Oakland Athletics Jarrod Parker calls it a career

Jarrod Parker was expected to be the next ace of the Oakland Athletics. Instead, he has announced his retirement at just 29 years old.

There was a time when Jarrod Parker appeared to be the next ace of the Oakland Athletics. He had an excellent rookie campaign in 2012, finishing fifth in the American League Rookie of the Year vote, as he posted a 13-8  record, along with a 3.47 ERA and a 1.263 WHiP. The A’s looked like they had another solid front of the rotation starter they had developed.

Parker continued to show signs of being that pitcher the next year. However, he tore his UCL during Spring Training in 2014, requiring his second Tommy John surgery after having one while a member of the Diamondbacks. He tried to rush back, and was throwing in games just 13 months later. Then, disaster struck again, as he broke his elbow while pitching in Nashville on May 8, 2015.

Even that setback did not deter Parker, as he was determined to make his way back to the mound. Yet, his elbow could not handle the rehab, breaking in the same spot in March 2016. He needed more surgery, with the last one making sure the joint could be used in every day life.

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Finally, Parker has accepted the inevitable. After missing all of last year, and with virtually no chance to ever get back on the mound as a professional, he has called it a career, retiring at just 29 years old.

Parker’s career numbers give a hint as to the type of pitcher he could have been. In his two full seasons, he posted a 25-16 record, along with a 3.68 ERA and a 1.237 WHiP. Over 384 innings, Parker struck out 275 batters while issuing 127 walks. He finished tenth in the AL with a 3.9 pitching WAR, and in those two full seasons, was worth 6.1 WAR. Had he been able to stay healthy, he could have been the type of pitcher that Oakland could have built around.

Instead, we are left to wonder what if. What if Parker had not rushed back from that second Tommy John surgery, giving his elbow more time to heal? What if he had not broken his elbow a second time? Would he have been able to fulfill what appeared to be his destiny, and become a top of the rotation starter in Oakland?

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Unfortunately, we will never know, as Oakland Athletics pitcher Jarrod Parker has retired, his injuries too much to overcome.