Mark Buehrle told Mark Gonzalez of the Chicago Tribune that he could retire after the 2011 season:
“As I sit here now, I’d love to just go home and be with the family and kids and go from there. But when next year gets here, at this time, it could be a tough decision, knowing this is all you’ve known for 15 years of your life and constantly having to be somewhere, to go somewhere. And all of a sudden you have nothing to do. It’s going to be a tough decision.”
He’s only 31 right now, and remains a sold pitcher, averaging 223 innings a season over his 11 year career. And he’s had an above-average (below average? Shoot, let’s just call it a “better-than-average”) ERA for nine of the past ten seasons. If he wants to pitch beyond his current contract, he’ll get plenty of offers.
Either way, if he thinks like he pitches, he’ll make his decision quickly.