Former Diamondback Mark Reynolds announces retirement from baseball

Today former Diamondbacks 3B Mark Reynolds decided to call it a career. Originally drafted by the D-backs in the 16th round of the 2004 MLB Draft out of the University of Virginia, Reynolds carved out a nice 13-year career and earned just under $30MM. During his career Reynolds was known for his tape measure power, swing and miss tendencies, and sloppy defense in the hot corner before moving over to 1B. In total he put up 10.7/6.8 fWAR/bWAR in 6243 plate appearances between 2007 and 2019.

After getting drafted, Reynolds tore through the minors and reached AA in 2007. Injuries to Chad Tracy and Augie Ojeda opened the door for Reynolds to fill in at 3B. Reynolds made an immediate impact, putting up a .279/.349/.495 slash (109 wRC+) with 17 HR and 1.8/1.3 fWAR/bWAR to help the team clinch the best record in the National League. His light tower power earned him the nickname “The Sheriff” from broadcaster Mark Grace. Reynolds became one of my favorite players on the team mostly due to having the same birthday (10 years apart) and Virginia connection (I’m from Ashburn, he’s from Virginia Beach).

In Game 1 of the Divisional Series, Reynolds produced a go-ahead HR that set the tone for the overall series that ended in a D-backs sweep of the Cubs. His solid 2007 season would earn him the everyday 3B role. 2008 wasn’t as kind for Reynolds, as he saw his wRC+ drop to 97 and also led to a pair of dubious honors. Reynolds set a record in strikeouts by becoming the first player to strike out 200 times in a single season and led baseball in total errors with 35. The drop-off in the bat and on the field made him a before replacement player and earned him the nickname Special K from the Snake Pit.

Reynolds would bounce back in 2009, hitting a career best 44 HR and stealing 24 bases (although was caught 9 times) while putting up a .260/.349/.543 slash (127 wRC+). Unfortunately, that proved to be his career season, as the 3.3 WAR total he put up would account for half his bWAR total and a third of his fWAR total. Reynolds struggled with strikeouts, BABIP regression, and poor defense again in 2010, which led to new GM Kevin Towers flipping him to Baltimore for David Hernandez and Kam Mickolio. Hernandez would become a key member of the 2011-12 bullpens as the bridge to closer J.J. Putz while Mickolio was unimpactful before being DFA’d.

Reynolds would bounce around between the Orioles, Yankees, Cardinals, and Indians before joining Colorado in the 2016 season and spent three of the next four seasons with them save for a cameo with the Nationals in 2018. He would end up being around a replacement level player after leaving Arizona. The Snake Pit congratulates Mark on a successful career in baseball and wishes the best of luck in whatever future endeavors he may embark on.