Aníbal Sánchez is calling it a career.
On Tuesday the 39-year-old pitcher took to Instagram to announce his retirement from baseball after appearing in parts of 16 seasons.
“Throughout these past 17 years in Major League Baseball, God has given me the opportunity to live wonderful moments on and off the field,” Sánchez wrote. “Baseball has been my great passion since I was a child, and I am extremely grateful to have been able to make that dream a reality.”
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Sanchez was signed by the Red Sox as a 17-year-old in 2001. Four years later he was traded along with Hanley Ramirez to the Marlins for Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell and Guillermo Mota.
In seven seasons with the Marlins Sanchez was 44-45 with a 3.75 ERA. He would sign with the Tigers as a free agent where he had some strong seasons early but struggled at the end of his contract. In 2018 he would make his way to the Braves where he saw a career resurgence going 7-6 with a 2.83 ERA.
The Nationals signed Sanchez to a two-year contract in the offseason. He performed well in the first season and was a key cog in helping the Nationals win the 2019 World Series. Sanchez would sit out the 2021 season returning to make 14 starts for the Nationals last season.
