The 40-year old veteran ends his baseball career after a stint with the Angels in 2014.
The Angels signed veteran infielder John McDonald last offseason, and the 40-year old appeared in 95 games for Los Angeles. According to both the Angels' and Blue Jays' official team pages, McDonald has elected to retire from baseball after a 16-year career.
Before the start of the season, McDonald acknowledged 2014 could be his final major league season, and told MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez he did not think he would be in the big leagues for 16 years.
McDonald posted a .171/.256/.197 batting line to complement five RBIs in 91 plate appearances in 2014. He played with eight different teams throughout the course of his career, and had his best major league season in 2005, when he posted a .277/.326/.325 line and drove in 16 runs. He began his major league career in 1999 with Cleveland, spent seven seasons each with both the Blue Jays and Indians, and won a World Series ring with the Red Sox in 2013, although he was not on the club's postseason roster. Boston added him to serve as a mentor for Xander Bogaerts.
Despite the fact that he is a career .233 hitter and only posted 28 home runs in 2,500 plate appearances, McDonald was known for his plus defense. He spent most of his career playing shortstop, but also saw time at both second and third base. He was traded from Cleveland to Toronto in 2004 in exchange for Tom Mastny, but appeared in an Indians' uniform again in 2013, briefly replacing Asdrubal Cabrera before being designated for assignment.
McDonald was used as a utility infielder and defensive replacement late in games, but was also known for his veteran presence in the clubhouse. MLB Trade Rumors notes he was once traded for himself, as Toronto sent him to Detroit in exchange for a player to be named later. The Blue Jays completed the deal by acquiring him from the Tigers four months later.