Shortstop Jackson Cluff closed out his professional career in the Chicago Cubs organization and announced his immediate retirement Wednesday after eight seasons in the minors.
The 29-year-old, who finished the 2026 season with the Triple-A Iowa Cubs, posted the decision on Instagram.
“After 8 professional seasons and a lifetime spent chasing this dream, I’ve decided it’s time to step away from the game,” Cluff wrote. “It’s hard to put into words what baseball has meant to me and how grateful I am for everything it has given me. But, I’m really excited for what’s next. What a ride it’s been.”
The Cubs signed Cluff to a minor-league deal in mid-August after the New York Mets released him. He appeared in 18 games for Iowa and hit .148.
That stretch came during what he later called his most challenging season. Overall in 2026, Cluff played 80 games between the Syracuse Mets and Iowa Cubs, batting .164 with a .295 on-base percentage and .306 slugging percentage.
The Mets had signed him the previous November and gave him a look in spring training, where he went 3-for-18 with five walks. They released him in August after he hit .169 in 62 games with Syracuse.
Before joining the Mets, Cluff spent the bulk of his career in the Washington Nationals system. In 2025 he set a career high with 12 home runs for the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings while slashing .242/.349/.422 across 103 games.
Washington drafted him in the sixth round out of Brigham Young University in 2019. Two seasons later, MLB Pipeline ranked him the Nationals’ No. 17 prospect.
Cluff earned Defensive Player of the Year honors in the Arizona Fall League in 2021 while playing for the Surprise Saguaros, recognition that underscored the glove work that kept him in Triple-A even as his bat struggled in later years.
In his retirement post, Cluff thanked the three organizations that employed him.
“To the Nationals, thank you for taking a chance on the kid from BYU that was ‘too old’ for the draft,” he wrote. “To the Mets, thank you for giving me an opportunity no others were willing to do. To the Cubs, thank you for giving me a chance to finish out my career in the midst of my most challenging season.”
Across his minor-league career, Cluff recorded a .212 batting average with 49 home runs and 104 stolen bases in roughly 1,830 at-bats, according to available tracking data.
He never reached the major leagues. The slick-fielding shortstop’s path included stops at every level of the Nationals’ system before the late-career moves to the Mets and Cubs.
Born in Littleton, Colorado, Cluff played his college ball at BYU before the Nationals selected him. His professional debut came in 2019, and he logged time primarily as a shortstop while also seeing action at other infield spots.
The Cubs’ decision to add him in August gave Cluff one final opportunity to play competitive baseball before he chose to step away at age 29.
