Feb. 1, 2017 – Jason Grilli was remarkably resilient throughout his long major-league career. A top pitching prospect and the fourth overall draft pick at the age of 20, the 6-foot-5, 235-pound right-hander seemed destined for a stellar career. But a series of injuries intervened, forcing him to reinvent himself again and again. In his fifth year, he was converted from a starter to a reliever, and over the course of his first 14 years, he was traded four times, released twice, and was a free agent six times. Yet for all that, thanks to his tenacity and adaptability, he managed not only to survive but ultimately thrive at a relatively advanced age. Grilli’s explanation for his dogged perseverance was simple: “I love the game.”

The son of Steve Grilli, a pitcher who spent parts of four seasons in the majors in the mid-1970s, Jason was drafted by the Giants in 1997 following his junior year at Seton Hall University. Following a trade to the Marlins, he pitched in seven major-league games between 2000 and 2001 before Tommy John surgery forced him to miss the entire 2002 season.

In 2006, the same year he was converted to a reliever by the Tigers, he pitched for Italy in the inaugural World Baseball Classic, then returned to pitch in 2009 and 2013, making him the only active major leaguer to play in the first three Classics. It was also in 2013 that Grilli, now with the Pirates, became a closer for the first time, was named to the All-Star team, earned 33 saves at the age of 36, and was on the cover of Sports Illustrated. The following year an injury cost him the closer’s role, but in 2015 the 38-year-old reliever bounced back to notch 24 saves in the first half of the season for the Braves before a ruptured Achilles tendon put him out for the rest of the year. He pitched for two more years, with the Blue Jays and Rangers. In 15 seasons with nine teams, primarily as a reliever, he compiled a 34-47 record with 79 saves