What It Means:

LaRoche said he's walking away due to a personal issue and is confident in his decision. The 36-year-old batted just .207/.293/.340 with 12 home runs and 44 RBI in 127 games last season and was set to make $13 million in 2016. Assuming he's done for good, he'll wrap up his career with 255 lifetime homers and 1,452 hits. With LaRoche out of the picture, both Austin Jackson and Avisail Garcia figure to be regulars in Chicago's lineup.

LaRoche's .283 wOBA in 2015 was his lowest for any season in which he played in more than 43 games, and his 27.5 strikeout percentage was the second worst of his career. We had projected LaRoche to post a .307 wOBA and hit 14 home runs this season, but his playing days look to be over.