Red Sox 1B Steve Pearce Says He's Contemplating Retirement at Age 36

Boston Red Sox first baseman Steve Pearce said Saturday he's considering retirement with the 2019 MLB regular season coming to an end this weekend.

Pearce, 36, is on the 60-day injured list with a back injury and hurt his knee during rehab after appearing in just 29 games for the Red Sox this season. He last played over 100 games in 2014 with the Baltimore Orioles.

"I've accomplished a lot," he said, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive. "I'm 36. I'll be 37 next year. I've grinded my whole career, and I can lay my head down at night knowing I gave everything I had. We'll see what the future holds."

Pearce signed a one-year, $6.3 million contract extension with Boston in November.

The Florida native achieved hero status by posting a 1.083 OPS with four home runs during the 2018 playoffs, which concluded with the Red Sox's winning the World Series and his taking home MVP honors.

He struggled in his limited at-bats this season, however, finishing perhaps his final season with a .503 OPS and one homer in 89 at-bats.

"It's unfortunate. It has been an unfortunate year for everybody," Pearce said, per Cotillo. "Obviously, we had higher expectations coming into the year. Me personally, I had higher expectations. Then baseball happened."

Even if he decides to return in 2020, it's unlikely it will be with the Red Sox. Controlling owner John Henry said Friday the club is going to trim payroll to get below the competitive balance tax threshold.

"We need to be under the CBT," Henry said, per Kyle Hightower of the Associated Press. "That was something we've known for more than a year now."

Pearce is one of the league's most well-traveled players, having made stops with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Houston Astros, New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays around three stints with the Orioles.

If he retires, he'll finish with a .254/.332/.440 triple-slash line and 91 homers in 766 games.