LA Angels: Reliever Ty Buttrey officially retires from baseball

Angels reliever Ty Buttrey has decided to walk away from baseball, making his announcement via Instagram on Saturday.

The official word from Buttrey comes one day after the Halos placed the right-hander on the restrictive list after he did not report to the team’s alternate site. Buttrey was left off the Opening Day roster in the midst of a bullpen revamp just before the start of the regular season.

Manager Joe Maddon has not spoken to Buttrey since his decision, but did see his post.

"“I could hear his voice as I’m reading it. He’s a very thoughtful young man, and I understood precisely what he’s talking about,” Maddon said. If the fun is diminished, don’t do it. I totally agree with that. I think as youth, we’ve all gone through those moments about choosing things that follow your heart, as opposed to not. And so a lot of respect to what he said. I’m wishing nothing but the best. I’m looking forward to staying in touch with him and being of help in any way I can.”"

The move to cut Buttrey was a bit surprising considering his usage the past few seasons as well as his decent showings in spring training.

Ty Buttrey Career Statistics:

• 2018 (16 games): 16.1 IP 3.31 ERA 15 H 6 ER 5 BB 20 K
• 2019 (72 games): 72.1 IP 3.98 ERA 1.272 WHIP 10.5 K/9
• 2020 (27 games): 26.1 IP 5.81 ERA 1.405 WHIP 6.2 K/9
• 2021 (Spring Training): 7 IP 9 H 3 ER 4 BB 7 K

I think Buttrey has plenty left in the tank to play on a big league roster elsewhere if not in Anaheim. However, losing his passion for the what he does for a living is something a lot of people in and out of the game can relate to.

Reaching the highest level of baseball is grueling grind in itself. Finding the effort and energy on a daily basis to stay there is another challenge players face.

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Maybe somewhere down the road he regains that passion again. The same one that got him to the big leagues. Until then here’s to hoping nothing but the best for Buttrey.