Lavarnway announced Wednesday in a personal essay posted on The Athletic that he has retired from professional baseball.
The 35-year-old catcher will bring a close to his career after most recently competing for Team Israel in the World Baseball Classic. A 2008 sixth-round draft pick out of Yale, Lavarnway saw big-league action in parts of 10 of his 15 seasons in the professional ranks. He retires with a lifetime .217/.272/.345 slash line and nine home runs over 165 career games with Boston, Atlanta, Baltimore, Oakland, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Miami and Cleveland.