Joseph Nathan, a Twins icon for many years, is set to gracefully exit stage left.
The Twins announced on Tuesday that their all-time franchise saves leader will hold a retirement news conference at 4 p.m. ET on Friday at Target Field. Nathan will be joined by Twins senior vice president and general manager Thad Levine, and Nathan will receive a special pregame video tribute and throw a ceremonial first pitch before Minnesota's series opener against the Royals that evening.
Nathan, 42, was a four-time All-Star closer with the Twins from 2004-11 while serving as a cornerstone of four American League Central title-winning clubs. In 2009, Nathan won the AL's Rolaids Relief Man Award after saving 47 games and posting a 2.10 ERA and 4.05 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The crafty right-hander recorded a 2.16 ERA and 0.956 WHIP while converting 260 of 288 save opportunities over his seven seasons with Minnesota.
Nathan, who played the first four seasons of his Major League career with the Giants, went on to pitch five more seasons with the Rangers, Tigers, Cubs and the Giants again through the end of the 2016 campaign. He earned two more All-Star nods while with Texas from 2012-13, and helped the Rangers and Tigers reach the 2012 and 2014 postseasons, respectively.
Nathan currently ranks eighth on baseball's all-time saves list with 377. Before his retirement, Nathan ranked fourth among active pitchers with 787 total appearances.