Yankees veteran Jay Bruce announced his retirement from baseball on Sunday. On Sunday, Bruce told Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic that he was stepping away from the game after 14 seasons. Bruce, 34, released the following statement:
Jay Bruce announces his retirement. pic.twitter.com/bJNmt0ASpO
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) April 18, 2021
Originally a first-round draft pick out of West Brook High School (Texas) in 2005, Bruce went on to rack up 1,455 hit, 319 home runs and 312 doubles. Bruce also had back-to-back top-10 finishes in the NL MVP balloting, while with Cincinnati in 2012 and 2013. For his career, Bruce put up a slash line of .244/.314/.467 (108 OPS+) and authored a WAR of 20.
One of his most memorable moments was a walk-off home run to clinch the NL Central for the Reds in 2010.
Bruce signed a minor-league deal with the New York Yankees this offseason. He will officially retire following Sunday's game against the Rays, in which Bruce will be out of the lineup but available off the bench. Bruce hit .118 with one home run in 34 at-bats with the Yankees this season.
The three-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger spent parts of 14 seasons in the majors with the Reds (2008-16), Mets (2016-17, 2018), Cleveland (2017), Mariners (2019), Phillies (2019-20) and Yankees (2021).
