White Sox reliever unexpectedly retires from baseball at age 28

Tuesday was a busy day across Major League Baseball, and specifically for the Chicago White Sox. The club added two players to the 40-man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 draft and announced a pair of trades. Lost among the shuffle was the White Sox announcement that they placed LHP Fraser Ellard on the Voluntary Retirement list, ending his professional baseball career after just two big league seasons. 

Ellard, 28, was drafted by the White Sox in the 8th round of the 2021 draft out of Liberty University. A college senior at the time he was drafted, Ellard moved quickly through the White Sox farm system. He appeared in 11 games for Low-A Kannapolis before the end of the 2021 season and began 2022 with High-A Winston-Salem. A 3.78 ERA in 16.2 innings earned Ellard the promotion to Double-A Birmingham, where he spent the remainder of the 2022 season. Injuries derailed Ellard’s 2023 season, but he came back strong in 2024, posting a 3.76 ERA with Triple-A Charlotte before getting the big league call on July 30th. 

Ellard showed promise during a small 2025 sample

Ellard finished 2024 with a solid 3.75 ERA in 25 major league appearances, and his strong finish to the season earned him a spot on the White Sox 2025 Opening Day roster. Unfortunately, a hamstring strain and a lat strain took a big chunk of Ellard’s season. He returned healthy in July but was optioned to Charlotte until September. After being brought back to the Major Leagues for the final month, he posted the best month of his career with a 2.89 ERA in September. Ellard seemed to be in the mix for a spot in the 2026 bullpen prior to the news of his retirement. Ellard featured a three-pitch mix and an impressive 29% strikeout rate in 2025. His biggest issue was a sky-high 25% walk rate (19 walks in 17 innings pitched). But when Ellard threw strikes, he was as effective as any reliever in the White Sox bullpen. At 28 years-old, he still had plenty of time to work out the control issues and establish himself as a long-term piece of the organization.

Ellard is not the first promising big league player to suddenly retire in recent years. Former Twins top prospect Alex Kirilloff retired due to injury concerns last offseason at age 26. The reason for Ellard's decision to retire isn't fully clear, but Chris Getz mentioned business interests and a desire to start a family as contributing factors. Regardless, it’s a disappointing development for a 28 year-old reliever with solid stuff that seemed to be just finding his groove at the big league level. The next steps for Ellard are not publicly known, but I wish him and his family the very best in their next endeavors!