At least for the 2015 season that appears to be the case. After Nick Punto hit the free agent market earlier this offseason, there was some brief thought that the Twins may look to reunite with the former super-utility infielder. That came to a halt when Punto signed a deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Now it appears he may be done with baseball altogether.
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The deal Punto was brought in on was of the minor league sort, although the Diamondbacks had invited the infielder to Spring Training. Now it appears Nick Punto has indeed informed the Diamondbacks he won’t be around for the upcoming season.
Nick Punto won't be in Dbacks camp. Hasn't officially retired but Hale says he's shutting it down for this season.
— Jody Jackson (@Jody_Jackson) February 20, 2015
Former Twins player Chip Hale is the new manager of the Diamondbacks, and it looks like he won’t be overseeing Punto after the new development. Now at 37-years-old, it would appear that Punto may be shutting down for more than just the upcoming season.
At this point, Nick Punto hasn’t suggested that he is retiring, but stepping away from the game at this point isn’t conducive to an aging player continuing his career. Punto made nearly $25 million over the course of his big league career, and he became known as one of the better defensive infielders to come off many benches while playing the game.
If this is the end of the road for Nick Punto, you can bet that Ron Gardenhire and the Twins will likely have some of the fondest memories of the former scrappy Twin.
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