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Carlos Quentin is retiring at age 32
After a roller coaster few weeks professionally, veteran outfielder Carlos Quentin has elected to walk away from baseball all together, according to FOX Sports Ken Rosenthal.
Quentin, who’s been playing at Triple-A for the Seattle Mariners after being traded from the San Diego Padres to the Atlanta Braves in the stunning Craig Kimbrel trade on April 5, and then subsquently released by the Braves, has decided to retire at age 32.
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CBS Sports' Jon Heyman reported that Quentin left his team in Tacoma on Thursday after going 3-for-17 in five games. He was signed to the Seattle Mariners on a minor league deal and was immediately granted his release after making his request following Thursday's game. He's now in the process of making his retirement official.
Heyman added that Quentin's retirement is the result of the numerous injuries that have taken their toll over the years and prevented him from continuing to play at the level that made him a two-time all-star with the Chicago White Sox (2008 and 2011).
Quentin confirmed as much in a statement released on Friday.
"Over the past several days, it became clear to me that my injuries have taken too great of a physical toll for me to be able to perform at the level I expect from myself," said Quentin. "As a result, I believe it is the right time for me to walk away and to refocus my energy on the next chapter of my life with my family."
Quentin's most productive season was actually his first full one in the big leagues. He was traded to the White Sox from the Arizona Diamondbacks for Chris Carter — the same one now slugging for the Houston Astros — prior to the 2008 season and went on to hit .288/.394/.571 with 36 homers and 100 RBIs over 130 games.
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Quentin only topped 130 games one other time in his career. In fact, he only topped 100 games three times overall, which indicates how much he fought his body just to stay on the field.
He retires as a career .252 hitter, who during those rare healthy stints provided good power and a good eye at the plate, which led to a strong .831 OPS. He was also hit by pitches 127 times in nine seasons, which is good for the OBP but bad for the long term health.
He'll long be remembered as a what-if and if-only story in baseball. The tools were there. They didn't need a lot of refining, either. He just lacked the durability necessary to survive 162 games.
We certainly wish him well in the next phase of his life.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
