Des Moines' Jeremy Hellickson retires from Major League Baseball

After 10 seasons, five teams and more than 200 games in Major League Baseball, Iowa native Jeremy Hellickson is calling it a career.

Hellickson, a right-handed pitcher out of Des Moines Hoover High School, told the Register on Friday that he is retiring.

Hellickson, 32, said he suffered a shoulder setback a few weeks ago that would have required surgery and rehab.

He’s instead opting to retire after a long and successful big-league career that included a resume full of major accomplishments.

"Would have had to get surgery and rehab again so decided it was best," Hellickson wrote in a text message to The Register.

Hellickson compiled a 76-75 record with a 4.13 earned-run average in 232 games with the Tampa Bay Rays, Arizona Diamondbacks, Philadelphia Phillies, Baltimore Orioles and, most recently, the Washington Nationals. He finishes his career with a Rookie of the Year award, a Gold Glove and a World Series ring with Washington.

Hellickson was a star at Hoover before being selected in the fourth round of the 2005 draft by Tampa Bay. He then established himself as one of the top prospects in baseball. In 2010, he was selected as the starting pitcher for the United States squad in the Futures Game and tabbed as USA Today's Minor League Player of the Year. Hellickson also made his big-league debut that season, going 4-0 with a 3.47 ERA.

He went 40-36 with a 3.78 ERA in parts of five seasons (2010-14) with Tampa Bay before being traded to Arizona. Hellickson spent the 2015 season with the Diamondbacks before being traded to the Phillies. He was the Opening Day starter in 2016 and 2017 for the Phillies, who shipped him to the Orioles before the trade deadline in 2017. Hellickson then signed a minor-league deal with the Nationals and went 5-3 with a 3.45 ERA in 2018.

Hellickson spent the bulk of the 2019 season on the injured list but appeared in nine games with the Nationals and was on the bench during the postseason as Washington earned its first World Series championship.