third base.
Jered Weaver Announces Retirement
Padres right-hander Jered Weaver has announced his retirement through a team press release. The former Angels ace had an impressive 12-year career in the majors.
Weaver, 34, had been on the disabled list for much of the season with hip issues. In a statement, he explained that he has not been able to get back to health. “While I’ve been working hard to get back on the mound, my body just will not allow me to compete like I want to,” says Weaver.
“Many thanks to the Padres organization for the opportunity to play in the amazing city of San Diego. You have been very professional and respectful during this process and I really appreciate that. I would also like to thank my teammates for welcoming me in with open arms and for all the support throughout the season. I’m excited for the next chapter in life and making up for lost time with my family. Thank you to everyone who has supported me over the years. It was a great ride!”
Undoubtedly, Weaver will be best remembered for his long run of success with the Halos from 2006 through 2016. He topped two thousand total innings with the organization, working to a 3.99 ERA there.
That overall record tends to understate just how good Weaver was in his prime. In particular, in a five-year span beginning in 2010, he spun over a thousand frames of 2.99 ERA ball with 7.6 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9. The first three of those campaigns included All-Star nods and top-five Cy Young finishes.
A former first-round draft pick out of Cal State, Weaver moved quickly through the Angels’ farm system. He played a significant role in driving several of the team’s postseason appearances. Over seven total appearances in the postseason, he threw 27 2/3 innings and compiled a 2.60 ERA.
More recently, Weaver dealt with health issues and a notable drop in velocity. Never a hard thrower, he sat below 85 mph with his fastball over the past three seasons but still managed to gut out 379 1/3 innings over 66 starts. The final nine of those came with San Diego.
The Friars had inked Weaver to a one-year, $3MM contract following the conclusion of the long-term extension that Weaver signed with Los Angeles six years ago this month. He never got going with his new organization, though, managing only a 7.44 ERA with 23 strikeouts in his 42 1/3 frames before hitting the DL.
That late fade doesn’t detract from a top-quality overall career. Weaver wraps things up with 34.8 rWAR and 30.3 fWAR on his ledger. He also notched a memorable no-hitter in 2012. MLBTR offers Weaver a tip of the cap and best wishes for his future endeavors.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Jeremy Guthrie Announces Retirement
Veteran righty Jeremy Guthrie has announced his retirement from the game in a piece for the Player’s Tribune. The 38-year-old will hang up his spikes after parts of 13 years in the majors.
It’s hardly surprising to learn that Guthrie will formally end his career, as he had indicated back in May that he would not be pursuing another contract. But the sturdy righty waited until the trade deadline to make it official. This marks the first time that Guthrie has featured so prominently on deadline day itself, though he was twice traded — first in the offseason and later just in advance of the 2012 deadline.
It was that second swap that brought Guthrie to the Royals, where he enjoyed his second lengthy run with a single organization. During parts of four seasons in Kansas City, Guthrie compiled 653 2/3 innings of 4.38 ERA ball. He did much the same during his prior five-year stint with the Orioles, over which he maintained a 4.12 ERA in 983 1/3 frames.
Shorter terms with the Indians (where he started), the Rockies, and most recently the Nationals weren’t as fruitful, but all told it was a successful career for the former first-rounder out of Stanford. Guthrie averaged better than 200 frames annually from 2008 through 2014 and compiled 20.4 RA9-WAR over his career.
Beyond his steady contributions on the field, Guthrie has always been a positive and engaging figure in the game, and no doubt will continue to be in his future ventures. We at MLBTR wish him nothing but the best moving forward — and preemptively pardon him for upstaging today’s deadline news with his announcement.
Nolan Reimold Retires
Former major league outfielder Nolan Reimold has retired, according to Michael Pfaff, the president of the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League (Twitter link). Reimold joined the Ducks last month and ultimately slashed .238/.359/.397 in 78 plate appearances with the club.
Before partaking in indy ball, the 33-year-old Reimold had stints with the Orioles, Blue Jays and Diamondbacks from 2009-16 and typically served as a respectable major league hitter. With the exception of 2014 – which he divided between Toronto and Arizona – Reimold spent each of his seasons with the Orioles, who selected him in Round 2 of the 2005 draft. Overall, the righty-swinger was a viable option against pitchers of either handedness during his big league days and ended up batting .246/.323/.422 in 1,556 trips to the plate. He logged his best year as a rookie, hitting .279/.365/.466 with career highs in home runs (15), stolen bases (eight) and PAs (411).
Jeff Francoeur Joins FOX Sports As Braves Analyst
Veteran outfielder Jeff Francoeur has joined the FOX Sports South and FOX Sports Southeast broadcast teams and will begin serving as an analyst for Braves games, according to an announcement from FOX. Per the announcement, Francoeur has retired from his playing career. The shift in career paths brings Francoeur’s 12-year Major League career to a close.
Formerly the No. 23 overall pick by the Braves in the 2002 draft, Francoeur was touted as one of the game’s top 100 overall prospects for year before his debut in Atlanta. A brilliant rookie campaign in 2005 that saw Francoeur turn in a .300/.336/.549 batting line and club 14 homers in just 70 games led to a third-place finish in National League Rookie of the Year voting, and the right fielder looked poised for stardom at that point.
Francoeur belted 29 homers as a sophomore with Atlanta, but his overall production (specifically his on-base percentage) deteriorated. He hit a more pedestrian .260/.293/.449 in that followup to his rookie season, and while he rebounded a bit in his third big league season, he never fully returned to the form he displayed as a rookie.
Eventually traded to the Mets in exchange for fellow outfielder Ryan Church in 2009, Francoeur bounced around the league a bit before a resurgent campaign with the 2011 Royals in which he hit .285/.329/.476 and enjoyed the lone 20-20 season of his career. Unfortunately, he again failed to follow up on that production.
Ultimately, Francoeur would go on to settle in as a bench piece, often landing with rebuilding clubs. Nicknamed “Frenchy” and revered for his clubhouse presence, Francoeur was routinely signed and traded for due to his leadership and positive influence on young players. He drew interest from multiple clubs on minor league deals this offseason, including the Marlins and Braves, both of whom he suited up for just this past season. In the end, however, Francoeur remained unsigned and will apparently not further pursue any opportunities.
Still just 33 years of age, Francoeur will bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to his new media career, to say nothing of an affable personality, an infectious smile and a natural charisma that few in the game can match. Those traits seemingly make him a natural fit for television work, though many have also wondered if he might eventually enter into a coaching capacity to continue the mentoring of young players at which he excelled later in his career.
Assuming he does not make any form of comeback attempt, Francoeur’s career will draw to a close with a .261/.303/.416 batting line. In 1481 Major League games, Francoeur hit 160 home runs, 281 doubles and 27 triples. He also scored 626 times, knocked in 698 runs (including back-to-back 100-RBI campaigns in 2006-07) and stole 54 bases. Also known for his strong arm in right field even as his range declined, Francoeur took home a Gold Glove Award for his defensive work back in 2007. Including his $2.2MM signing bonus out of the draft, Francoeur earned nearly $30MM as a player over the life of his career.
We at MLBTR wish Francoeur the best of luck in the next chapter of his career and in whatever baseball has in store for him in the years to come.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Brennan Boesch To Retire
We’ll track the day’s minor moves right here …
- Outfielder Brennan Boesch is set to retire, according to Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter). Boesch, who’ll turn 32 tomorrow, spent parts of six seasons in the majors, appearing with the Tigers, Yankees, Angels, and Reds. He last cracked the bigs in 2015, but saw the bulk of his action from 2010-12 with Detroit. At his best, in his sophomore campaign, Boesch slashed .283/.341/.458 with 16 home runs. The left-handed hitter spent last year with the Red Sox organization, missing much of the season due to a broken wrist and batting just .221/.266/.345 in 158 Triple-A plate appearances upon his return.
David DeJesus Retires
Veteran outfielder David DeJesus announced today on Twitter that he’s officially retiring from the game. He’ll join the CSN Chicago studio team for the upcoming season.
The news certainly doesn’t come as much of a surprise after the 37-year-old sat out the 2016 season. He ended his time in the majors with a brief and unsuccessful stint with the Angels, who declined a club option for his services last year under the contract the team inherited when it acquired him from the Rays.
DeJesus had inked that two-year deal with Tampa Bay after a separate series of late-season transactions — he was claimed by the Nationals and then by the Rays shortly thereafter — left him with the new organization late in the 2013 season. He ultimately provided the Rays with 647 plate appearances of .254/.333/.394 hitting in what was his final significant stop in the game.
By that point, of course, the left-handed-hitting DeJesus was mostly a platoon player who was utilized against right-handed pitching. Earlier in his career, though, he was deployed on a fairly regular basis.
From his debut season in 2003 through the 2010 campaign, DeJesus slashed a solid .289/.360/.427 with 61 home runs for the Royals, representing his lengthiest and most productive stint with a single organization. That was an excellent return on the up-front investment for Kansas City, which had drafted him in the fourth round of the 2000 draft.
After an injury shortened his 2010 campaign, DeJesus was dealt to the A’s, where he didn’t quite perform to expectations. Still, the Cubs’ then-new front office signed him to a two-year deal — the first signing that it made. Installed as the regular right fielder while also spending time in center, DeJesus turned in a sturdy overall effort (.258/.343/.403) over his 900 plate appearances in Chicago.
In the aggregate, DeJesus enjoyed a productive, 13-year run in the majors. He tallied 24.7 fWAR and 22.9 rWAR along the way, and will be remembered as a steady and solid all-around performer. MLBTR wishes him the best of luck in his new venture.
Caleb Cotham Retires
Reliever Caleb Cotham has decided to hang up his spikes, he announced on Twitter. Cotham, 29, had recently agreed to a minor-league deal with the Mariners.
Cotham isn’t being forced out of the game due to a catastrophic injury, though he has had his share of injury woes both recently and in the past. Instead, it seems, he’s not interested in continuing to endure the toll of the grind.
“For me it is time to explore how I can give back and offer value to the game of baseball in ways other than playing,” Cotham writes. “My love for the game has never been higher, I am just no longer willing to pay the emotional/physical price to rehab/play at the highest level.”
There’s no doubting the pressures and demands placed upon a player in Cotham’s situation. Over the past two years, he has bounced between the upper minors and the majors. While he was able to earn 35 MLB appearances, Cotham allowed 27 earned runs in that span and faced an uphill path to the Mariners’ active roster this year.
Cotham first cracked the bigs with the Yankees after a breakthrough 2015 season in which he threw 57 innings of 2.21 ERA ball with 9.6 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in the upper minors. He ended up being dealt to the Reds as part of the return for Aroldis Chapman.
While he made the Opening Day roster with Cincinnati, Cotham contributed to the team’s historically dreadful relief work. He was ultimately sidelined with shoulder inflammation and then suffered a season-ending knee injury upon his return to the minors. (That string of ailments surely brought back unwanted memories; originally a fifth-round pick out of Vanderbilt, Cotham threw only 31 innings from 2009 through 2011 owing to knee and shoulder surgery.) The Reds outrighted him off of their 40-man roster in late October.
White Sox To Retire Mark Buehrle’s Number
The White Sox are set to retire Mark Buehrle‘s #56 jersey this summer, the team announced. As Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago notes on Twitter, that would appear to suggest the the lefty himself is also hanging up his spikes for good — though there’s been no official word to that effect as of yet.
Last we heard, around this time last spring, Buehrle was still pondering his future. But he decided against pitching in 2016, and we’ve heard no indication since that he was planning a return. Today’s news seemingly confirms that the famously fast-working and incredibly durable southpaw is finished after 16 highly productive seasons in the majors.
Though he ended his career elsewhere, Buehrle spent his first dozen seasons in Chicago. He was a model of consistency there, providing 2,476 2/3 innings of 3.83 ERA ball while averaging 5.1 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9. Despite being taken only in the 38th round of the 1998 draft, Buehrle cracked the majors in 2000, his age-21 season, after just a season and a half in the minors.
Arguably his best season came in 2005 — the club’s World Championship campaign — when he came in fifth in the American League Cy Young voting upon compiling a 3.12 ERA over 236 2/3 frames. That represented the second-straight season in which he led the league in innings and the fourth in a row in which he retired the side at least 230 times. Buehrle had many fine moments in Chicago, among them a no-hitter in 2007 and one of just 23 perfect games ever pitched (on July 23, 2009, against the Rays).
Buehrle departed the White Sox after the 2011 season, joining the Marlins along with a crop of other free agents. After one solid year in Miami, he was dealt to the Blue Jays as part of the blockbuster trade that also shipped veterans Josh Johnson and Jose Reyes (among others) to Toronto. Buehrle was productive til the end, providing the Jays with 604 1/3 innings of 3.78 ERA ball in his final three campaigns.
Even in his age-36 season, which appears now to be his last, Buehrle managed 198 2/3 innings and led qualifying AL pitchers with a 1.5 BB/9 walk rate. That broke a string of 14 consecutive seasons in which the exceedingly durable hurler racked up at least 200 frames.
In the end, Buehrle racked up 51.9 fWAR and 59.2 rWAR over his career. By Fangraphs’ measure, only four other pitchers — Roy Halladay, CC Sabathia, Randy Johnson, and Roy Oswalt — were as productive over Buehrle’s active seasons, over which he paced all of baseball in total innings. In that span, he received five All-Star nods and picked up four Gold Gloves, while never failing to make at least thirty starts in each of his full MLB seasons.
Assuming this is in fact the end, MLBTR congratulates Buehrle on his excellent career and extends its best wishes to him in his future endeavors.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.