White Sox 1B/DH Adam Dunn considering retirement

“I’m not coming back just to come back for money or because I have one year left [on my contract] ... I’m not coming back to chase home-run numbers or whatever. If I end up with 499 and I’m not having fun, see ya — 499 it is.”

Dunn added that Chicago’s 2013 season has been “a great letdown,” which may also play into his decision this winter.

The 33-year-old is set to earn $15 million next season, the final year of his four-year contract with the ChiSox. Leaving that kind of money on the table isn’t completely unprecedented (see: Meche, Gil), but it usually coincides with injuries and/or a prolonged drop off a cliff in performance, neither of which Dunn has really experienced.

Dunn has just one stint on the DL in his entire career -- missing a month in 2003 with a sprained thumb. And other than his miserable 2011 season, the hefty lefty slugger has been about as consistent at the plate as one could ever hope. (His performance in the field is a different story.)

While his three true outcomes approach has never allowed him to hit for a high average, Dunn has walloped an average of 35 dingers a year since his first full season back in 2002. His lack of other hits (i.e. singles, doubles) in recent years has hurt his overall value some, but that comes with the territory when headed into one’s mid-30s.

Dunn sits at 436 home runs for his career. If he were to continue at his current pace through next season, he’d finish 2014 about 25 big flies short of 500.

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