LaRoche tells Chicago White Sox he's ready to retire
It's not 100 percent official, but it sure sounds like Chicago White Sox designated hitter Adam LaRoche is retiring from major-league baseball.
"Thank u Lord for the game of baseball and for giving me way more than I ever deserved!#FamilyFirst," LaRoche tweeted on Tuesday afternoon.
Earlier Tuesday, LaRoche dropped the stunning news on his White Sox teammates at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona.
"I've decided to step away from baseball," LaRoche told reporters after the meeting. "I'll have more in a day or two. I want to sleep on it again. I didn't come in (Monday) because I wanted to make sure it was the right move. I'm confident it is.
"Out of my respect for these guys and (general manager) Rick (Hahn), they asked me to give it a day or two to confirm."
By retiring, LaRoche would forfeit his $13 million salary for the upcoming season. The 36-year-old designated hitter signed a two-year, $25 million contract with the Sox on Nov. 25, 2014.
"He woke up this morning resolute in his decision-making," Hahn told reporters Tuesday. "I don't know if he quite anticipated what he was going to hear from his teammates, coaches and the rest of us. We just asked him to make sure he was comfortable with everything he decided and what route he wants to go.
"But this is a very thoughtful individual, a very strong-willed individual who believes in his convictions."
Here is hoping everything is OK in LaRoche's life off the playing field.
As for his one season in a White Sox uniform, it was an unmitigated disaster. In 127 games, LaRoche posted a .207/.293/.340 hitting line with 12 home runs and 44 RBI in 2015.
"I'm over it now, but going through it, it was tough, it was a grind," LaRoche said just after reporting to spring training. "It's just a different feeling coming to the field when you're feeling good and playing good and winning games. It was draining. I really don't want to go through that again."
After Tuesday's bombshell, LaRoche won't have to.
The big question now is, who will be the DH this season?
The Sox could move one of their four outfielders - Melky Cabrera, Adam Eaton, Avisail Garcia or Austin Jackson - to DH if they opt to fill the spot from the inside. With $13 million lopped off the payroll, the Sox also could look elsewhere.
"We wanted to build a roster that had protection," Hahn said. "I certainly didn't foresee retirement being one of the options that we needed protection against, but it's not dissimilar from an injury or an underperformance situation where we needed to call upon our depth.
"We are not going to leave any stones unturned going forward, whether it's internal options or external over the coming weeks and months."
By the numbers: Adam LaRoche
Here's a glance some of the numbers Adam LaRoche put up in his 12 seasons in MLB with six teams:
Games played: 1605
At-bats: 5593
Runs: 752
Hits: 1452
Doubles: 340
Home runs: 255
RBI: 882
Walks: 649
Strikeouts: 1407
Batting average: .260
On-base: .336
Slugging: .462
Source: baseball-reference.com