Nov 11th 2008 3:44PM by Pat Lackey (author feed)
With the date that the free agency market opens quickly approaching, the Brewers had been trying to decide what to do with Salomon Torres. They hold a $3.75 million option on him with a Saturday deadline to exercise it and given the current depth problems Brewers’ pen, it seemed pretty certain that they would pick up the option after Torres had a solid 2008. That’s off the table now, because Torres has instead elected to retire. When Tom Haudricort asked for a statement, this is what Torres had to say:

“I wanted to make it easy for him,” said Torres, 36, reached at home in Pittsburgh. “I already had made up my mind and wanted to tell him this was my last season.”
Torres, a deeply religious man, said he wanted to devote more time to his wife and three children as well as his faith.
“It’s time for me to dedicate more time to my family and my religion,” said Torres. “Doug was very understanding, which I appreciate. I had a wonderful experience in Milwaukee but he knows I am serious about it.”
In the post at the Brewers’ Blog Haudricort says he’s surprised, but he really shouldn’t be. Torres seriously contemplated retirement last winter after being traded to Milwaukee, but finally elected to accept the trade to Milwaukee. This is actually Torres’ second retirement. He was a promising prospect for the Giants in the early ’90s, but was crushed when he took the loss in 1993s NL West one-game playoff. He bounced around and retired in 1997, He came back with the Pirates in 2002 and found a niche in the bullpen there. His turnaround since the first half of his career has been remarkable and he’s earned the right to go out on his own terms this time around.