Former star outfielder Jason Bay can't envision a situation in which he continues his playing career, and is therefore "essentially retiring," Shi Davidi of SportsNet.ca tweets. Last month, it appeared that Bay might play in Japan, but Davidi says Bay decided against it in favor of spending more time with his family.
Bay, who is 35, will end his career with a .266/.360/.481 line and 222 home runs in parts of 11 seasons. He was traded three times (the last of them a high-profile trade that sent Brian Giles to the Padres) before he won the NL Rookie of the Year award with the Pirates in 2004. He replaced Giles as the Bucs' biggest star until 2008, when the Pirates dealt him to the Red Sox in the three-team Manny Ramirez trade that also involved the Dodgers.
After spending the rest of 2008 and 2009 hitting well in Boston, Bay signed a four-year, $66MM contract with the Mets. That deal quickly became a debacle for the team, leading Bay and the Mets to come to an unusual agreement in which the contract was terminated early and Bay became a free agent. From there, Bay signed a one-year deal with the Mariners, who released him in August after he hit .204/.298/.393.