Padres Castoff Announces Immediate Retirement Following Decorated 14-Year MLB Career

In October 2009, the Padres hired Boston Red Sox executive Jed Hoyer to be their general manager. Two months later, Hoyer acquired a Red Sox prospect he was fond of — first baseman Anthony Rizzo — as part of the package that sent Adrian Gonzalez to Boston.

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Rizzo struggled in his first season with the Padres. He played 49 games as a 21-year-old, hitting .141 with one home run in 2011. When Hoyer was named the Chicago Cubs' general manager in October of that year, he once again brought Rizzo with him.

The trade that sent Rizzo to Chicago for pitcher Andrew Cashner in January 2012 is remembered in San Diego as one of the worst mistakes in the recent history of the Padres franchise. Outside of San Diego and Chicago, it's easily forgotten.

Rizzo, who announced his retirement in an Instagram post Wednesday, reminded fans of his first major league employer by including a clip of his first career at-bat with the Padres.

Dick Enberg's call of Rizzo's first career home run was a cool throwback. But it was hardly emblematic of his brief time in San Diego. Rizzo hit 242 home runs with the Chicago Cubs from 2012-21, 60 with the New York Yankees from 2021-24, and one with the Padres.

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When Hoyer spoke to the Chicago media after he traded for Rizzo in January 2012, he practically apologized — but not to Padres fans.

“To be candid, I don’t think I did Anthony any favors when I was the GM of the Padres," Hoyer said. "We called him up because we weren’t getting any first base production in San Diego. It was too early, and a mistake on my part, and I don’t think I did Anthony any favors there.”

“I wouldn’t say some people wrote me off, but some people I guess lost some faith in me," Rizzo said at the time of the trade. "For them to still have that faith, with everything they helped me through, it just shows me how loyal they are and how honored I am to play for them.”

Rizzo, 36, was a National League All-Star from 2014-16, and a Gold Glove Award winner in 2016 and 2018. He helped the Cubs end their 108-year World Series drought in 2016, the first of his back-to-back 32-homer, 109-RBI seasons (both career highs).

Rizzo returned to the World Series last year with the New York Yankees, but did not sign a contract for the 2025 season. He'll retire with a well-defined legacy that includes a Roberto Clemente Award for community service in addition to his on-field accomplishments.

If being traded twice as a young player helped light the fire that fueled his post-San Diego career, Rizzo can at least thank the Padres today with a straight face.

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