Former Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Brian Wolfe died Tuesday at age 45, his family announced.
Wolfe’s wife, Rachell, posted the news on Facebook.
“I’m sorry to write this but after a really really difficult and torturous battle Brian Wolfe passed away early this morning,” she wrote.
No cause of death has been released.
Wolfe was born in Fullerton and starred at Servite High School in Anaheim. The Minnesota Twins selected him in the sixth round of the 1999 MLB Draft.
He spent six seasons in the Twins’ minor league system and reached Triple-A. Minnesota released him in May 2005. He finished that year in the Milwaukee Brewers organization.
In January 2006, the Brewers traded Wolfe to Toronto for third baseman Corey Koskie.
The right-hander moved quickly through the Blue Jays’ farm system. He made his major league debut in May 2007 against the New York Yankees.
That rookie season he appeared in a career-high 38 games out of the bullpen and posted a 2.98 ERA.
Wolfe pitched three seasons with Toronto from 2007 to 2009. He made 72 relief appearances, finishing 5-5 with a 3.81 ERA in 82 2/3 innings.
After the 2009 season he became a free agent and signed with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball.
He started 77 games for the Fighters from 2010 to 2013. His final year with the club was Shohei Ohtani’s first season there.
Wolfe later pitched for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks and Saitama Seibu Lions. Across nine seasons in Japan he went 56-40 with a 3.43 ERA in 167 appearances and won Japan Series titles with SoftBank in 2014 and 2015.
He retired after the 2018 season at age 37.
Former major league outfielder Brandon Barnes, a fellow Southern California native, confirmed the death Wednesday in a Facebook video and described Wolfe as one of his best friends and a mentor.
The Blue Jays said they were saddened by the news and offered condolences to Wolfe’s family.
Wolfe’s professional career spanned more than a decade and a half across two continents after he was drafted as a high school pitcher.
