Free agent catcher Henry Blanco wants to play one more season in the big leagues before calling it a career, tweets Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors. Blanco, now 42 years old, spent the 2013 season between the Blue Jays and Mariners, appearing in 50 games total. He was only able to muster a .474 OPS.
Blanco created a feel-good story during the season with two of his three home runs. On June 15, he hit a grand slam against Athletics starter A.J. Griffin, his first since the start of the millennium, when he took Pirates starter Jason Schmidt deep for a four-run round-tripper. Just for good measure, Blanco hit another salami on August 1 against Red Sox starter Ryan Dempster.
Over his 16-year career, Blanco has developed a reputation as a sterling defensive catcher with all of the intangibles, allowing teams to look past his lackluster skills with the bat. Dierkes mentions in his tweet that Blanco is likely to slide right into coaching once he hangs up the spikes.