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Retirement

Chris Iannetta Retires

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12:49PM: Iannetta explained his decision to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, saying that he told the Yankees in the offseason that he was going to retire if he wasn’t on the Major League roster.  That stance didn’t change after Higashioka was injured.

“If I didn’t make the team out of spring, I was going to call it a career….That’s kind of what transpired when they took me off the roster and wanted me to go to Scranton,” Iannetta said.  “I was like, no.  I wasn’t about to hang on or sit around and wait for someone to get hurt or get called up again.  I’ve never wished anyone to get hurt in my entire career, and I wasn’t about to start now.”

12:40PM: The Yankees placed catcher Chris Iannetta on their restricted list yesterday, a somewhat curious transaction that could now be a bit more clear.  MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link) that Iannetta “is believed to be retiring” after 14 seasons in the majors.

Originally a fourth-round pick for the Rockies in the 2004 draft, Iannetta spent eight seasons in total with Colorado, first from 2006-11 and then a return for the 2018 and 2019 seasons.  In between those stints at Coors Field, Iannetta also spent four seasons with the Angels (after being dealt in a notable trade that sent Tyler Chatwood to Colorado), and one season apiece with the Mariners and Diamondbacks.

He inked a minor league deal with the Yankees last February and had his contract selected prior to their July opener, though Iannetta never officially appeared in the pinstripes before he was designated for assignment last week.  Iannetta was then outrighted off New York’s 40-man roster but didn’t report to the club’s alternate training site, which George A. King III of the New York Post reports (via Twitter) was the reason for Iannetta’s placement on the restricted list.

A possible wrinkle to the story could be today’s news that Kyle Higashioka has been placed on the 10-day injured list with an oblique strain.  Erik Kratz was called up to take Higashioka’s spot as Gary Sanchez’s backup, and with the Yankees now short on catching depth, one wonders if Iannetta might be persuaded to return if he has a clearer path to a Major League job.

If this is indeed it for the 37-year-old Iannetta, he’ll head into retirement with 1197 MLB games and 4253 plate appearances to his name, with 141 homers and a career .230/.345/.406 slash line.  Iannetta’s 100 wRC+ makes him an exactly average run-creator over his 14 seasons, and his three best offensive seasons were somewhat unusually spaced out — a 129 wRC+ in 2008 over 407 plate appearances with the Rockies, a 125 wRC+ in 373 PA with the Angels in 2014, and then a 120 wRC+ over 316 PA with the D’Backs in 2017.  Iannetta’s offensive production was largely fueled by an ability to reach base, highlighted by a .390 OBP during that big 2008 campaign.

Iannetta is the Rockies’ all-time leader in games caught, and as noted by Heyman, he is also a notable figure in the history of Rhode Island baseball.  Of all big league players born in the Ocean State, Iannetta ranks seventh in games played, behind three Hall-of-Famers (Nap Lajoie, Gabby Hartnett, Hugh Duffy) and three other notables in Paul Konerko, Davey Lopes, and Bill Almon.  MLB Trade Rumors congratulates Iannetta on a fine career, and we wish him the best in his post-playing days.

Jose Reyes Announces Official Retirement

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Veteran infielder Jose Reyes has announced his retirement from the game. The 37-year-old appeared in 16 MLB seasons.

Reyes had at one point hoped to play in the 2019 season, but evidently did not draw sufficient interest to continue his career. It isn’t surprising at this point to hear that he will no longer pursue playing opportunities.

There’s no denying what a dynamic player Reyes was at his height. During his first run with the Mets, he turned in 4,453 plate appearances of .292/.341/.441 hitting with 81 home runs and 370 steals while delivering excellent glovework at the shortstop position.

By the end of the 2011 season, Reyes had accumulated four All-Star appearances and 28 rWAR. He was never better at the plate than in 2011, when he posted a .337/.384/.493 slash to set the stage for a lucrative trip onto the free agent market.

Reyes landed with the Marlins on a $106MM deal. While he performed well in his first season in Miami, the team shipped him and other veterans to the Blue Jays at season’s end. Reyes supplied two more quality campaigns in Toronto before hitting a wall in 2015. That set the stage for a blockbuster swap in which the Jays sent Reyes and prospects to Colorado for Rockies star Troy Tulowitzki.

While his struggles continued down the stretch in 2015, Reyes seemed primed for a rebound effort in the ensuing season. Instead, he was arrested in the offseason and faced charges for domestic abuse. Though charges were dropped because the alleged victim declined to testify, Reyes admitted he had made a “terrible mistake” and MLB found sufficient evidence to impose a suspension under the league’s domestic violence policy.

The Mets elected to overlook the awful situation and brought Reyes in for a second stint. He provided solid output for the 2016 and 2017 seasons but scuffled to a .189/.260/.320 slash line in what turned out to be his final campaign.

Alex Wilson Retires

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Former major league right-hander Alex Wilson has retired, Robert Murray reports. The 33-year-old will join the Ballengee Group as an advisor, per Murray.

Wilson, a second-round pick of the Red Sox in 2009, debuted in 2013 and generated solid results with Boston over a combined 56 innings through 2014. But Wilson wasn’t long for the Red Sox, who traded him to Detroit after the 2014 campaign in the teams’ Yoenis Cespedes–Rick Porcello swap. Wilson went on to enjoy a successful stint as a member of the Tigers, with whom he was a durable and effective reliever.

Wilson amassed 264 2/3 innings and pitched to a 3.20 ERA with 5.8 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9 as Tiger from 2015-18, but they non-tendered him heading into last season. He saw his final major league action in Milwaukee, where he was tattooed for 12 earned runs on 15 hits in 11 1/3 frames. Although the Tigers brought Wilson back last offseason on a minor league contract, they ended up releasing him in June.

While his career didn’t end in ideal fashion, there’s no denying Wilson had a more productive MLB career than most. He’ll depart with 332 innings of 3.44 ERA ball and 6.1 K/9 against 2.4 BB/9. MLBTR wishes Wilson the best in his next venture.

George Kontos Retires

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Longtime major league reliever George Kontos has hung up his cleats, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports. The 35-year-old Kontos hasn’t pitched since the Nationals’ Triple-A affiliate released him last August, but he will stay in baseball as an analyst with NBC Sports Bay Area.

“I did have some inclinations from early on when I was a player in San Francisco that one day this might be the route that I would take,” Kontos told Pavlovic on the Giants Insider Podcast. “It’s definitely nice to be coming back to the black and orange and being around San Francisco again.”

The right-handed Kontos was a fifth-round pick of the Yankees in 2006, but the majority of his work as a big leaguer came as a member of the Giants. He notched quality results with the club from 2012-17 – a 309 2/3-inning span in which he logged a 3.05 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 2.06 BB/9. Kontos was also part of a pair of World Series-winning Giants teams.

Along with the Yankees (with whom he debuted in 2011 and spent time with again in 2018) and Giants, Kontos saw major league action with the Pirates and Indians. All told, he amassed 357 innings of 3.10 ERA ball in the bigs over parts of eight seasons. MLBTR congratulates Kontos on a successful career and wishes him the best in his new role.

Devin Mesoraco Joins University Of Pittsburgh Coaching Staff

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Devin Mesoraco has joined the University of Pittsburgh baseball team as a volunteer assistant, per Kendall Rogers of d1baseball.com. Presumably, this means the former catcher’s playing days are done.

Mesoraco came highly-touted to the majors, from his selection at number fifteen overall in the 2007 draft, to his years as a top prospect in the Cincinnati Reds’ organization. He made his debut with the Reds in 2011 at the age of 23. Though he struggled over an 18-game sample, that did nothing to lessen the excitement over their presumed catcher of the future.

Before the start of the following season, Mesoraco was named the Reds’ number one prospect by Baseball America and a consensus top prospect in baseball. Baseball America had him as the #16 overall prospect in baseball prior to 2012 and Fangraphs had him at #15. Kevin Goldstein at Baseball Prospectus was slightly less bullish, but even he put Mesoraco at #24.

It was a tough era to be a top catching prospect, however (Jesus Montero, Travis d’Arnaud, Yasmani Grandal, Gary Sanchez, Wilin Rosario, Austin Hedges, Ryan Lavarnway, and Derek Norris were some of the other highly-regarded catching prospects). By the time Mesoraco was set to take over behind the plate in Cincinnati, he’d already suffered through a number of ticky-tack injuries. A high-character player, hopes were still high that he’d develop into a franchise catcher.

Though he didn’t quite reach those heights, he put together respectable major league career that lasted 8 seasons – all but the final 66 games taking place in Cincinnati. He largely struggled at the dish, but it all came together for a 26-year-old Mesoraco in 2014. That season, he appeared in 114 games and hit .273/.359/.534 with 25 home runs and 80 RBIs, making his lone All-Star appearance.

Injuries continued to play a part in Mesoraco’s career, however, and he only twice appeared in more than 100 games. In May of 2018 – his final season – the Reds traded Mesoraco to the Mets for another battered former top prospect in Matt Harvey. He did a nice job finishing that season for the Mets, hitting .222/.306/.409 with 10 long balls. If indeed this is it for Mesoraco, he’ll finish with a .232/.309/.406 line and 58 home runs, totaling 4.6 rWAR.

Brandon Guyer Announces Retirement

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Veteran outfielder Brandon Guyer announced his retirement as a player on Monday. In a statement to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link), Guyer wrote:

As I sit here and think about my baseball journey, I am so grateful for the life baseball has given me. I met my wife and raised three children in the game, made friendships that will last a lifetime, played on some amazing teams, and traveled the world making memories. None of it would have been possible without all my former teammates, coaches, trainers, friends, and family. Thank you all for being by my side during this amazing ride.

Guyer goes on to make clear that he isn’t walking away from the game entirely — just his time as a player. He’s launched an online training platform, FullyEquippedAthlete.com, and now strives to help shape the careers of a new generation of baseball players with that venture.

A veteran of seven Major League seasons, the now-34-year-old Guyer hasn’t appeared in the big leagues since 2018. He spent the 2019 season in the White Sox organization but was on the Triple-A injured list for most of the year, and he was cut loose by the Giants right around the time the league initially shut down. He’d signed a minor league pact with San Francisco over the winter.

Guyer split his career between the Rays and the Indians, tallying 517 games and 1487 plate appearances while hitting .250/.339/.388 with 32 home runs, 72 doubles, five triples and 22 stolen bases. While he was never a full-time outfielder, the right-handed-hitting Guyer was a constant thorn in the side for opposing lefties, as evidenced by a career .274/.376/.449 slash against them. Guyer was particularly adept at getting on base when holding the platoon advantage, in no small part due to his league-leading penchant for getting hit by pitches (as explored at great length by FanGraphs’ August Fagerstrom back in 2016). He was also a notable contributor in the Indians’ 2016 World Series run, going 6-for-18 with three RBIs, a double, four walks and, yes, a pair of hit-by-pitches that postseason.

The former fifth-round pick banked more than $7MM in his career (prior to agent fees, taxes, etc.) and will now step into a hands-on role in developing younger talents. Best wishes to Guyer in whatever the game has in store for him next.

Chad Bettis To Retire

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Veteran right-hander Chad Bettis is retiring from baseball, Nick Groke of The Athletic tweets. The 31-year-old Bettis was on a minor league contract with the Yankees, who signed him in February.

“Today I am walking away from the game with my head held high, knowing that I pushed my body as far as it could go physically,” Bettis told Groke.

Bettis entered pro baseball as a 2010 second-round pick of the Rockies, with whom he topped out as Baseball America’s 86th-ranked prospect in 2012. He made his major league debut with Colorado a year later and went on to enjoy multiple solid seasons with the club, despite having to call hitter-friendly Coors Field home. Bettis peaked from 2015-16, a 301-inning stretch in which he recorded a 4.57 ERA/4.11 FIP with 7.06 K/9, 3.02 BB/9, a 50.5 percent groundball rate and 4.5 fWAR.

Unfortunately, Bettis’ effectiveness declined after those two seasons, thanks in part to serious health problems. Bettis underwent surgery for testicular cancer before the 2017 campaign, though he did make his return to the majors later that year and appear with the Rockies in each of the two ensuing seasons. But a hip impingement slowed Bettis last season, after which the Rockies outrighted him.

Bettis’ career, all of which was spent with the Rockies, concludes with 600 2/3 innings of 5.12 ERA/4.59 FIP ball. MLBTR wishes him the best in retirement.

Former MLB Hurler Dustin McGowan Takes HS Coaching Job

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Once a first-round pick and top-100 prospect, Dustin McGowan has already battled back from the brink once. But he won’t be launching another effort to reestablish himself in the majors — unless, perhaps, some of the kids he’ll soon be coaching can put him up to the task.

McGowan is taking over the dugout for a local high school club in the Tallahassee area, Joey Lamar of WCTV reports. The former first-round draft pick, top-100 prospect, and ten-year MLB veteran is obviously looking to participate in the game in a different capacity rather than trying one last go at the bigs.

This is hardly a surprise, given that the 38-year-old McGowan last appeared professionally in 2017. Still, it’s nice to put a bow on a career when it becomes apparent that it has come to an end.

McGowan was long seen as an intriguing talent on the mound, having ranked among the hundred best prospects in the game (by measure of Baseball America) on four occasions. While he had his moments in the majors, he was never fully able to translate the promise into consistent productivity at the game’s highest level.

It’s impossible to ignore the role that health issues had in shaping McGowan’s career. Drafted 33rd overall by the Blue Jays in 2000, he was climbing the ladder nicely before Tommy John surgery in 2004. He bounced back to regain top prospect billing, but yet more woes arose thereafter. McGowan underwent a shoulder labrum surgery in 2008, had his knee operated on in 2009, and underwent rotator cuff work in 2010. He also required another shoulder procedure in 2012.

McGowan showed quite a bit of promise in 2007, when he took the ball 27 times and turned in a 4.08 ERA with 7.6 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 over 169 2/3 innings. And he was throwing well enough in the ensuing campaign … before the ball-and-socket issues arose. McGowan never again turned in significant innings from the rotation.

Though his time in Toronto ended largely in disappointment, McGowan did have one last hurrah left in the tank. In 2016, with the Marlins, he worked to a 2.82 ERA with 8.5 K/9 against 4.4 BB/9 over 67 frames. He came back to Miami for the 2017 season but wasn’t able to replicate the success, and we haven’t heard from McGowan since.

MLBTR wishes McGowan and his new ballclub the best of luck.

Ryan O’Rourke Announces Retirement

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Former MLB southpaw Ryan O’Rourke announced last night on Twitter that he’s hanging up his spikes. MLBTR wishes him the best in his future endeavors.

O’Rourke made two appearances last year with the Mets before he was cut loose. He caught on with the Twins on a mid-season minors deal but never got the call to the MLB roster.

Most of O’Rourke’s experience at the highest level of the game came in his 2015-16 stint with the Twins. Over 47 frames in 54 appearances, he worked to a 4.98 ERA with 9.2 K/9 and 4.8 BB/9.

O’Rourke, a Massachusetts native and former 13th round pick, did find quite a bit of success at the Triple-A level. Through an even one hundred appearances over five campaigns, he posted a cumulative 3.29 ERA.

Denard Span Discusses His Decision To Walk Away

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Denard Span has played 11 seasons at the big league level, totaling 1359 games and 5956 plate appearances, but the former Twins, Nationals, Giants, Rays and Mariners outfielder confirmed to MLBTR this week that he’s suited up for the final time.

Denard Span | Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

“I would say, in my heart, once I didn’t sign a contract going into the 2020 season, that was it for me,” said Span. Retirement, however, is a bittersweet step for the 36-year-old, who’d have preferred to walk away from the game on his own terms. Instead, changes to the free-agent landscape and the manner in which teams evaluate players left Span feeling conflicted as he sought a new team in the 2018-19 offseason.

“I’m a man of principles, and when those principles aren’t met, I can’t go along with it,” Span explained. “…I honestly recognize that I’m not the player that I was when I was in D.C. or when I was in Minnesota. But, I still know that I have value. I’m not a center fielder or premier player anymore, but that doesn’t mean I can’t help a ballclub win a championship or win games. I’m not the $12MM player anymore, but from what I did [in 2018], that doesn’t tell me I’m worth $1MM or worth $1.5MM or worth league minimum. I got an offer for league minimum. It was just unreal.”

Span indeed put together a solid campaign in 2018, tallying 501 plate appearances between the Rays and Mariners with a combined .261/.341/.419 batting line. He connected on 11 home runs, 22 doubles and seven triples while swiping nine bases in 13 tries. Both OPS+ and wRC+ agreed that his bat was 12 percent better than that of a league-average hitter. Through 137 games, Baseball-Reference pegged him at 2.1 wins above replacement — FanGraphs at 1.5.

“For me, how do you go from 500 at-bats, being a productive player — you look over the course of my career, I’ve never been a problem in the clubhouse, either — how do you equate that to $1.5MM or all the way down to league minimum?” Span asked rhetorically.

The timing of the offers was difficult on Span and his young family as well, ranging from late January through the first week of the regular season. Any offers received were of the “take it or leave it” variety, Span added, as opposed to a few years ago when there was more negotiation. Once Spring Training was underway, he finally received offers from multiple clubs at once — on minor league deals.

“It just was like, ’How did I get to this point where now I have to prove that I can play when I just had 500 at-bats last year?'” Span continued.

Span’s comments strike a similar tone to those recently expressed by former Reds second baseman Scooter Gennett. The 30-year-old Gennett, who didn’t sign a contract this winter, spoke to Doug Fernandes of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune last month about “not conforming” to what he “[doesn’t] think is right.” Gennett set a value on his skills and on the trade-off of being “220 days away from family,” ultimately opting not to compromise. Span viewed the decision similarly.

“I just couldn’t see myself at this point in my career giving in or compromising myself — especially where I’m at in my life, being a husband and a father,” said Span, who is married and has two children under three years old. “It’s already hard enough to be away from my family, and now they want me to play for less than what I humbly feel I deserve. I’m not saying I’m worth $10MM. I’m saying I’m worth more than what they offered me.”

Span and Gennett are hardly the only big leaguers frustrated by the changes to the free-agent landscape in recent years. We’re not far removed from a 2017-18 offseason that proved to be one of the most frigid in recent memory for free agents. The lack of activity on the middle and lower tiers of the free-agent market that winter helped to set the stage for much of the league/union tension that has negatively impacted the currently ongoing return-to-play talks and will certainly impact the next wave of collective bargaining in 2021.

While it’s true that the game’s top stars — particularly those still shy of 30 — have generally been able to secure considerable free-agent contracts, the 2017-18 and 2018-19 offseasons also featured an erosion of the “middle class” of free agents. (There’s a reason Adam Jones is preparing to play in Japan, after all.) Span himself noted that not long ago, veterans at the same point in their careers as he was following the 2018 season could even reasonably expect to find two-year deals. Rajai Davis, David DeJesus and Chris Young are among the numerous outfielders who signed two-year deals in the $10MM range from 2013-16.

In today’s game, comparable veterans like Kevin Pillar, Brock Holt and Asdrubal Cabrera have begun to settle for one-year pacts, and those who do find multi-year guarantees typically take a smaller salary. Wilmer Flores (two years, $6.25MM this offseason), Austin Jackson (two years, $6MM in 2018) and Howie Kendrick (two years, $7MM in 2018) are a few examples. With teams now suddenly experiencing unprecedented revenue losses, and with a likely aggressive wave of non-tenders on the horizon, it seems unlikely that the trend will change anytime soon. It’s eminently possible that other veterans will feel obligated to follow the same path as Span.

All told, Span will officially walk away from baseball with a lifetime .281/.347/.398 batting line, 71 home runs, 265 doubles, 72 triples, 185 stolen bases, 773 runs scored, 490 runs batted in and 28 wins above replacement. The 2002 first-round pick walked in 8.6 percent of his plate appearances, struck out at just a 12 percent clip and was a positive contributor on the bases and with the glove for the vast majority of his time in the big leagues. Between his draft bonus, his first extension with the Twins and his three-year deal with the Giants, Span earned more than $58MM as a player. His 2018 production suggests that he could likely have added to those totals, but Span will instead turn his full focus to his family, taking solace in the fact that he stuck to his convictions:

“At the end of the day, I want people to get that I didn’t play because of principles. Point blank.”

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