Salomon Torres announced Tuesday that he will retire from Major League Baseball. A move that surprised everybody in Milwaukee, as well as in the Brewers fanbase.
Torres was coming off a career year in Brew City in which he pitched in 71 games, saved 28 of them and had a 7-5 record with a 3.49 ERA.
The ERA is deceiving because in his final ten games last year, Torres had a 12.46 ERA, which is probably due to his "over use" for the last five years.
All this after the $10 million man in Eric Gagne proved he was worthless to the Crew.
In a 12-year career, Torres pitched in 497 games, amassed a 44-58 with a 4.31 ERA. He also has 74 holds and 57 saves (52 of those saves have come in the last five seasons).
Torres hasn't always been a closer, but he found his niche while pitching those final innings.
The Milwaukee Brewers already have several holes to fill on their roster, many of which involve the pitching staff, but now they need to find a closer, too.
Torres may not have been the best closer in the league, but he was definitely dependable with his rubber arm. When everybody else needed that day's rest, Torres was always ready to go.
In the last five seasons (Pittsburgh and Milwaukee), he appeared in 383 games, more than any other major leaguer during that span.
This is actually the second time Torres has retired. He called it quits after the 1997 season to return to the Dominican Republic to coach the Expos' Summer League there.
After five years away from the game, Torres returned to the MLB in 2002 with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He made his way to Milwaukee before the 2008 season via a trade.
Torres had a club option with the Brewers for 2009 worth $3.75 million, an amount owner Mark Attanasio was willing to give out. Torres also had a $300,000 buyout agreement in the deal.
Torres told the Brewers to keep their money, and that he would simply walk away from the game. This would allow him more time to spend with his family and his faith.
Salomon Torres has had a long career in the MLB (something all players hope for), and he went out with his best years remaining close in the rear view mirror.
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