Well-traveled veteran reliever Jose de los Santos, who pitched for the Brewers in 1972-1973, has announced that this season will be his last. The 37-year old righty has remained remarkably durable (he's never suffered an injury in his career!) and still has the physical ability to pitch but the stuff just isn't there for him anymore. He's used to pitching at a high level- he is tied for 4th all-time in the WPK for saves and 3rd in career ERA (behind Benni Heregger and future HOF'er Jamel McNeil). He still put up decent numbers last season for the Brewers but the Denver scouting staff saw the writing on the wall and the front office opted out of the last year of his contract (our owner is still mad at us for not offering him an extension.)
The way things have gone for de los Santos this season- starting the season with Philly and putting up an ERA of 6.87 before being released on June 8th, signed by Boston on June 12th, and thus far posting an ERA of 5.97 in their bullpen- seems to indicate we made the right decision.
It is sad to see such a formerly great pitcher brought so low but also understandable that he is ready to step away from the game he played at such a high level for a long time.