Sep 24, 2023; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Nationals third baseman Jake Alu (39) during the fourth inning against the Atlanta Braves at Nationals Park Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images

Washington Nationals Third Baseman Abruptly Retires From Baseball

Originally posted on Washington Nationals on SI
By Brad Wakai | Last updated Jan 16, 2025 7:58 PM ET

The Washington Nationals continue to progress through the offseason searching for ways they can bolster the entire organization, not just for the upcoming campaign, but for the future.

The front office has decided to take another passive approach this winter with the goal of letting the young stars get the majority of reps at the MLB level.

But one player who spent some time in The Show for the Nationals, Jake Alu, won't be with the team anymore.

In fact, he won't be with any team moving forward since the third baseman has retired from the game of baseball this offseason.

Washington Nationals 3B Jake Alu has retired from professional baseball. pic.twitter.com/nUBxOp1mGJ
— MLB Roster Moves (@Roster_Moves) January 16, 2025

At the time of writing, no announcement was made on his social media accounts, so it's not known why he decided to hang up his cleats.

Alu was a 24th-round pick of Washington in 2019 after earning a third-team All-ACC honor at Boston College.

Following his selection and not being able to compete in 2020 because the minor league season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the third baseman was able to climb his way up the pipeline quickly and was added to the 40-man roster ahead of the 2022 Rule 5 draft.

In 2023, Alu made his Major League debut on May 9.

He rode the roller coaster of promotions and demotions that non-star rookies normally deal with, but during his rookie campaign, he appeared in 51 games where he slashed .226/.282/.289 with two homers, four extra-base hits and 16 RBI, striking out 42 times and walking 10 across 159 at-bats.

But, Alu didn't make an appearance in the bigs this past campaign, and with other talented youngsters coming up through the pipeline, there's a good chance he wouldn't have been included in future plans.

Instead of seeing what might happen for him in the sport of baseball, he has now retired.

Alu graduated from Boston College with a degree in business management.

This article first appeared on Washington Nationals on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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