WOODBRIDGE, N.J.— Former Twins starting pitcher Carl Pavano is retiring after 14 major league seasons.
The 38-year-old right-hander didn’t pitch after June 1 in 2012 because of a strained right shoulder. His spleen was removed in January 2013 after he was injured when he fell in the snow at his home in Vermont.
Pavano had been hoping to return to the major leagues this year.
“Despite my strong desire to compete and hard work in preparing for the upcoming season, I feel that the amount of time lost from my spleen injury, coupled with the recovery from my complications from that injury, preclude me from continuing to compete at my highest level, which is necessary to perform in the major leagues,” Pavano said in a statement released Wednesday by his agent, David Pepe.
“I have achieved many things as a major league pitcher of which I am very proud. However, I feel at this time, I am simply not able to continue to pitch at the major league level, and these last three months of rigorous training have failed to produce the results that I was looking for to allow me to continue my major league career.”
Pavano, an All-Star in 2004, was 108-107 with a 4.39 ERA for Montreal (1998-02), Florida 2002-04), the New York Yankees (2005, 2007-08), Cleveland (2009) and Minnesota (2009-12). He was an All-Star in 2004, going 18-8 with a 3.00 ERA and earning a $39.95 million, four-year contract with the Yankees.
Injuries limited Pavano to 26 starts, 145 2-3 innings and a 9-8 record during his Yankees’ contract. He rebounded after leaving New York and went 17-11 for the Twins in 2010, when he tied for the AL lead in complete games with seven.
“It has been an honor and a privilege to have been a major league baseball player, and the gratitude I have for being able to do that is profound and beyond any expression I can make in words,” he said.
