John Lackey is not thinking about retiring at the end of the season, he says. In fact, he insists he has not thought about anything beyond this season at all.
A report surfaced Monday that Lackey was considering retirement rather than playing for roughly $500,000 in 2015, the final season of his contract. He is pitching well in a down year for the Boston Red Sox as a whole, building a 7-4 record with a 3.18 earned run average.
If he pitches like this next season at that price, he would be the best starting pitching bargain the Major League baseball. With the Red Sox holding a team option for 2015, Lackey told WEEI.com’s Alex Speier that he was more or less resigned to being back in Boston next season.
“The way I’m pitching now, I’m probably not going to be a free agent,” Lackey told WEEI.com. “It’s not something I’ve really gone that far ahead and thought about. There’s a lot of things I’m going to have to think about at the end of the season, the way that’s structured and that sort of thing. So, we’ll see.”
At the same time, Lackey hesitated to say money would not be an issue if he remains in Boston.
“There’s things to think about,” he said.
