After 14 seasons, Liriano hangs up spikes

After a 14-year MLB career spent mostly with the Twins and Pirates and two decades in professional baseball, left-hander Francisco Liriano has decided to step away from the sport.

Liriano’s retirement was first reported by Robert Murray of FanSided, who also shared a statement from the 38-year-old pitcher.

“I have spent some time recently reflecting on my career and thinking about my future,” Liriano told FanSided. “After many discussions with my family, friends, and others who care about me, I have decided to retire from professional baseball after a 20-year career.

“I want to thank all the coaches and fans in both the U.S. and the Dominican Republic who have supported me on my baseball journey.

“I also want to thank my wife and kids for all their love. I’m going to miss playing, but I will stay close to the game as I work with my kids on their own baseball journey.

"Hopefully, there will be another Liri in MLB soon (no pressure)!”

Though he never played for their big league team, Liriano was signed out of the Dominican Republic as a free agent in 2000 by the Giants. He was traded to the Twins as part of the package for A.J. Pierzynski in ‘03, two years shy of when Liriano made his MLB debut with Minnesota.

Liriano pitched his way to an All-Star selection in 2006, his first full season, and he was a mainstay of the Twins' rotation for parts of seven season before being dealt to the White Sox at the Trade Deadline in ‘12 with free agency looming. He chose to sign with the Pirates, where he enjoyed the most successful years of his career.

In his first four seasons for the Bucs, Liriano was exclusively a starter, pitching under a 3.50 ERA in each season of Pittsburgh’s postseason-bound campaigns from 2013-15. He started the Pirates’ first playoff series since 1992 and secured the first postseason series win since the ‘79 World Series.

However, after a couple of half-seasons in Toronto between 2016-17, Liriano ended the ‘17 campaign with his first World Series ring as a reliever for the Astros. Following a stop in Detroit in ‘18, the reliable starter for the Pirates’ best teams of the 2000s returned to Pittsburgh in ‘19 to close out his MLB tenure as a reliever.

For his career, Liriano had a 4.15 ERA in 419 games (300 starts) with 1,815 strikeouts in 1,813 2/3 innings pitched for six teams.