Jeffrey Charles Weaver (born August 22, 1976 in
Northridge, Los Angeles, California) is a
right-handed Major League Baseball pitcher who
pitched most recently for the Seattle Mariners. He
is currently a free agent. He has also pitched for
the Detroit Tigers (1999-2002), New York Yankees,
Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim,
and St. Louis Cardinals.
Weaver was drafted by Detroit in the first round of
the 1998 amateur draft and made his Major League
debut a year later. He was their Opening Day starter
in 2001 and 2002. In the 2002 season, he was traded
before the deadline, in a deal that also involved
the Oakland A's, to the New York Yankees for Yankees
prospects John-Ford Griffin, Jason Arnold, and Ted
Lilly.
Weaver's time with the Yankees was very turbulent,
bouncing in and out of the starting rotation. In
Game 4 of the 2003 World Series, he was brought in
and allowed a 12th inning walk off home run to Alex
Gonzalez. He was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers
in the offseason for Kevin Brown (who also had a
turbulent tenure with the Yankees).
In 2005, the Dodgers built their rotation around the
durable Weaver. He went 14-11, with a 4.22 ERA, a
1.17 WHIP, 3 complete games and a career-high 157
strikeouts in 224 innings. Following the 2005
season, Weaver filed for free agency. The Dodgers
offered him salary arbitration but the two sides
were unable to reach an agreement.
On February 15, 2006, Weaver signed a 1-year deal
with the Angels for $8.5 million. After posting a
3-10 record with a 6.29 ERA in Anaheim, he was
designated for assignment on June 30. His younger
brother, Jered Weaver, interestingly, was recalled
and replaced Jeff in the starting rotation.
