Even at age 42 it looks like former Minnesota Twins reliever Joe Nathan isn’t ready to hang it up just yet.
According to ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, Nathan’s agent says the veteran reliever is hoping to pitch again in 2017.
Joe Nathan wants to pitch next year at age 42. "He's like the Energizer Bunny,'' said his agent, David Pepe.
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) December 7, 2016
It was a long and tough road back from Tommy John surgery last season for Nathan. But once he got back, he was effective.
Nathan threw two scoreless innings for the Cubs striking out four and walking two. After Chicago released him, he tossed 4 1/3 scoreless innings for the Giants with five strikeouts.
While Nathan has lost some of the zip on his fast ball, NBC Sports said with so many teams looking for bullpen help it would be surprising if he didn’t draw some interest before spring training.
Nathan is still a fan favorite in Minnesota. The lanky righty saved 260 games over seven seasons (2004-2011) with the Twins. He also had successful stints with the Rangers and Tigers.
Over his 16-year MLB career, Nathan is 64-34 with a 2.87 ERA and 377 career saves.
