Miami Marlins: Francisco Cervelli announces his retirement

After a multitude of concussions and injury plagued seasons, Miami Marlins catcher Francisco Cervelli has announced his retirement.

This is a great time to be a member of the Miami Marlins. They had finally returned to the postseason, advancing to the NLDS after a convincing sweep of the Chicago Cubs. With a young and talented pitching staff, and intriguing prospects on the way, the Marlins are a team on the upswing.

But for catcher Francisco Cervelli, there are other emotions. After numerous concussions and injuries, he has decided to announce his retirement.

Cervelli had signed to be the Marlins backup catcher this season, a veteran mentor to Jorge Alfaro as Miami looked to take another step towards contending. Instead, with Alfaro being amongst the 18 Marlins to test positive for COVID-19. He performed well, with a .245/.355/.453 batting line, including three homers and two doubles, in 62 plate appearances before being sidelined with yet another concussion.

This was, unfortunately, Cervelli’s career in a nutshell. He would perform well when he was on the diamond, but his concussion issues made that impossible. Over his 13 years in the majors, he only eclipsed the 100 game plateau three times. While some of that was due to his status as Jorge Posada‘s backup at the beginning of his career, he did get a chance to be a starting catcher with the Pirates in 2015.

Overall, Cervelli was a solid hitting backstop. His lifetime .268/.358/.382 batting line was worth a 101 OPS+, a solid mark for a catcher. Over the course of his 2618 plate appearances, Cervelli hit just 41 homers, but also had 102 doubles while displaying a solid batting eye and excellent contact skills.

As respectable of a career as Cervelli had with the bat, one has to wonder what could have been. He was finally given his chance to start at 29 years old, and could have conceivably remained a solid hitting catcher for years to come. Instead, concussions curtailed what could have been a promising career.

Francisco Cervelli has decided that this is the time to retire. While the Miami Marlins are advancing in the playoffs, his health has to come first.