Relief pitcher Kelvin Herrera retires at age 31

Kelvin_Herrera

After 10 years in Major League Baseball, relief pitcher Kelvin Herrera of Tenares, Dominican Republic has decided to retire at the age of 31 according to his Twitter account. Herrera pitched with the Kansas City Royals, Washington Nationals, and Chicago White Sox from 2011 to 2020.

In 2020, Herrera pitched in his final Major League season with the White Sox. He pitched in two games, and struggled with an earned run average of 15.43. In 2 1/3 innings, Herrera gave up four earned runs, two hits, and one walk, with three strikeouts, and a WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched) of 1.71. He was designated for assignment on July 31, and signed a minor league deal with the Chicago Cubs on August 6. However, Herrera never pitched for Chicago’s northside team as he was released 20 days later on August 26.

A two-time American League All-Star and 2015 World Series champion with the Royals, Herrera pitched in 522 games, and had a record of 27 wins and 32 losses, 61 saves, and 119 holds, with an earned run average of 3.21, and a WHIP of 1.20. In 513 2/3 innings pitched, Herrera gave up 458 hits, 183 earned runs, and 160 walks, along with 510 strikeouts.

There is no doubt that Herrera struggled in his time with the White Sox, and was well below his career average in his short time with the Nationals in 2018. However, he was electrifying in his time with Kansas City.

While with the Royals, Herrera was a major part of the Kansas City bullpen. In 2014, he had an earned run average of 1.41 in 70 games of work, and then had an exceptional earned run average of 1.05 in 27 games in 2018 before being traded to the Nationals for three prospects.

In 2015, the year the Royals won the World Series, Herrera only gave up one earned run in 13 2/3 innings. His career postseason earned run average was a remarkable 1.26 in 28 2/3 innings. In 2016, Herrera had a career-high 86 strikeouts, and in 2017, Herrera had a career-high 26 saves.

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