Jay Bruce announces his retirement

Jay Bruce, outfielder who has spent 14 seasons in the major leagues and who this morning was part of the New York Yankees active roster, had announced his retirement.

Bruce, 34, was a first round pick taken 12th overall in the 2005 draft out of high school in Beaumont, Texas, by the Cincinnati Reds. He was in the majors in early 2008, and established himself as a quality power hitting right fielder for several years, including a 5.2 bWAR season in 2013. Bruce was awful in 2014, however, and for the rest of his career generally hovered in the second division regular/bench bat range.

Bruce is one of those players who always seemed like he’d end up with the Rangers at some point, most likely as a post-waiver-deadline addition for a Ranger team on the fringe of contention, in the Wil Venable mode. He played for six teams in his career, but never the Rangers.

He ends his career with 1455 career hits, 319 home runs, and 20.0 bWAR.