Murphy may retire if left off Red Sox roster

David Murphy is currently on a minor-league deal with the team that originally drafted him in 2003 in the Boston Red Sox, but making the club's 40-man roster is the only outcome the outfielder is interested in.

"I think I'm to the point in my career where I've played plenty of baseball, and I don't think I'm interested in playing in the minor leagues," Murphy told John Tomase of WEEI.com. "I have four kids. My kids and my wife put up with a lot to go through with this game.

"When you're a kid and you dream of playing this game, you dream of being a big leaguer. I would love to play until somebody tells me I can't play anymore, until they rip the shirt off my back, but I think it's got to be a big-league situation."

Should the 34-year-old be unable to grab a big-league spot on any team, walking away from the game in its entirety is a distinct possibility.

"Retirement is definitely a possibility there," Murphy said. "I don't know. The way that everything has gone this offseason, something like that has crept up kind of quickly. It would definitely be part of my thought process, but I really don't know.

"I'd have to take a little bit of time to think about it, or to go home and stay in shape and wait for a phone call. There are so many variables, so many possibilities, that I didn't think I would have to think about this year. But it is what it is."