Padres, Rays Fan Favorite Announces Sudden Retirement At 34 Years Old

Former Rookie of the Year and one-time All-Star Wil Myers has called it a career, Myers told AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. Myers played 11 seasons in the big leagues with three different organizations, eight of which came with the San Diego Padres.

Myers began his career as a third-round draft pick of the Kansas City Royals in 2009. The righty would never reach the big leagues with Kansas City, instead cracking into the league with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2013 at the age of 22. Myers would bring home the American League Rookie of the Year award in 2013 after slashing .293/.354/.478 with a 131 OPS+.

Myers was traded from the Rays to the Padres during the 2014 offseason. He would play the next eight seasons with San Diego, playing in 888 games with the Padres.

His best season came in 2016, when he was worth 3.5 WAR. That year, he slashed .259/.336/.461 with 28 home runs in 157 games.

Myers ended his career with the Cincinnati Reds in 2023, slugging three home runs in 37 games in the Queen City. While dealing with shoulder injuries as a member of the Reds, retirement entered Myers’ mind.

Myers made sure to clarify with Cassavell that he wasn’t “officially” retired, noting he would never “officially” retire.

“I had a great career. I loved what I did. I made a lot of great friends. I have no regrets,” Myers told Cassavell. “If you had told me the day I was drafted that this would be your career, I would’ve taken it in a heartbeat. I loved what I did, and now it’s just kind of onto the next chapter of life.”

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