Former Mets Catcher, Top Prospect Announces Retirement

Former Mets catcher Kevin Plawecki announced his retirement from baseball.

Sep 11, 2018; New York City, NY, USA; New York Mets catcher Kevin Plawecki (26) is congratulated in the dugout by teammates after hitting a home run during the ninth inning of the game against the Miami Marlins at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Gregory J. Fisher-Imagn Images | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

This former top prospect for the New York Mets is calling it a career.

On Saturday, former Mets catcher Kevin Plawecki announced on his Instagram account that he is retiring from the major leagues after playing eight seasons there.

It was later revealed that the 33-year-old will be joining the San Diego Padres minor league coaching staff for the 2025 season.

Plawecki was drafted by New York with 35th overall pick back in the 2012 MLB Draft and made his much-anticipated debut at the big league level against the Atlanta Braves on April 21, 2015, after starting catcher Travis d'Arnaud was placed on the injured list with a broken hand.

Plawecki's major league debut against the Braves was successful. The catcher singled in his first career at-bat and finished the night going 2-for-4, with two runs scored.

The 2015 season also saw Plawecki hit his first career home run on April 25 off New York Yankees starting pitcher CC Sabathia and in the process became the player to hit his first career home run in a Mets-Yankees Subway Series game.

Plawecki played in 73 games during the 2015 season and batted .219/.280/.296 with three home runs and 21 RBI.

After having surgery on his paranasal sinuses during the 2015-16 offseason to address his dizziness, Plawecki struggled mightily at the plate, slugging a career-low .197 during the 2016 season. Plawecki wound up playing just 48 games for the Mets and spent the majority of the season in the minors.

The former backstop would only end up playing 37 games for the Mets the following season in 2017. In what proved to be his final season in New York in 2018, Plawecki was named the team's Opening Day catcher. Plawecki played in a career-high 79 games and slugged a career-high seven home runs with a career-best 30 RBI.

After four seasons with the Mets, Plawecki was traded to the then-Cleveland Indians on January 6, 2019, where he appeared in 60 games for them during the 2019 season. He played just one season for Cleveland before being non-tendered after the season. Plawecki then signed a one-year deal with the Boston Red Sox on January 3, 2020.

He played in a combined 149 games for Boston from 2020 to 2022 until he was designated for assignment on September 17, 2022, and later signed a major league deal with the Texas Rangers on September 21. Plawecki went 3-for-11 in three games for the Rangers towards the end of the 2022 season.

The 2022 season was ultimately the final time Plawecki would play in the major leagues as after signing multiple minor league deals with the Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres and Washington Nationals, he is now moving to a coaching role.

Plawecki finished his big league career batting .235/.313/.341 with 22 home runs and 137 RBI in 449 games.