A once-promising baseball career may be over prematurely, as Rocco Baldelli has taken a job with the Rays as a special assistant, according to ESPN.com's Joe McDonald.
The report, which came via Twitter, originally said Baldelli retired, but a clarification that Baldelli "has not ruled out the possibility of playing" was issued shortly after.
Baldelli, a native of Rhode Island, spent last year with the Red Sox as the team's fourth outfielder. He saw action in just 62 games, suffering from various minor injuries throughout the year. He finished the season with a .253 average, seven home runs and 23 RBIs in 150 at-bats.
In six seasons in the majors, Baldelli has played in just 509 of a possible 972 games. A torn ACL and elbow injury kept him out for the entirety of the 2005 season, and in the spring of 2008, he was diagnosed with channelopathy, which is an issue with ion channels.
