Infielder From Houston Astros 2022 World Series Team Announces His Retirement

A former Houston Astros infielder, who was on the team for part of the 2022 World Series run, has decided to retire from baseball.

Apr 30, 2022; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Houston Astros third baseman Niko Goodrum (11) looks on against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. | Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images

A former Houston Astros infielder has decided to hang up the cleats after a seven-year MLB career.

The MLB transaction log shows that utility man Niko Goodrum, most recently with the New York Mets Triple-A affiliate, has decided to retire from the sport of baseball.

Goodrum was a great defender and very promising utility man, but never really broke out to become the player that he showed flashes of being.

The Minnesota Twins selected him back in 2010 in the second round of the MLB draft out of high school, and he spent eight seasons there before getting the call up to the big leagues.

He elected free agency after 2017 and signed with the Detroit Tigers, which actually gave new life to his baseball career.

Over 2018 and 2019, he put together some solid seasons.

In that time, he posted a .247/.318/.427 slash line with 28 home runs and an OPS+ of 97, accounting for 2.4 WAR.

That 2019 campaign was especially promising since he had 1.5 WAR thanks to being one of the best defenders in all of baseball.

That year was cut short due to an injury, though, and he never quite recovered.

The Astros signed him to a one-year deal back in 2022, but he never panned out. He does have a World Series ring, though, because he played in 15 games for them.

He had a slash line of .116/.156/.163, but did provide solid defense. He hit well in Triple-A that season and could have been a valuable bench piece if he figured out his swing again in the Majors.

After that year he switched over to the KBO, where he spent one season.

Instead of continuing to bounce around from team-to-team, Goodrum has called it a career.