Alfonso Soriano considering retirement after being designated for assignment

By Satchel Price | Jul 6, 2014

Jun 3, 2014; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Yankees rightfielder Alfonso Soriano (12) reacts after striking out to end the sixth inning against the Oakland Athletics at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports /

Longtime big league outfielder Alfonso Soriano may consider calling it quits after being designated for assignment by the New York Yankees on Sunday, reports Marly Rivera of ESPN Deportes. He told Rivera he will “take a week to think about it with his family” before coming to a decision on his next move.

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Soriano, 38, began his career with the Yankees back in 1999 before making the rounds in Texas, Washington and Chicago. He returned to New York last year in a trade with the Cubs, then had a resurgent few months with the Yanks en route to one of his most production seasons in years.

That led the Yankees to pencil Soriano into their lineup this season, but he’s been a borderline disaster in 2014. Over 238 plate appearances, he batted .221/.244/.367 with six homers and 23 RBI in 238 plate appearances. For some perspective on how far he fell, Soriano hit .256/.325/.525 with 17 homers and 50 RBI in a similar number of plate appearances with New York last year.

Considering Soriano was primarily on the roster for his power bat, the lack of production this season made his departure feel almost inevitable. The fact that he’s in the final year of his contract — an eight-year, $136 million mammoth of a deal originally signed with Chicago — only made that decision easier.

If Soriano does hang the cleats up, he probably won’t be considered for the Hall of Fame, but still finishes with some pretty impressive numbers, including career earnings of over $150 million. At the plate, he’s batted .270/.319/.500 over 1,975 games with 412 home runs, 1,159 RBI and 289 stolen bases.