Desmond has announced his retirement from baseball, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.
Desmond opted out of the 2020 and 2021 seasons due to COVID-19 concerns, and he'll elect to hang up his cleats after his $15 million team option for 2022 was declined by the Rockies in November. The 36-year-old spent the first seven years of his career in Washington before joining the Rangers in 2016 and ultimately concluding his career with three seasons in Colorado. In his 11 professional seasons, Desmond slashed .263/.315/.427 with 181 homers, 724 runs, 711 RBI and 181 stolen bases.
The Rockies informed Desmond on Thursday that his $15 million team option for 2022 will be declined, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.
Desmond will still pocket $2 million as part of a buyout, after not earning a salary in 2020 and 2021 upon opting out of both seasons due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic and a desire to spend time with his family. In his opt-out announcement ahead of the most recent season, Desmond left the door open to resume his career at some point, though that doesn't appear especially likely now that he's 36 years old and two years removed from playing. In his last active season in 2019, Desmond submitted a rather underwhelming .255/.310/.479 slash line (88 wRC+) and was a liability on defense, so he would likely have to settle for a minor-league deal if he desires to keep his career going in 2022.
Desmond announced Sunday that he intends to opt out of the upcoming season "for now," Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.
The "for now" seemingly implies that Desmond could reconsider later in the season, perhaps depending on how the COVID-19 pandemic develops. He may have found himself as a reserve outfielder had he chosen to play. Desmond also opted out last year and will be 36 years old next season. At that point, he'll have been out of the league for two full years (assuming he doesn't opt back in) and will be six years removed from his most recent above-average batting line, so it can't be ruled out that he's already had his last big-league at-bat.
