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Retirement

Skip Schumaker To Retire

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Utilityman Skip Schumaker has departed Padres camp and appears to be wrapping up his MLB career, manager Andy Green told reporters including Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune (Twitter link). Though he’s not referring to the decision as a formal retirement, the veteran made clear he is moving on from his playing days to spend more time with his family.

Schumaker, 36, signed a minor league deal with San Diego a month ago, and had made a strong impression in camp on the field staff and younger players in the organization. Earlier in the winter, the Reds declined an option to put him onto the open market.

Schumaker has spent parts of eleven seasons in the majors. Most recently, he logged two disappointing seasons in Cincinnati, putting up a meager .238/.297/.322 batting line over 539 turns at bat.

He’ll be remembered most for his time with the Cardinals, where he was a strong contributor for eight campaigns. Schumaker was a regular contributor over 2008 through 2012, and ultimately provided St. Louis with over 2,500 plate appearances with a .288/.345/.377 slash line while splitting his time between second base and the outfield. Schumaker also played for one season with the Dodgers.

With the move, the Padres seem positioned to infuse some additional youth onto the active roster, as players such as Jose Pirela and Jabari Blash now have a clearer path to cracking the club. The competition is also thinned for other potential utility/bench/platoon options in camp, including Alexi Amarista, Brett Wallace, Adam Rosales, Nick Noonan, Jemile Weeks, and Alex Dickerson.

MLBTR wishes Schumaker the best in his future pursuits.

Maicer Izturis Retires

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Veteran second baseman Maicer Izturis announced his retirement from Major League Baseball at Blue Jays camp in Dunedin, Fla., this morning, per a club announcement. The 35-year-old had been in camp on a minor league deal but has now elected to call it a career.

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Izturis has spent the past three seasons in the Blue Jays organization after signing a three-year contract prior to the 2013 season. However, after a down year in 2013, Izturis’ health would scarcely allow him to take the field again. The infielder missed all but 11 games of the 2014 campaign with a complete tear of the medial collateral ligament in his left knee, and he missed the entire 2015 season due to a groin injury and then, eventually, shoulder surgery. Given the poor luck that Izturis has had with his health in recent seasons, it’s perhaps unsurprising that he told Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi (Twitter link) that his body simply isn’t equipped to deal with the rigors of playing anymore. “I put my heart and soul into it this year to see how I was going to feel,” Izturis explained, “but my body can’t handle it anymore.”

Prior to an injury-riddled stint with the Jays, Izturis had carved out a successful role as an oft-used and highly versatile utility piece with the Angels. Though he never tallied 500 plate appearances in a season, Izturis compiled yearly averages of 95 games and 350 trips to the plate while batting a combined .276/.339/.384 (95 OPS+) from 2005-12 with the Angels. During that stretch, Izturis logged more than 2500 innings at third base, more than 2400 innings at second base and nearly 1700 innings at shortstop. While he wasn’t necessarily a Gold Glove caliber defender at any of the three positions, he handled each of them capably while providing nearly league-average defense, thus making him a very useful utility option for manager Mike Scioscia.

Izturis was one of the last remaining active players to have ever donned a Montreal Expos uniform — Bartolo Colon is still carrying the torch — as he spent the 2004 campaign with the club prior to its move to D.C. Although he was originally signed out of Venezuela by the Indians in 1998, Cleveland traded him to Montreal in 2004. He spent just one year with the organization before being traded to the Angels alongside Juan Rivera for slugger Jose Guillen.

All told, Izturis’ career will come to a close with a .269/.331/.372 batting line, 39 home runs, 406 runs scored, 334 RBIs and 93 stolen bases over the life of 909 games/3350 plate appearances. He earned nearly $24MM in player salaries over that time, per Baseball-Reference. Best wishes to Izturis in his post-playing days.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Minor MLB Transactions: 2/29/16

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Outfielder Andrew Brown, who had been in big league camp with the Angels as a non-roster invitee, has now elected to retire from baseball rather than embark on a 10th professional season, MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez tweets. According to Gonzalez, the 31-year-old Brown decided he would rather spend time with his children than continue to pursue a playing career. Brown last appeared in the Majors as a member of the 2014 Mets. In parts of four big league seasons, the former 18th-rounder batted .220/.281/.390 with 14 homers in 362 plate appearances. Brown went overseas and enjoyed great success in Korea last year, where he batted .261/.360/.496 with 28 homers in his lone KBO experience. Best wishes to Andrew in whatever steps he takes following his playing career.

Here are the day’s minor transactions from around the league…

  • The D-backs have signed former Pirates/Nationals/Twins closer Matt Capps to a minor league contract, according to Baseball America’s Matt Eddy. Earlier this month, FOX’s Jon Morosi reported that Capps was eyeing a big league comeback after having been absent from the Majors since 2012. After being non-tendered by the Pirates and signed to a one-year deal by the Nationals prior to the 2010 season, Capps was traded to the Twins in one of the more lopsided swaps in recent memory, with Wilson Ramos heading to the Nats in exchange. Capps did go on to pitch well in his first half-season with Minnesota before struggling in 2011 and 2012. The 32-year-old has a lifetime 3.52 ERA with 6.5 K/9, 1.7 BB/9 and a 39.5 percent ground-ball rate in 439 2/3 innings as a big league reliever.

Rafael Betancourt Retires

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Veteran reliever Rafael Betancourt has officially retired, Venezuelan blogger Gerardo Boscan tweets. With his MLB career behind him, Betancourt will consider the possibility of becoming a coach.

At last check, Betancourt had been open to pitching in 2016, but only if he received a guaranteed spot in the big leagues. It perhaps isn’t surprising that he evidently didn’t receive one — the 40-year-old Betancourt was one of the oldest players in the Majors in 2015, and he struggled, posting a 6.18 ERA, albeit with 9.2 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9, in 39 1/3 innings with the Rockies after missing the 2014 season due to elbow trouble.

Overall, though, Betancourt had a strong career with the Indians and Rockies despite pitching a significant percentage of his innings as a fly-ball pitcher in Coors Field — he finishes with a 3.36 ERA, 9.5 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 in 685 2/3 innings spanning 12 seasons. He also has 75 career saves, having served as the Rockies’ closer in parts of three seasons from 2011 through 2013. Via Baseball Reference, Betancourt made north of $24MM in his big-league career.

Minor MLB Transactions: 2/23/16

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Here are today’s minor moves from around baseball…

  • The Padres signed right-hander Greg Reynolds to a minor league deal earlier this week, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy reports (Twitter link).  Reynolds was chosen by the Rockies with the second overall pick of the 2006 draft but he didn’t latch on the majors, posting a 7.01 ERA over 123 1/3 career innings with Colorado and Cincinnati.  Since his last MLB appearances (with the Reds in 2013), Reynolds has pitched in Japan in 2014 and didn’t pitch at all in 2015.
  • Former Major League infielder Donnie Murphy and former big league right-hander Juan Rincon have formally retired and have each signed on as minor league coaches with the Blue Jays, according to a press release from the team. Murphy, a career .212/.279/.395 hitter in 931 plate appearances between the Marlins, Royals, A’s, Rangers and Cubs, will be the new hitting coach at Class-A Lansing. Rincon, one of the Twins’ most consistent setup men from 2003-06, totaled 507 Major League innings between Minnesota, Colorado, Cleveland and Detroit, pitching to a combined 4.03 ERA with 8.3 K/9 against 3.9 BB/9. He’ll serve as the pitching coach for the Blue Jays’ Gulf Coast League affiliate. Best of luck to each in their transition to the coaching side of the game.

Minor MLB Transactions: 2/21/16

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Here are the latest minor moves from around baseball, with the newest transactions at the top of the post…

  • The Marlins released left-hander Troy Patton, the team announced.  Patton was a non-roster invite to Miami’s spring camp after signing a minor league deal with the club in December.  Patton’s 2015 season was limited to 30 1/3 innings for the Royals’ Triple-A affiliate, as he missed much of the year serving an 80-game suspension for testing positive for amphetamines.  The southpaw has a 3.25 ERA, 7.2 K/9 and 3.14 K/BB rate over 169 career innings with the Astros, Orioles and Padres, though only 14 of those frames have come in the last two seasons.
  • The Angels have hired Brendan Harris and Ben Francisco as pro scouts, Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times reports (via Twitter).  The hirings would suggest that Harris and Francisco are retiring after lengthy professional careers that saw both men play for six different franchises and play their last big league games in 2013.  Harris spent eight seasons in the majors, with 390 of his 529 career games coming as a regular with the Rays and Twins from 2007-09.  The versatile Harris saw lots of time at shortstop, third base and second base over his career and he hit .256/.314/.381 over 1876 plate appearances with six different franchises.  Francisco saw regular action in the outfield with Cleveland and Philadelphia from 2007-2011 before bouncing around to four other clubs in his final two seasons.  Francisco hit .253/.323/.418 with 50 homers over 1771 Major League PA, though he may be best remembered in Philadelphia for his three-run homer that helped the Phillies win Game 3 of the 2011 NLDS against the Cardinals.  MLBTR congratulates Harris and Francisco on their fine careers and wishes them the best as they move into the scouting world.

Nick Punto Retires

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Veteran infielder Nick Punto has decided to officially retire, he announced last night on Dodgers Talk with David Vassegh (audio link). Punto signed a minor league deal with the D-backs last offseason but had a change of heart and backed out of the deal and sat out the 2015 season due to a desire to spend more time with his family. While Arizona manager Chip Hale stressed at the time that Punto was not retiring, it seems that the versatile utility man has now elected to formally conclude his playing career after spending parts of 14 seasons in the Majors.

The 38-year-old Punto was originally a 21st-round pick of the Phillies back in 1998 and saw limited action in Philly from 2001-03 before being packaged alongside Carlos Silva and Bobby Korecky to acquire lefty Eric Milton from the Twins. Punto served as a utility option for the Twins in 2004-05 before spending much of the 2006 season as Minnesota’s everyday third baseman and batting .290/.352/.373 with brilliant defense in what was the best all-around season of his career. Punto helped propel the Twins to a postseason berth that year — one of four trips to the playoffs he had with that organization — but it wasn’t until his 2011 campaign with the Cardinals that Punto was able to reach a World Series and experience the feeling of capturing a World Series title.

Punto’s overall offensive contributions in his Major League career were modest, at best, as he’ll retire with a .245/.323/.323 batting line in 3734 plate appearances between the Phillies, Twins, Cardinals, Red Sox, Dodgers and Athletics. However, Punto was a brilliant defender at three different positions: third base (+40 Defensive Runs Saved, +20.6 UZR/150 in his career), shortstop (+21 DRS, +17.4 UZR/150) and second base (+21 DRS, +5.7 UZR/150). Punto brought plenty of speed to the table, as evidenced by his 104 career steals, and he was known for his competitive nature and hard-nosed style of play, which earned him his nickname: “The Shredder.” That attitude and his brilliant defense helped Punto to earn more than $23MM in his playing career, per Baseball-Reference. We at MLBTR wish Punto and his family continued success and happiness in his post-playing endeavors.

Freddy Garcia To Retire

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Veteran right-hander Freddy Garcia will call it a career after today’s Caribbean Series final, MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez reports.  Garcia will start for Venezuela’s Tigres de Aragua against Mexico’s Venados de Mazatlan in the deciding game of the annual competition that pits championship teams from the top Venezuelan, Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican and Dominican leagues against each other in a round-robin tournament.

Garcia, who turned 39 in October, is retiring after a 21-year professional career that included 15 years in Major League Baseball.  He signed an amateur contract with the Astros in 1993 as a 17-year-old but was part of a very notable trade before making it to Houston — Garcia, Carlos Guillen and John Halama were sent to the Mariners in July 1998 in the deal that brought Randy Johnson to the Astros.

The righty made his MLB debut the next season and quickly found success, finishing second in AL Rookie of the Year voting and ninth in Cy Young Award voting for a season that saw him post a 4.07 ERA over 201 1/3 innings.  It was the first of seven seasons of 200+ innings that Garcia would post in his career, establishing a reputation for durability until injuries contributed to his shift into more of a swingman and long relief role later in his career.

Garcia was a two-time All-Star in Seattle, though he may best be remembered for his stint with the White Sox that included a big role in their 2005 World Series title.  He threw seven shutout innings in Game Four to help Chicago complete its sweep of the Astros and clinch the franchise’s first championship since 1917.  Garcia had a 3.26 ERA over 11 career postseason starts, including a quality outing for the Braves in what ended up being their elimination game in a 2013 NLDS matchup against the Dodgers.  That start was Garcia’s last appearance in a Major League uniform.

Over 2264 innings, Garcia posted a career 4.15 ERA, 6.4 K/9 and 2.24 K/BB rate.  He pitched for seven teams (Mariners, White Sox, Yankees, Phillies, Braves, Tigers and Orioles) at the big league level and also with the Mets and Dodgers in the minors, as well as stints in Venezuela, Mexico and Taiwan.

According to Baseball Reference, Garcia made $53.5MM over his career.  We at MLB Trade Rumors tip our caps to Garcia on a fine career and we wish him all the best in his post-playing career.

Andruw Jones Likely To Retire

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Veteran outfielder Andruw Jones says he will soon announce his retirement, Cory McCartney of FOX Sports South tweets. In November, Jones had reportedly been hoping to sign with an MLB team, but it appears likely he’ll hang up his cleats instead.

MLB: New York Yankees at Boston Red SoxIt’s been awhile since Jones has played in the Majors, of course — he last appeared in the big leagues with the Yankees in 2012. After that, he played two seasons with Rakuten in Japan. He did not play last season.

The MLB team with which Jones will be most strongly associated, of course, is the Braves, for whom he played from 1996 through 2007, joining Chipper Jones, John Smoltz, Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux in a group of elite players on a long string of highly successful Braves teams. (As Sports Illustrated’s Jay Jaffe tweets, Andruw and Chipper will both be eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2018.)

After emerging as a consensus top prospect in the Braves’ farm system, Andruw debuted with Atlanta at the tender age of 19 and soon became one of baseball’s top outfielders, creating tremendous value with both his outstanding defense and his power. Beginning in 1998, Jones won ten straight Gold Gloves for his work in center field. He also quickly became a serious home run threat, hitting 26 or more homers in nine straight seasons and peaking with a remarkable 51-homer performance in 2005, when he finished second in NL MVP balloting.

After the 2007 season, when he was still just 30, he left Atlanta and began an itinerant phase of his career, playing for the Dodgers, Rangers and White Sox before heading to the Bronx for two seasons. He declined steeply in his early thirties as his ability to hit for average rapidly diminished, although he did hit well in his two seasons in Japan.

Jones finishes his 17-season big-league career with a .254/.337/.486 line, 434 career homers and five All-Star appearances. Via Baseball Reference, his career Defensive WAR of 24.1 ranks 20th all-time. He made upwards of $130MM in his baseball career.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Shaun Marcum Retires, Joins College Coaching Staff

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Former Major League right-hander Shaun Marcum has joined the coaching staff at Northwestern Oklahoma State University, the school previously announced. The move effectively brings to a close the playing career of Marcum, who expressed excitement about the opportunity to begin sharing his knowledge with a younger generation.

“I played long enough and now I feel like it’s time for me to see if I can help these kids reach their goals of playing professionally and winning a National Championship,” Marcum said at the time of the announcement. “Getting to be on Coach [Sam] Carel’s staff was something I couldn’t pass up. I’m really excited and looking forward to being a part of the NWOSU baseball program.” Carel, a former college teammate of Marcum from the pair’s days at Missouri State University, added: “Shaun’s playing experience at the Major League level speaks for itself, and his knowledge will help this program continue to advance the process forward. Personally, I am just as excited to have an individual who I shared a dugout with at Missouri State University, and who I would consider to be one of the best collegiate competitors I had ever seen come out of a Keith Guttin program. Shaun’s tenacity has always been non-negotiable, and that tenacity will perpetuate itself throughout our club immediately. This program got better today.”

The upcoming season will be Marcum’s first full year of coaching, as he spent much of the 2015 campaign with the Indians organization, splitting the year between Triple-A and the Majors. While Marcum logged a 5.40 ERA in 35 Major League innings last year, he worked to a 3.26 ERA in 88 1/3 minor league innings in his final professional season. Though he struggled in his final Major League stint, Marcum’s career will come to a close with very solid numbers: a 61-48 record, a 3.93 ERA, 7.3 K/9, 2.7 BB/9 and a 38.2 percent ground-ball rate across 1030 Major League innings spent with the Blue Jays, Brewers, Mets and Indians.

Marcum’s career numbers are solid, to be sure, though injuries certainly slowed his production. His 2007 season ended with surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his knee and would undergo Tommy John surgery a year later at the end of the ’08 campaign, causing him to miss the entirety of the 2009 season. Further elbow issues, a pinched nerve in his neck and, lastly, thoracic outlet syndrome cost Marcum significant time later in his career. While those injuries limited his ability to take the field, the former third-round pick nonetheless amassed a wealth of knowledge and experience from the time he was drafted in 2003 through his playing career’s end in 2015 — and the players he coaches now stand to benefit from those experiences. We at MLBTR wish Marcum the best of luck in the next phase of his baseball career.

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