Former Baltimore Orioles Infielder Announces Retirement After Eight Year Career

On January 25, 2026, infielder Hanser Alberto announced his retirement after an eight year playing career. 

The 33 year-old saw himself on five MLB teams: Texas Rangers, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox and Baltimore Orioles. 

Alberto, by no means was a household name, but he had a career resurgence in Baltimore. 

The infielder touched down in Baltimore during the dark days, as the team was just kickstarting their rebuild after trading away franchise cornerstones like Manny Machado and Johnathan Schoop. 

However, this was exactly what Alberto needed -- a fresh start with a chance to showcase his skills to the rest of the world. 

Alberto played two seasons in Baltimore from 2019 to 2020, but his 2019 campaign was by far his most impressive. 

The infielder posted career-high's in almost every statistic, as the increased at-bats gave Alberto more chances to present his skills. 

- 139 GP (Career-High)

- 550 PA (Career-High)

- 3.4 WAR (Career-High)

- 62 Runs (Career-High)

- 160 Hits (Career-High)

- 21 Doubles (Career-High)

- 12 HR's (Career-High)

- 51 RBI's (Career-High)

.305/.329/.422 (Career-High)

Alberto was arguably Baltimore's most productive bat that season, as he even drew trade interest from multiple contending clubs. 

Although most Baltimore fans understood that Alberto was likely just passing by, it was still encouraging to see, especially with the club only winning 54 games. 

The 2020 season wasn't as good as the one prior for Alberto, but he was still a positive player in what was a shortened MLB season due to Covid-19. 

Alberto only appeared in 54 games, but was still a 0.7 WAR player with an OPS nearing .700. 

The infielder was known for his ability to put the ball in play, and he continued to display that skill in 2020 as he had a .283 batting average. 

In 2021, Alberto found a new home as he joined the Kansas City Royals. 

Alberto had a solid season for Kansas City, as he posted a 0.6 WAR and .693 OPS in 103 games played. 

Unfortunately for Alberto, his playing career would slowly start to unravel from there. 

The infielder signed a one-year, $1.6 million dollar contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the 2022 season. 

Alberto only got 156 at-bats for Los Angeles, and was not very productive in that small sample size. He would see his batting average dip below .270 for the first time in three seasons, indicating his playing career was coming to an end. 

Alberto would get one more chance in 2023 with the Chicago White Sox after he signed a one-year, $1.3 million dollar contract. 

Unfortunately for Alberto, he only played in 30 games that season where he posted a a .652 OPS in 82 at-bats. 

The journeyman struggled to find another opportunity in the following years, eventually leading to his retirement earlier today.