Donald Lutz became the first “German developed” player to play in the bigs last night

By Craig CalcaterraApr 30, 2013, 5:43 PM EST
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The quotes and odd phraseology are required because Lutz, who pinch hit in last night’s Reds game, was born in New York. But he moved to Germany when he was a baby and came up playing baseball over there. Past players who grew up in Germany were kids of U.S. military members stationed there. Lutz wasn’t.

Lutz eventually became a product of the Major League Baseball International European Academy, out of which the Reds signed him in 2006.  Before last night he hadn’t played above Double-A. Now he’s best known for, maybe, being the first of many ballplayers to come from Germany. At least in a sense.

Shawn Tolleson retires from baseball

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By Bill BaerJan 16, 2019, 5:31 PM EST
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Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports that reliever Shawn Tolleson is retiring from baseball. The right-hander experienced a setback in his recovery from Tommy John surgery last week.

Tolleson, who turns 31 years old on Saturday, last pitched in the majors in 2016. He had two very good years out of the bullpen for the Rangers in 2014-15, posting an aggregate 2.88 ERA with 145 strikeouts and 45 walks across 144 innings.

Tolleson signed a one-year deal with the Rays in January 2017 before undergoing Tommy John surgery several months later. The Rangers inked him to a minor league contract in December 2017, but he wasn’t able to work his way back.