Donaldson: 'I would retire' if I had nothing left to offer

New York Yankees third baseman Josh Donaldson considered retiring this winter but decided he still has something left to offer.

"If I felt like I didn't have anything left to offer the game, I wouldn't have reported to camp," Donaldson told Jon Heyman of The New York Post. "I feel like I have (something) in the tank, or I wouldn't show up. Obviously, I feel like I do. That's why I'm here. And I'm going to give it everything I have."

"I would retire, just for the fact that I've had a certain quality of production I'm used to," the former MVP continued. "I don't want to just play to play. I want to play to win. And I want to play to help our team win. And I want to be a contributing force to that."

Donaldson, 37, is coming off a down year in 2022. He hit .222/.308/.374 with 15 homers and two stolen bases over 132 games for the first-place club. The three-time All-Star posted a career-worst .682 OPS (94 OPS+). Despite being a veteran, he was reliable on defense, ranking 90th percentile in outs above average at third base, according to Baseball Savant.

The two-time Silver Slugger is entering the final guaranteed season of his four-year, $92-million contract originally signed with the Minnesota Twins. He's owed $21.75 million in 2023 and will earn an additional $8-million buyout if his $16-million team option for 2024 isn't exercised.