GLENDALE, AZ – According to Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune, Chicago White Sox first-baseman/designated hitter Adam LaRoche is retiring from Major League Baseball at the age of 36.
"I’m confident I am stepping away from baseball. … My teammates have asked me for an hour (to reconsider). I’ve tried to convince them I am convinced, but I will do them that, and give it a day or two, and then come back in."
That’s what Adam LaRoche told Kane this afternoon at White Sox camp.
White Sox DH Adam LaRoche planning to step away from baseball https://t.co/AMOzBwinjG via @ChiTribKane pic.twitter.com/2Ud0gTIufT
— Chicago Tribune Sports (@ChicagoSports) March 15, 2016
The move by LaRoche came out of nowhere, as he showed no prior indications that he was considering retiring from Major League Baseball.
LaRoche will forgo the roughly $13 Million that was owed to him in 2016, and walk away from the game after his worst season of his career in 2015, where he hit just .207 for the White Sox.
The move gives the White Sox the ability to use Avisail Garcia, who has been red-hot in Cactus League play thus far, in the designated hitters role with Austin Jackson playing in center-field, and Adam Eaton sliding over to right-field.
It also gives the White Sox an extra $13 Million dollars to work with either now, or leading up to the trade deadline for any potential additions that they feel they may need.