The Cleveland Indians and Cody Allen announced on Wednesday that the former star reliever and franchise legend is hanging up the cleats after an eight-year career.
Allen was selected in the 23rd round of the 2011 Draft by the Indians, with whom he made his big league debut in 2012. Allen quickly became a fixture in the team’s bullpen as a reliable right-handed arm.
He took over as the team’s regular closer in 2014 and excelled, posting a 2.07 ERA and 24 saves in his debut campaign in the role. He continued as the team’s closer through 2018, posting a sub-3 ERA in each season with Cleveland with the exception of his final one.
He finished his tenure in Cleveland as the franchise’s all-time saves leader with 149, and also set marks for the most relief appearances (456) and strikeouts (564) in the team’s history.
Allen’s final Major League season was in 2019 with the Angels, where he struggled with walks and injuries, posting a 6.26 ERA in 25 appearances.
His decision to retire comes after a 2020 season in which he did not appear in the Majors, being released by the Rangers and Cubs at different points during the pandemic-shortened season.
Allen’s career was an incredible success for such a low draft pick, and he will be remembered fondly by Cleveland fans as a key part of their mid-2010s run of playoff appearances.
