Eric Chavez announces retirement - MLB

Eric Chavez, who’s spent most of this season on the Diamondbacks’ disabled list with a knee injury, has decided to retire now rather than waiting until the offseason.

Injuries derailed what was a very promising career for Chavez while with the A’s, but he bounced back and got healthy enough to thrive in part-time roles for the Yankees and Diamondbacks.

Before all the health problems struck he was a spectacular defensive third baseman with 30-homer power who posted an above-average OPS every season from 2000-2007 and won six Gold Glove awards by age 28. But then he never topped 400 plate appearances in a season after age 29 and retires at 36 with 260 homers, 1,477 hits, and an .818 OPS in 1,615 games while earning nearly $85 million.

It’s a shame Chavez couldn’t have had an injury-free career, because he was an excellent all-around player and dramatically underrated, but he still managed to have a helluva run.

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CINCINNATI — The Los Angeles Dodgers placed pitcher Noah Syndergaard on the 15-day injured list Thursday with a blister on the index finger of his right throwing hand.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the timetable for Syndergaard’s return is unknown despite the 15-day designation.

“The physical, the mental, the emotional part, as he’s talked about, has taken a toll on him,” Roberts said. “So, the ability to get him away from this. He left today to go back to Los Angeles to kind of get back to normalcy.”

Syndergaard allowed six runs and seven hits in three innings against the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night, raising his ERA to 7.16.

Syndergaard (1-4) has surrendered at least five runs in three straight starts.

Syndergaard has been trying to return to the player he was before Tommy John surgery sidelined him for the better part of the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

Roberts said Syndergaard will need at least “a few weeks” to both heal and get away from baseball and “reset.”

“I think searching and not being comfortable with where he was at in the moment is certainly evident in performance,” Roberts said. “So hopefully this time away will provide more clarity on who he is right now as a pitcher.

“Trying to perform when you’re searching at this level is extremely difficult. I applaud him from not running from it, but it’s still very difficult. Hopefully it can be a tale of two stories, two halves when he does come back.”