Trevor Hoffman to Retire

By Justin Worsley,

Closer Trevor Hoffman has announced his retirement on Tuesday in order to take a front office job with the San Diego Padres.

Hoffman, 43, is the MLB's all-time saves leader with 601. He spent the last two season with the Milwaukee Brewers, however, he has spent a majority of his career in San Diego.

Hoffman also played for the Florida Marlins as a rookie.

Along with his 601 saves, Hoffman also posted a 2.87 ERA and 1,133 strikeouts in 1,035 career games.

The retirement of Hoffman will also pave the way for New York Yankee's closer Mariano Rivera to eclipse Hoffman's save record. Mariano, who signed a two-year contract to remain in New York this offseason, has 559 saves and was sixth in the American League last year with 33 saves.

"It's time to retire. It's time to move on," Hoffman told MLB.com. "This is more of a self-evaluation. I expect to pitch at a certain level, and I had to be honest with myself that I wasn't certain I could maintain that anymore."

The Brewers offered Hoffman salary arbitration this offseason, however, he declined.