Associated Press
LOS ANGELES ó Jeff Kent plans to announce his retirement from baseball this afternoon at Dodger Stadium.
Kent spent 17 years in the major leagues and leaves as the career home-run leader among second basemen with 351, 74 more than Ryne Sandberg.
He spent the last four seasons with the Dodgers, hitting .291 with 122 doubles, 75 homers and 311 RBIs. Los Angeles issued a statement Wednesday announcing the news conference.
A five-time All-Star and the 2000 NL MVP, Kent hit .253 during the first half of last season, improved to .353 in August, then injured his knee on Aug. 29 and had surgery four days later. He returned to make the postseason roster, but was relegated to a bench role. He went a combined 0-for-9 with four strikeouts during the two playoff series and became a free agent in November.
He’ll be replaced at second base by Blake DeWitt, who took over when Kent was sidelined.