Major League Baseball

Nelson Cruz, a seven-time MLB All-Star, retires at age 43 after 19 seasons

Published Nov. 2, 2023 6:02 p.m. ET

Nelson Cruz is retiring at age 43 after hitting 464 home runs in 19 major league seasons, the seven-time All-Star announced Thursday.

"So this is the last we're seeing of Nelson Cruz?" he was asked on "The Adam Jones Podcast."

"I think so, yeah," Cruz responded.

Cruz was released by the San Diego Padres on July 10 after batting .245 with five homers and 23 RBIs in 49 games. He had signed a $1 million, one-year contract.

Cruz hit 18 postseason homers and played in consecutive World Series with the Texas Rangers in 2010 and 2011. He made five appearances among the top 10 in Most Valuable Player voting.

Cruz hit .274 with 1,325 RBIs for Milwaukee (2005), Texas (2006-13), Baltimore (2014), Seattle (2015-18), Minnesota (2019-21), Tampa Bay (2021), Washington (2022) and San Diego.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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