David Dahl announces retirement

Outfielder David Dahl announced his retirement on his X-feed earlier this week he chose to end his playing career at the age of 31. As Dahl wrote in his farewell post: “Baseball has been my life for as long as I can remember. From a kid in Alabama chasing a lifelong dream to stepping onto a major-league field… after thirteen seasons and a few months to think about it, it’s officially time for the next chapter. Thank you, baseball.”

Dahl played in parts of seven Major League seasons from 2016-24, appearing in 350 games and hitting .268/.313/.460 with 46 home runs over 1,311 career plate appearances. Most of Dahl’s pro career was spent in the Rockies organization, starting when Colorado selected the outfielder with the 10th overall pick of the 2012 draft.

Regularly ranked among the top 100 prospects throughout his minor league career, Dahl’s progress hit an unexpected roadblock when he suffered a ruptured spleen after colliding with a teammate during a 2015 Double-A game. Dahl opted to have his spleen completely removed in order to return to the field before the end of the season, as waiting for the spleen to heal would likely have cost him the entire season. This unusual situation in some ways defined Dahl’s career and highlighted his perseverance in his efforts to play through what ultimately turned out to be a long list of injuries that set back his career.

Dahl had an impressive MLB debut in 2016, hitting .315/.359/.500 during his first 237 PA in the Show. A stress fracture in his rib and then back spasms limited him to just 19 minor league games and no big league action in 2017, but Dahl was able to bounce back and play in 177 games for Colorado in the 2018-19 seasons. The outfielder hit .291/.342/.528 with 31 home runs in 684 PA during the two-year span, helping the Rockies reach the postseason in 2018 and earning an All-Star nod for himself in 2019.

Even during those two seasons, however, Dahl missed significant time recovering from a right foot fracture and then a sprained right ankle. 2019 ended up being the peak of Dahl’s production, as after Opening Day 2020, he hit just .200/.237/.318 over the final 390 PA of his big league career. Shoulder issues in 2020 led to postseason surgery, and the Rockies opted to make Dahl non-tender. He returned to six different teams over the next four seasons and saw some more MLB time with the Rangers, Padres and Phillies.

After not playing at all in 2025, Dahl has now decided to hang up the cleats. We at MLB Trade Rumors congratulate Dahl on a distinguished career and wish him all the best in his post-playing endeavors.