Washington Nationals: Koda Glover announces his retirement

Once expected to be the Washington Nationals closer of the future, Koda Glover announced his retirement on Twitter.

For years, Koda Glover was expected to be the closer of the future for the Washington Nationals. Their eighth round selection in the 2015 MLB Draft, Glover made his major league debut just a year later, as he rocketed through the system to make 19 appearances with the Nationals in 2016. Armed with an upper 90s fastball and a sharp slider, he appeared to be the type of arm that could anchor a bullpen for years to come.

Instead, injuries caused havoc to his career, limiting him to a total of 55.1 innings from 2016 through 2018. He missed the entire 2019 season due to a forearm strain and resulting setbacks as he looked to work his way back to the majors. Those injuries have finally caused Glover to say that enough is enough, as he announced his retirement from baseball.

Glover had undergone Tommy John surgery before, going under the knife prior to being drafted. These forearm issues raised the spectre of another procedure on his elbow, as the platelet-rich plasma injections did not work. He had also suffered through a torn labrum in his hip, and continued back and shoulder injuries.

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Those injuries conspired to keep Glover from reaching his potential. He never pitched 20 innings in a major league season, falling an out short in his 2016 showing. Overall, in those 55.1 innings, Glover posted a 4.55 ERA and a 1.247 WHiP, striking out 42 batters while issuing 21 walks.

Obviously, those injury woes played a part in his struggles on the mound. He was never able to fully unleash his stuff, with the high octane fastball and wipeout slider that led former Nationals manager Dusty Baker to anoint him as the future in the bullpen. But in the end, his arm just could not handle the strain.

With Glover having retired, the Nationals need for bullpen help is even more dire. Although they were able to remake their relief corps on the fly last year, Washington cannot count on the same results again this coming year. Add in the Braves moves to upgrade their bullpen, and the Nationals have a few major holes to fill.

Unfortunately, Koda Glover will not be a part of those plans. The former Washington Nationals closer of the future has announced his retirement, as his arm could not handle the strain.