Héctor Rondón retires from baseball shortly after signing minor-league deal with Red Sox

Just days after signing a minor-league deal with the Red Sox, veteran reliever Hector Rondon retired from the game of baseball earlier this month, per his transaction log at MLB.com.

Rondon, 33, initially joined Boston on a minor-league pact in late March, shortly after getting cut loose by the Phillies during the closing stages of spring training.

Upon signing with the Sox, the right-hander was assigned to the club’s alternate training site and had the opportunity to earn $1 million if he reached the majors this season.

With that in mind, the expectation seemed to be that Rondon could very well contribute to the Red Sox’ cause this year if they ever found themselves in need of more bullpen depth.

Instead of that ever happening, though, Rondon has opted to effectively end his baseball career by retiring.

Originally signed by the Indians as an international free-agent in 2004, the Venezuelan hurler went on to post a solid 3.49 ERA and 3.63 FIP over 444 career appearances (one start) and 436 total innings of work between the Cubs, Astros, and Diamondbacks from 2013-2020.