After Chipper Jones discussed some encouraging signs he saw from the struggling, 1-10 Braves in a 5-4 loss to the Cardinals on Monday, the third baseman confided his most difficult spring training has him wondering how much more he can take.
His balky right knee is hurting even more than he thought it would. This spring, he's 0-for-8 with three walks in just four games. He's already made two errors at third base in the short time he's played the field.
Chipper, who will turn 40 on April 24, sounds as if he's leaning increasingly towards retirement after this season. In fact, in a soundbyte that will send baseball media stirring, he admitted that he may not make it through this season and could even take it home as early as tomorrow.
"Tomorrow might be my last day," he said. "I don't know. I don't really focus on it that much. The body is starting to tell me every morning when I wake up that we're getting closer to the end. I'm signed through the end of this year. If I play in a certain amount of games [123], my $7 million option next year becomes locked in at $9 million. If I play a higher amount of games [140], $9 million becomes $14 million. I don't know what 2013 entails. I really don't know if I can make it through this year."
If Chipper decides to retire during spring training or at some point in the season, the Braves would shift Martin Prado to 3B and likely utilize a platoon of Matt Diaz and Jose Constanza in LF.