Blue Jays 2B Maicer Izturis announces retirement

Toronto Blue Jays second baseman Maicer Izturis unexpectedly announced his retirement this morning from spring training in Florida.

The 35-year-old Venezuelan recently re-signed with the Blue Jays on a minor league contract and appeared headed for triple-A Buffalo.

Izturis originally joined Toronto in November of 2012 on a three-year, $10 million contract after spending the majority of his career with the Angels. Dealing with multiple injuries, however, including one that washed out his entire 2015 season, Izturis appeared in just 118 games.

He cited this physical strain as his reason for walking away from the game.

Ahead of Izturis in terms of middle-infield depth, the Blue Jays have Troy Tulowitzki, Darwin Barney, and Ryan Goins projected to handle the duties come opening day. The young Devon Travis is also expected to return sometime in May.

A healthy Izturis would have represented a quality piece of depth just beyond that group, however. His retirement now puts names like Jon Berti, Jio Mier, and David Adams one step closer to being the next man up.

For his career, Izturis leaves a slash line of .269 / .331 / .372 over 909 games and 3350 plate appearances.

He also walks away with a career WAR of 9.9, including four seasons of 1.8 or higher with a peak of 3.2 in 2009 with the Angels. That season, Izturis posted a .300 average with 65 RBI, 13 stolen bases and a wOBA of .347.