Up until the conclusion of last season, Andre Ethier resided as the longest-tenured player in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization. But that ended when he reached free agency this past offseason and was not re-signed by the club.
In fact, Ethier did not sign with any team as he is among the veterans like Matt Holiday and Jose Bautista who are still available on the free-agent market. There was a report during the winter that Ethier planned on retiring but he refuted that and was said to still be seeking an opportunity to continue playing.
But now that the offseason has come and gone, Ethier admitted to leaning toward retiring in an interview with David Vassegh of Dodger Talk on AM 570 L.A. Sports Radio:
“I guess leaning more towards probably not playing just for the fact that as you are aware of, I’m not suited up and I’m not affiliated with any team. You can kind of see how baseball has been to free agents and free agents of my advanced experience. We’re not getting too many calls or too much interest, and if they are, they’re not always the right situation, right opportunity for us. It’s one where you have to play the checks and balances. Is it worth going and leaving family, loved ones, starting over new for an opportunity to play in certain places? For me, I haven’t had that offer yet that’s worth that.”
If this is the end for Ethier, he had an outstanding 12-year big league career, all coming with the Dodgers. He was twice named a National League All-Star, and also won Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Awards.
Unfortunately, the 2016 and 2017 seasons were derailed by injuries that kept Ethier out until September of each year. He nonetheless was included on the Dodgers’ postseason roster in both cases, and relished in making a World Series appearance last season.
