Ziegler announced his retirement from professional baseball Wednesday afternoon via his personal Twitter account.
Ziegler spent 11 years in the big leagues, dating back to his debut with Oakland in 2008. Over 717.1 innings throughout his career, he logged a 2.75 ERA and 1.26 WHIP with 479 strikeouts and 105 saves. In his release, Ziegler stated, "The daily grind has taken its toll on my body. There were really tough times in the past two seasons when I wondered if I could physically continue doing what it would take to stay on the field, and even if I could continue to perform at the level I always had." Across a career-high 82 appearances split between Miami and Arizona this past season, he posted a 3.91 ERA with 50 strikeouts and 10 saves in 73.2 innings. He heads to retirement as the Diamondbacks' franchise leader in wins, innings pitched and appearances by a reliever.
Ziegler was credited with his 15th hold of the season after retiring both of the batters he faced Tuesday in the Diamondbacks' 6-0 win over the Padres.
After starter Robbie Ray exited with one out and no runners on in the top of the seventh inning, Ziegler was summoned from the bullpen and recorded the final two outs of the frame to preserve the shutout. Since being charged with four runs in his first appearance with the Diamondbacks after being acquired from the Marlins on July 31, Ziegler has been stellar in middle relief, posting a 1.74 ERA and 1.06 WHIP across 16 appearances.
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Diamondbacks' Brad Ziegler: Lets in lone run in relief
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Ziegler retired two of the three batters he faced but was charged with an earned run Wednesday in the Diamondbacks' 5-1 win over the Angels.
The Diamondbacks' shutout bid was spoiled when Ziegler surrendered a double to Jabari Blash and then allowed him to score on a fielder's choice groundout. It spelled an end to a nine-appearance scoreless streak for the 38-year-old, who has resumed generating weak contact at a high clip after being blitzed for four runs in his team debut Aug. 2.
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Diamondbacks' Brad Ziegler: Lit up in team debut
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Ziegler was charged with four earned runs on three hits and a walk over one inning in the Diamondbacks' 8-1 loss to the Giants.
After spending parts of six seasons in Arizona from 2011 through 2016, Ziegler rejoined the team Tuesday, when he became one of three relievers the Diamondbacks acquired prior to the non-waiver trade deadline. Ziegler's homecoming to the desert didn't go nearly as well as expected, as the soft-tossing veteran retired only three of the seven hitters he faced to effectively quash the Diamondbacks' chances of wining the series opener. Prior to Thursday's implosion, Ziegler had performed in dominant fashion over the past two months with the Marlins, accruing a 0.69 ERA and 0.77 WHIP over his previous 26 appearances.
Ziegler was dealt to the Diamondbacks from the Marlins in exchange for Tommy Eveld on Tuesday, Jon Heyman of Fancred reports.
After a rough start to the 2018 campaign, Ziegler has logged a 0.64 ERA in his past 28 appearances dating back to June 5. He will add another strong arm to the bullpen in Arizona that includes fellow right-handers Brad Boxberger, Archie Bradley, Yoshihisa Hirano and Matt Andriese. Don't expect to see Ziegler get a chance as the Diamondbacks' closer, especially after the failed experiment in Miami to go along with his low 6.4 K/9. Ziegler previously spent time in Arizona from 2011 to 2016.
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Marlins' Brad Ziegler: Picks up 10th save
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Ziegler walked one and struck out one in a scoreless ninth inning Wednesday to record his 10th save of the season in a 3-0 win over the Rays.
While he has been pitching much better since being removed from the closer role at the end of May, posting a 1.00 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and 14:7 K:BB over his last 18 innings, Ziegler isn't back in the saves mix for the Marlins on a regular basis. He was simply the next man up with Kyle Barraclough and Drew Steckenrider unavailable after having pitched both Monday and Tuesday. The veteran reliever has now reached double-digit saves for the fourth straight campaign, but don't expect too many more of them in 2018.
Ziegler will no longer operate as the Marlins' closer, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports.
Ziegler owns a 7.83 ERA as the Marlins' ninth-inning man this season and has allowed eight earned runs over his last five appearances. Manager Don Mattingly was noncommittal on Ziegler's role following his blown save Wednesday evening, but the skipper has now announced that the veteran will be used "differently" moving forward and will officially relinquish his closing duties. Mattingly failed to name Ziegler's replacement, but Kyle Barraclough seems to be the most likely candidate to take over the ninth-inning role.
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Marlins' Brad Ziegler: Could surrender closing role
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Marlins manager Don Mattingly was noncommittal when asked if Ziegler would retain closing duties after blowing a save in Wednesday's 3-2 loss to the Padres, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports. "You want to get something dependable at the end of the game," Mattingly said, after Ziegler retired just one of five hitters he faced while giving up two runs (one earned) in the loss.
The blown save was actually Ziegler's first in 10 opportunities this season, but his 0-5 record, 7.83 ERA and 1.74 WHIP are more reflective of how shaky he has been in key spots. As one of baseball's preeminent groundball pitchers throughout his decade-plus of service time in the big leagues, Ziegler is often reliant on opposing contact finding gloves, but that hasn't happened nearly often enough, as he maintains a career-worst .376 BABIP. It doesn't appear that bad luck alone is at the root of Ziegler's struggles, however, as he has also served up four home runs in 23 innings, surpassing his total (three) from the previous two seasons combined. It may not be until the Marlins' next save chance before it becomes apparent if Ziegler has been removed as closer, but Mattingly said that if a change is made, Kyle Barraclough would likely take over, with Drew Steckenrider being next in line, according to Joe Frisaro of MLB.com.
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Marlins' Brad Ziegler: Takes fifth loss, blows first save Wednesday
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Ziegler (0-5) recorded just one out before allowing two runs (one earned) on two hits and two walks to blow his first save and take the loss Wednesday against San Diego.
It was only a matter of when the other shoe would drop for Ziegler, who doesn't miss bats and carried a 7.54 ERA into Wednesday's blown save, somehow his first in 10 chances. Ziegler has now allowed eight runs in his last five outings and the question now seems to be when, not if, his ineffectiveness will become too much for the Marlins to continue using him as their closer.
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Marlins' Brad Ziegler: Grabs ninth save Wednesday
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Ziegler gave up a hit in a scoreless ninth inning Wednesday's to pick up his ninth save of the season in a 2-1 win over the Mets.
Despite his bloated 6.55 ERA and 1.41 WHIP, Ziegler has yet to blow a save this season. He's hardly been dominant, though, posting a 5:1 K:BB through 10 appearances (9.1 innings) in May, and if his shaky outings start coming in more crucial situations, Kyle Barraclough could still easily push Ziegler out of the closer role. It remains possible that he'll be targeted by a contender as a potential groundball specialist in the coming weeks.
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Marlins' Brad Ziegler: Implodes in non-save situation
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Ziegler retired two of the six batters he faced in Sunday's 10-9 loss to the Braves, surrendering four runs on three hits and a walk.
Since the Marlins held a five-run lead entering the bottom of the ninth inning, Ziegler's implosion came in a non-save situation, but the meltdown nonetheless looses his already shaky hold on the closer job. After Ziegler was unable to record the final out, Marlins manager Don Mattingly turned to Tayron Guerrero to preserve a two-run lead, but the rookie fireballer allowed all four hitters he faced to reach base as the Braves walked off to a victory. Though Ziegler is officially 8-for-8 in save chances this season, he sports a 7.20 ERA and 1.50 WHIP across 20 innings and has already allowed more home runs (three) than he did in 2017 (one). Kyle Barraclough, who delivered a clean eighth inning Sunday, would likely get the first look at closer if the Marlins opt to make a change at the back of their bullpen.
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Marlins' Brad Ziegler: Secures eighth save Friday
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Ziegler allowed one hit in a scoreless ninth inning to earn the save against the Braves on Friday.
Ziegler got Freddie Freeman to ground out, and then worked around a single by Nick Markakis by getting Tyler Flowers to ground into a game-ending double play. Ziegler has had scoreless outings in seven of his last nine appearances and is now 8-for-8 in save chances on the year. On April 25, the veteran reliever's ERA stood at 8.44, but he's now worked it down to 5.59. Ziegler is still giving up too many hits for comfort (24 hits in 19.1 innings), but he's also allowed just two walks on the year.
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Marlins' Brad Ziegler: Picks up seventh save against Los Angeles
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Ziegler allowed a hit but finished a scoreless ninth for his seventh save Wednesday against the Dodgers.
Ziegler rarely makes it easy, as he hasn't recorded a 1-2-3 inning since April 30 against Philadelphia, but he is somehow 7-for-7 in save opportunities despite his 5.89 ERA. His blowups this season have occurred in non-save situations thus far, but don't expect Ziegler to stay that lucky for long.
