This left-handed reliever played four seasons for the Baltimore Orioles and eight years in the Major Leagues.
Richard Bleier, a left-handed reliever who played four seasons with the Baltimore Orioles, announced his retirement via Instagram on Tuesday.
Former Orioles teammate Adam Jones was one of many who congratulated him on his retirement via an Instagram comment.
Bleier last pitched in the Major Leagues in 2023 for the Boston Red Sox. He spent some of last season with the Washington Nationals’ Triple-A affiliate.
Along with his Major League career, he has pitched twice for Team Israel in the World Baseball Classic, the most recent in 2023.
Bleier joined the Orioles just before spring training in 2017, after being traded by the New York Yankees for financial considerations. By that moment, he had been playing professionally for nearly a decade, having been selected in the sixth round of the 2008 MLB draft by the Texas Rangers.
He attended Florida Gulf Coast University, which also produced reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale.
He began the season in Triple-A, but was later brought up and became a successful reliever for Baltimore. In 57 games, he had a 1.99 ERA, 26 strikeouts, and 13 walks over 63.1 innings. He rapidly gained a reputation for producing ground balls and getting batters to swing and miss.
In 2018, he was just as productive before sustaining a season-ending lat tear. In 31 games, he had a 1.99 ERA, 15 strikeouts, and four walks over 32.2 innings.
He returned in 2019, but his ERA climbed to 5.37 in 53 games, with 30 strikeouts and eight walks in 55.1 innings. He allowed 33 earned runs.
He began the 2020 season with the Orioles, pitching in only two games. Baltimore traded him to Miami, where he helped the Marlins make the postseason. He had a 2.63 ERA in 19 games, striking out seven and walking four over 13.2 innings.
He stayed with the Marlins for the next two seasons. He had a career-high 68 appearances in 2021, posting a 2.95 ERA and striking out 44 batters. The following season, he posted a 3.55 ERA in 55 games, striking out 32 and walking 20.
He spent 2023 with Boston after Miami traded him. Injuries limited him to 27 games, and he finished with a 5.27 earned run average. The Red Sox waived him after he cleared waivers.
Bleier has a 15-6 record and a 3.27 ERA for his career. He had 187 strikeouts and 54 walks.
