Veteran Astros outfielder to retire

Outfielder Michael Brantley is going to retire, he tells Jon Morosi of MLB.com. “It’s time for me to be home 24/7, watch my kids grow up, and not miss important milestones,” he said.

Brantley, now 36, has spent over a decade as one of the best hitters in the league but his health has been a significant issue in recent years. In 2022, he played just 64 games before getting shut down with right shoulder discomfort. He eventually required surgery, which wiped out the second half of that campaign. The issue lingered into 2023 and he didn’t make it back to the big leagues until late August. He continued battling soreness even when activated off the injured list and only made 57 plate appearances over 15 games on the year. He made 32 more plate appearances for the Astros in the postseason but hit just .179/.281/.321 in those. He received some interest from the Blue Jays this winter but it appears he will hang up his spikes instead.

In the seventh round of the 2005 draft, Brantley was selected by the Brewers, though he would never appear in the big leagues for that club. In July of 2008, the Brewers sent Matt LaPorta, Zach Jackson, Rob Bryson and a player to be named later to Cleveland for C.C. Sabathia. Though Cleveland was reportedly choosing between multiple players as that PTBNL, they ultimately went with Brantley in October.

In retrospect, that decision could hardly have worked out better. Brantley didn’t immediately hit the ground running in the majors, getting some brief looks in the years after the trade. He started to get regular playing time from 2011 to 2013, hitting .280/.334/.394 over those years for a wRC+ of 101. He only struck out in 11.6% of his plate appearances, just over half of league averages at that time, showcasing a high-contact approach that would come to be one of his signatures. He was given the nickname “Dr. Smooth” at this time, in honor of his aesthetically pleasing approach.

The club clearly believed in the young doctor, signing him to a four-year, $25MM extension going into 2014, with a club option for 2018. Their faith in him paid off, as he immediately had a tremendous breakout season, hitting 20 home runs and only striking out in 8.3% of his plate appearances. His .327/.385/.506 batting line translated to a 151 wRC+, indicating he was 51% better than the league average hitter. He also stole 23 bases and received solid grades for his outfield defense. FanGraphs considered him to be worth 6.5 wins above replacement, while Baseball Reference had him at 7.0. He finished third in American League MVP voting, behind Mike Trout and Victor Martinez.

His 2015 saw him produce similarly, though just a notch below that elite 2014 campaign. After that came some injury struggles, however. He underwent right shoulder surgery after the 2015 campaign and the issue lingered into 2016. He only played 11 games that season and eventually required a second surgery. With Brantley sitting out the remainder of the campaign, Cleveland still made it all the way to Game 7 of the World Series, though they eventually lost to the Cubs.

Brantley was back in 2017 but an ankle strain limited him to 90 games. He hit .299/.357/.444 for a wRC+ of 109, below his previous highs but it was nonetheless encouraging after a mostly lost season. In 2018, he shook off some of the rust and was able to slash .309/.364/.468 for a wRC+ of 125. Cleveland returned to the postseason in those years but fell in the ALDS both times. It seems that everyone in Cleveland knew his time there was likely coming to an end, with a report from Chandler Rome and Zack Meisel of The Athletic relaying that everyone in the room cried during his exit interview as he reached free agency.

The Astros had won the World Series in 2017 but then lost the ALCS in 2018. Looking for a clubhouse leader to replace departed veterans like Carlos Beltrán and Brian McCann, they signed Brantley to a two-year, $32MM deal. He took to the leadership role, quickly earning the new moniker of “Uncle Mike.” The second season of that pact ended up being interrupted by the pandemic but Brantley was healthy enough to play 194 out of 222 possible games. He hit .309/.370/.497 in that time for a wRC+ of 132. The Astros made the playoffs both times but lost the 2019 World Series to the Nationals and were dropped in the 2020 ALCS.

Brantley returned to the Astros on another two-year $32MM deal and had another signature season in 2021, hitting .311/.362/.437 for a wRC+ of 121. The Astros were once again felled in the World Series, this time to Atlanta. As mentioned above, Brantley’s 2022 was cut short by yet another shoulder surgery and he had to miss the second half of the season. Though he wasn’t able to play, the report from Rome and Meisel linked above relays that he led a players’ meeting as they were down 2-1 to the Phillies in the World Series. They went on to win the next three games and finally get Brantley a World Series ring.

He now retires having made 6,149 plate appearances in 1,445 regular season games. He only struck out in 10.7% of those trips to the plate, playing in an era where the league-wide rate often pushed well beyond double that. He batted .298/.355/.439 overall while getting 1,656 hits, 348 doubles, 25 triples and 129 home runs. He stole 125 bases, scored 758 runs and drove in 720. He produced 28.8 fWAR and 34.3 bWAR, earning over $112MM in the process. He also played in 62 postseason games between his two clubs. We at MLB Trade Rumors salute Brantley on an excellent career and wish him the best in his post-playing endeavors.