On July 30, 2015, the Los Angeles Dodgers pulled off a blockbuster trade with the Atlanta Braves to acquire Alex Wood, Jim Johnson, Luis Avilán, José Peraza and Bronson Arroyo for Hector Olivera, Paco Rodriguez and Zack Bird.
The trade turned out to be a positive one for the Dodgers overall as Wood and Avilán spent a few seasons as productive members of their pitching staff while they later traded Peraza in another deal to acquire Frankie Montas, Trayce Thompson and Micah Johnson.
Over three seasons with the Dodgers, Avilán proved to be a reliable left-handed reliever, posting a 3.43 ERA across 111 games and 81.1 innings. He also appeared in the postseason seven times for L.A., throwing five total innings without allowing a run.
But now Avilán is set to hang up his spikes as he is retiring from Major League Baseball, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post:
Luis Avilan, who pitched 10 years in the big leagues and is 23-11 lifetime with a 3.43 ERA, has retired. Pitched for both the Yankees and Mets.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) October 20, 2023
The Dodgers moved on from Avilán after the 2017 season when he was part of a deal with the Kansas City Royals and Chicago White Sox that sent the left-hander to the Windy City and brought Scott Alexander to L.A.
Avilán spent 10 years at the Major League level, last pitching for the Washington Nationals in 2021 and spending the 2022 season in their Minor League system.
In total, the 34-year-old played for the Braves, Dodgers, White Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, New York Yankees and the Nationals, posting a 3.43 ERA in 354 innings with 319 strikeouts.
Luis Avilán career highlights
Avilán’s best season came in 2013 when he pitched to a 1.52 ERA across 65 innings for the Braves, and he also had a strong season for the Dodgers in 2017, posting a 2.93 ERA across 46 innings.
During that season, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts gained confidence in deploying his left-handed relief pitcher against all hitters — he was previously used almost exclusively against left-handed batters.
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