來源:MLBTR
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2016/04/grant-balfour-retires.html
Longtime MLB reliever Grant Balfour has officially wrapped up his 12-year MLB
career, he tells Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Balfour, 38, last
pitched briefly in early 2015 with the Rays.
Last we checked in, Balfour expressed interest in continuing to pitch. Of
course, that was at the end of May of 2015, and he hasn’t appeared in the
majors since being cut loose by Tampa Bay. The veteran tells Topkin that he
mulled a return this spring, but decided not to look for a spring invite
after beginning to throw.
“It was honestly a great ride, meeting a lot of people and developing
friendships along the way,” said the Australian native. “I now look forward
to sitting home and being a spectator and be able to spend more time with my
family.”
Balfour took some time establishing himself in the majors, but had a nice run
of success once he did. Between 2008 and 2013, Balfour run up 380 1/3 innings
of 2.74 ERA pitching with 9.7 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9. That made him one of the
most reliable pen arms in baseball; eventually, Balfour would take over the
Athletics’ closer role, picking up 62 saves in the final two years of that
solid stretch of pitching.
After wrapping up a strong three-year run in Oakland, Balfour returned to the
Rays after a deal with the division-rival Orioles fell apart over his
physical. That represented a homecoming for the reliever, who had finally
locked down a steady MLB job in Tampa Bay after prior stints with the Twins
and Brewers.
Unfortunately, Balfour didn’t make good on his two-year contract, with age,
velocity decline, and control issues telling in the results. Balfour ended
2014 with a 4.91 ERA in 62 1/3 frames, and was removed from the roster just
six appearances into 2015 after failing to record strikeout and allowing
three runs in 4 1/3 innings. He signed a minor league deal to stay with the
Rays organization, and ultimately made eight Triple-A appearances, but didn’
t experience enough improvement to make it back to the bigs.