About two weeks ago, we learned that infielder Michael Young is thinking about retiring after 13 full seasons in the Majors. Young, 37, split time between the Phillies and Dodgers last year, posting a .730 OPS. He has shown mediocre power in each of his last two seasons and his defense has been less and less reliable. If he were to retire now, he would have a career batting average right at .300, certainly a nice round number to take with him.
GM Jon Daniels wants Young to retire as a Ranger when the time comes, reports Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Young has been a Ranger since 2000, when the Blue Jays sent him to Texas with Darwin Cubillan for starter Esteban Loaiza. Since then, Young has taken over 8,000 plate appearances as a Ranger and played every position in the infield for them as well as DH. The Rangers came close to winning it all with him in 2010 and 2011, but the Giants and Cardinals had other things in mind. It would certainly be fitting for Young to retire as a Ranger.