Brian Wolfe died at the age of 45 on Tuesday, Sept. 15.
Wolfe’s wife, Rachell, shared the tragic news on social media. Wolfe pitched three seasons in Major League Baseball with the Blue Jays before a nine-year career overseas in Japan.
“I’m sorry to write this but after a really really difficult and torturous battle Brian Wolfe passed away early this morning,” Rachell Wolfe wrote Tuesday on her Facebook account.
No specific cause of death has been confirmed.
Wolfe, a Fullerton, California native, was a sixth-rough pick out of Servite High School in the 1999 MLB Draft. He was selected by the Minnesota Twins.
Wolfe spent six years pitching in the Twin’s minor league system, reaching Triple-A. He was released in May 2005 and finished the season in the Milwaukee Brewers’ system. In January 2006, Milwaukee traded Wolfe to Toronto in exchange for Corey Koskie.
In the Blue Jays’ system, the right-hander was promoted quickly through the minors and made his major league debut in May 2007. That season, Wolfe made a career-high 38 MLB appearances out of Toronto’s bullpen sporting a 2.98 ERA.
Wolfe made 72 major league appearances across three seasons. He went 5-5 with a 3.81 ERA.
After the 2009 season, Wolfe became a free agent and began another chapter of baseball career with the Nippon Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball. He started 77 games for the Fighters from 2010-13.
Wolfe’s final season with the Fighters was Shohei Ohtani’s first.
At 37 years old, Wolfe retired.
Former MLB outfielder Brandon Barnes confirmed Wolfe’s death in a video posted to Facebook Wednesday.
