Garrett Cooper, whose eight-year major league career was bookended by stops with the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, announced his immediate retirement Sunday on Twitter/X.
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“After 13 years, including 8 unforgettable years in the Big Leagues, it’s time to officially hang up my cleats,” Cooper wrote. “Baseball has been my life for as long as I can remember, I’m grateful for what it gave me, I’m proud of what I gave back. Here’s to what’s next.”
Cooper played only 35 games this season with the Atlanta Braves’ Triple-A affiliate before he was released in May. He slashed .228/.312/.309 games with the Gwinnett Stripers, and did not sign elsewhere during the season.
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Cooper made his only All-Star team in 2022 with the Miami Marlins, for whom he played from 2018-23. He established career highs in 2023 with the Marlins and San Diego Padres by hitting 17 home runs and driving in 61.
Cooper retires with a career slash line of .265/.333/.427 with the Yankees (2017), Marlins (2018-23), Padres (2023), Chicago Cubs (2024) and Red Sox (2024).
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A sixth-round draft pick out of Auburn in 2013, Cooper became a Yankee in the July 2017 trade that sent Tyler Webb to Milwaukee. He debuted with the Yankees that summer, and impressed by hitting .326 (14 for 43) in a 13-game cameo.
After the season, Cooper found himself on the move for the second time in fourth months. The Marlins sent right-handed pitcher Michael King, then a minor league prospect, to New York for Cooper and pitcher Caleb Smith.
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Cooper was the primary designated hitter for the Marlins team that snuck into the 2020 playoffs, then swept the best-of-three Wild Card series against the Chicago Cubs in a stunning upset.
That was the Marlins’ only postseason appearance during Cooper’s tenure in Miami, which ended when he was traded to San Diego at the 2023 deadline.
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Cooper’s career migrated into journeyman status from there: a minor league contract with the Cubs that turned into a one-month stint in Chicago; a cash trade with the Red Sox that led to 24 games in Boston and, ultimately, his second DFA in two months. Cooper finished out the 2024 season with the Baltimore Orioles’ Triple-A affiliate.
Now, the Torrance, California native can look ahead to the next chapter of his career — and his first autumn without a new season in uniform around the corner.
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