Former Minnesota Twins All-Star Francisco Liriano announces retirement

Francisco Liriano, now 38 years old and a veteran of parts of 14 Major League Baseball seasons, has announced his retirement from the game.

Liriano will hang up the spikes with a career 112-114 record to go with more than 1,800 strikeouts and a 4.15 ERA.

An All-Star in 2006, Liriano spent the first seven years of his Major League career as a member of the Minnesota Twins. He was a mainstay in the Twins’ rotation, finishing third in the AL Rookie of the Year race in 2006 and 11th in the AL Cy Young race in 2010, his best season as a Twin and one that saw him win the AL Comeback Player of the Year award after a poor showing in 2009.

In 2011, Liriano struggled mightily to begin the season until he threw his first career complete game — a no-hitter against the Chicago White Sox. This was the first no-hitter for the Twins since Eric Milton did it in 1999 and was the seventh in Twins history. Liriano was perhaps best known by this accomplishment.

After the lengthy stint in Minnesota, the southpaw was traded to the White Sox in 2012, his only season with the club. In the years after, Liriano spent time as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Toronto Blue Jays, Houston Astros, and Detroit Tigers organizations, appearing as both a starting pitcher and a long relief option.

Now that all is said and done, Liriano’s best season of his career came as a part of Pittsburgh’s starting rotation in 2013. He put up a 16-8 record and 3.02 ERA, both career-bests for him in full seasons. That season saw Liriano lower his BB/9 rate as well and he ultimately finished the season with a ninth-place finish in the NL Cy Young race.

Traded again from the Blue Jays to the Astros at the 2017 trade deadline, Liriano was a reliable bullpen option for the Astros, ultimately getting placed on the playoff roster and winning his first World Series ring with the club.

The 2019 campaign ended up being the last we saw of Liriano. Functioning as a full-time reliever for the first time in his career, Liriano made a total of 69 appearances out of the Bucs’ bullpen, striking out 63 across 70 innings and putting up a 3.47 ERA. He signed a minor-league contract with the Philadelphia Phillies heading into the 2020 season, but ultimately made the decision to opt out after the COVID-19 pandemic rose to prominence.

While Francisco Liriano never jumped off the page as one of the game’s best pitchers, he was a reliable arm that you knew exactly what you’d get from him: innings, low home run numbers, and the guarantee that he would be out there every fifth day to make his starts.

From everyone over at Call to the Pen, congratulations on an excellent career, Francisco Liriano!