Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Retired


Date of Birth: 5/2/1985
Birthplace: West Palm Beach, Florida
Nickname: Salty

Jarrod Saltalamacchia was first drafted by the Atlanta Braves in 2003. He played in the Braves' minor league system from 2003 through 2006. He made his first appearance with the Braves in 2007 but they traded him to the Texas Rangers in July, 2007, after just 47 games.

In his first three seasons with the Rangers, Saltalamacchia was just a part-time catcher, playing in 46 games in 2007, 61 games in 2008, and 84 games in 2009. He was injured in 2010 and played in just two games with the Rangers before they traded him to the Boston Red Sox in July, 2010. He played in just 10 games with the Red Sox in 2010.

Saltalamacchia batted .235 with 84 hits, 23 doubles, and 16 home runs in 103 games in 2011, his first full season with the Red Sox. The following season, he played in 121 games and he batted .222.

Saltalamacchia had a good 2013 season, batting .273 with 116 hits, 40 doubles, and 65 RBIs in 121 games. As a catcher, he made 908 putouts and 6 errors with a .994 fielding percentage in 119 games.

Saltalamacchia became a free agent after the 2013 season and he signed a three-year contract with the Miami Marlins in December, 2013. He finished the 2014 season with 82 hits, 20 doubles, and a .220 batting average in 114 games.

The Marlins released Saltalamacchia on May 5, 2015. Two days later, he signed a minor league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He finished the 2015 season with 45 hits, 15 doubles, and a .225 batting average in 9 games with the Marlins and 70 games with the Diamondbacks.

Saltalamacchia signed a one-year contract with the Detroit Tigers on December 6, 2015. He batted just .171 in 92 games with the Tigers in 2016. Defensively, as a catcher in 68 games, he made 19 assists, 471 putouts, and 3 errors. He had a .994 fielding percentage and he caught players trying to steal 24.5% of the time.

Saltalamacchia became a free agent on November 3, 2016. He signed a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays on February 6, 2017. He was released by the Blue Jays on May 3rd and re-signed to a minor league contract on May 17th. He was released again on June 30th. He spent most of his time in 2017 in the minors, playing in just 10 games with the Blue Jays.

Saltalamacchia signed a minor league contract with the Tigers on March 9, 2018. He spent most of the 2018 season in the minors, playing in just five games with the Tigers.

Saltalamacchia retired as a major league player in January, 2019.

Career batting statistics for Saltalamacchia through 2018 include:

  • 895 games played
  • 662 hits
  • 161 doubles
  • 381 RBIs
  • 984 strikeouts to 304 walks
  • .232 batting average

Career fielding statistics for Saltalamacchia as a catcher through 2018 include:

  • 745 games played
  • 295 assists
  • 5,049 putouts
  • 60 errors
  • .219 caught stealing percentage
  • .989 fielding percentage

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Jarrod Saltalamacchia
ESPN - Jarrod Saltalamacchi