Denard Span has not played since the 2018 MLB season and is not signed to a team currently. Now 36, the free agent outfielder says he is close to retiring.
Span spoke with The Star Tribune’s Patrick Reusse for an article published on Saturday. It’s a good read if you are interested in Span.
In the article, Span told Reusse that he is considering retirement.
“I haven’t announced it, officially, but maybe this is it,” Span told Reusse.
Span received a $4 million buyout from the Seattle Mariners after the 2018 season. He says he received some offers last year but did not feel they fairly valued him, so he didn’t play. Now he’s a year older, more rusty, and there is a pandemic that has slowed the baseball season. The likelihood of him returning seems less and less, though it’s not out of the question.
Span still said he received minor-league contract offers this year, but he did not feel they offered a good path to the Majors even if he played well. Span hit over .300 three seasons during his career and offered good defense in the outfield as a speedster. He batted .261 with a .760 OPS in the 2018 season, which are solid enough numbers where you would figure someone would want him on their team.
