Veteran relief pitcher announced his retirement from professional baseball on Wednesday via LinkedIn. “After 12 amazing years in pro baseball, including parts of eight seasons in the majors with the Cardinals, Angels, and Royals, I’m officially hanging up my cleats,”
The Veteran, who spent the 2024 season with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons (Toronto Blue Jays’ affiliate), made 31 appearances—three of them starts—and posted a 2-5 record with a 6.10 ERA. He was released by the Blue Jays in August 2024 and did not sign with another affiliated team for the 2025 season.
In 2023, his final MLB season, He appeared in six games for the Kansas City Royals, going 1-2 with a 6.15 ERA over 26.1 innings. After being designated for assignment in June, he was traded to the Chicago White Sox and finished the season with their Triple-A team.
Originally selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the third round of the 2013 MLB Draft out of Ole Miss, Mayers made his major league debut in 2016. Over four seasons with St. Louis (2016–19), he primarily pitched in relief, compiling a 3-3 record and a 7.03 ERA in 73 appearances. He was claimed off waivers by the Angels in late 2019.
Mayers found his stride with the Angels, particularly during the shortened 2020 season, when he led the team’s bullpen with 29 appearances and a 2.10 ERA over 30 innings. In 2021, he logged a career-high 72 games and posted a 3.84 ERA with 90 strikeouts in 75 innings. However, his performance declined in 2022 as he struggled to a 5.68 ERA over 24 games and was designated for assignment twice.
Mayers’ career came full circle with his return to Missouri, 10 years after being drafted by the Cardinals. His retirement marks the end of a resilient career spent bouncing between the majors and minors while contributing to several MLB bullpens over nearly a decade.