Veteran relief pitcher David Phelps has retired
By Cam Lewis
1 year agoDavid Phelps has called it a career.
According to Arden Zwelling, the veteran right-handed pitcher decided during the 2022 season that it would be his last…
The 36-year-old also released a statement through his representative, Wasserman Baseball…
Phelps was selected by the New York Yankees in the 14th round of the 2008 MLD Draft out of the University of Notre Dame. Four years later, he made his big-league debut with the Yanks, recording two outs in a relief appearance over the Tampa Bay Rays.
As a rookie, Phelps quietly put together a very solid season in New York, posting a 3.34 ERA over 33 appearances, 11 of which were starts. He also made a couple of post-season appearances for the Yankees that year, scattering two earned runs over three-and-one-third innings.
Phelps was involved in a couple of pretty big trades in his career. Following the 2014 season, the Yankees moved him along with Martin Prado to the Miami Marlins for Nathan Eovaldi, Domingo German, and Garrett Jones. Three years later, the Marlins sent Phelps to the Seattle Mariners in a trade that netted them Pablo Lopez.
During spring training in 2018, Phelps suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow and wound up missing the entirety of the season. The following off-season, Phelps inked a show-me deal with the Blue Jays, and he wound up posting a 3.63 ERA over 17 appearances. The Blue Jays moved him at the trade deadline to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for Thomas Hatch.
After spending the 2020 season with the Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies, Phelps again joined the Blue Jays as a free agent. He made only 11 appearances before suffering a right lat strain that wound up requiring season-ending surgery to repair.
Despite the injury, the Blue Jays brought Phelps back for the 2022 season on a minor-league deal and he earned a spot in the team’s bullpen. Over the course of 63 2/3 innings, Phelps posted a 2.83 ERA while striking out 9.0 batters per nine innings.
Last January, Phelps spoke with Arden Zwelling about his decision to keep playing and how well the Blue Jays treated him throughout the process…
“Is this an insanely talented team? Absolutely. Is this a team that has the ability to win a World Series? I fully believe so. But I also wanted to be here because of the relationships and the quality of the individuals in the organization. From top to bottom, I’ve had nothing but an amazing experience,” he says. “I’ve been around. I’ve played in seven different home ballparks. And when I think about the people I’ve played with throughout the entire league, the group in Toronto is special. They have the ability to do something very special.”
Phelps was quietly a very effective reliever for the Blue Jays last season and his story of coming back from a rare injury at his age really was an incredible one.
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