3B Mike Olt announces retirement

Corner infielder Mike Olt has announced on Instagram that his playing career is over. The former first-round pick hangs up his spikes at 31 years of age.

Olt was once considered one of the game’s thirty or so best prospects, but never quite panned out. Eyesight issues likely played a significant role in preventing Olt from reaching his ceiling.

After coming up through the Rangers system and briefly cracking the bigs in 2012, Olt was shipped to the Cubs as part of the 2013 Matt Garza trade. He ended up taking four hundred MLB plate appearances over three seasons, slashing just .168/.250/.330.

Olt has tried to push his way back into the majors over the past four seasons but failed to gain traction. He appeared briefly in 2019 in the Atlantic League and Mexican League. MLBTR wishes Olt all the best in the future.