Eric Hosmer Announces MLB Retirement; Won 2015 World Series, 4 Gold Gloves

After spending nine months as a free agent, Eric Hosmer has decided to hang up his cleats following a 13-year MLB career.

Hosmer announced his retirement Wednesday, along with the formation of his own media company that will be the home of his new podcast with former teammate Anthony Seratelli.

Hosmer signed a one-year deal as a free agent with the Chicago Cubs last offseason. He appeared in 31 games, hitting .234/.280/.330 with two homers in 94 at-bats, before being released on May 25.

The Kansas City Royals selected Hosmer with the No. 3 pick in the 2008 MLB draft. He was part of the franchise's farm system that at one point was regarded as one of the best collections of talent ever.

Even though things didn't pan out at that level for the Royals when the players made the big leagues, Hosmer was part of the core that led the franchise to back-to-back World Series appearances in 2014 and 2015.

The 2015 Royals defeated the Mets in the World Series to win their first championship in 30 years. Hosmer's RBI single in Game 6 of the ALCS against the Toronto Blue Jays broke a 3-3 tie when Lorenzo Cain scored from first base.

Hosmer spent the first seven seasons of his career with the Royals. He won four Gold Gloves in five years from 2013 to '17 and made the American League All-Star team in 2016.

The San Diego Padres signed Hosmer as a free agent in February 2018. He spent four-plus seasons with the Padres before being traded to the Boston Red Sox in August 2022. He was initially going to be part of the Padres trade with the Washington Nationals for Juan Soto, but invoked his no-trade clause.

The Red Sox weren't among the teams on Hosmer's partial no-trade list. He finished the season in Boston before being released by the club during the offseason.

Hosmer finished his career with a .276/.335/.427 slash line with 198 homers in 6,977 plate appearances over 1,689 games with four different teams.