Angels Can’t Talk Green Out Of Retiring

ANAHEIM—It doesn’t matter how high a player is drafted or how sizable his bonus. Baseball offers no guarantees, a fact the Angels were painfully reminded of when 20-year-old lefthander Hunter Green, once one of their top pitching prospects, abruptly retired in January.

The Angels signed Green for $942,000 after selecting him in the second round of the 2013 draft. The 6-foot-3, 175-pound southpaw hailed from high school in Bowling Green, Ky.

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Green was 17 at the time and so skinny it seemed a strong gust of wind might blow him off the mound, but his fastball touched 95 mph, and with added muscle and maturity, he projected as a big league pitcher.

Green threw 17 innings in the Rookie-level Arizona League in 2013, but a recurrence of a back injury from high school prevented him from pitching in 2014, and he sat out 2015 because of a stress fracture in his elbow.

Green appeared to take a step toward a return by pitching in instructional league last fall, but he informed the Angels in January that he would not report to spring training.

“I don’t know what his physical state is, and I can’t tell you if he’s feeling pain,” director of minor league operations Mike LaCassa said. “All I know is he had an injury-riddled career and hadn’t pitched in a regular-season game since 2013. He spent three years at the complex in Tempe, Ariz., battling through some things. He just decided he didn’t want to play baseball anymore.”

Green did not return a phone call from a reporter seeking comment. LaCassa said scouting director Ric Wilson and several coaches tried to talk Green out of retiring.

If there was something other than injuries that led to his decision, Green did not share that with LaCassa. Green returned to Kentucky and was believed to be working on his family’s farm.

“He appreciated everyone in the organization caring about him so much, but his decision had been made.”

ANGEL FOOD

• High Class A Inland Empire shortstop Roberto Baldoquin, whose debut in 2015 was marred by injury, went on the disabled with a hamstring strain.

• Double-A Arkansas second baseman Sherm Johnson got off to a hot start, hitting .298/.459/.532 with five extra-base hits, 14 walks and 10 strikeouts in his first 15 games.