Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz will retire after the 2016 season, multiple media outlets reported Tuesday.
An official announcement is expected Wednesday, according to USA Today.
Next year will be Ortiz’s 20th in the major leagues.
Ortiz, who turns 40 on Wednesday, has spent the past 13 years with the Boston Red Sox after six years with the Minnesota Twins at the start of his career.
“Big Papi” would become just the 11th position player to play at age 40 or older for the Red Sox. That list includes Carl Yastrzemski and Ted Williams.
The popular, Dominican-born Ortiz joined the 500-home run club this past season and finished the year with 503 career homers, 1,641 RBIs and a .284 lifetime batting average. Most of his career has been as a designated hitter.
He has hit 445 of his homers since joining the Red Sox and he ranks third in the franchise behind Williams (521) and Yastrzemski (452). Ortiz’s 447 home runs as a designated hitter are the most in history.
Ortiz ranks 27th on the all-time home run list, just one away from Baltimore Orioles great Eddie Murray, who is in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
In 2015, Ortiz batted .273 with 37 home runs and 108 RBIs in 146 games. His home-run total was his highest since he belted a team-record 54 in 2006. Last season’s numbers also were up from the previous year when he batted .263 with 35 home runs and 104 RBIs.
Ortiz, a nine-time All-Star and six-time Silver Slugger Award winner, was named the World Series MVP in 2013 when he helped the Red Sox defeat the St. Louis Cardinals. He has been a part of three Series championships with Boston.
Ortiz’s base salary for the 2016 season is $11 million, which became guaranteed in August when he reached 425 plate appearances in 2015.
Ortiz discussed retirement near the end of last season.
“At some point it’s going to happen. When? I don’t know,” he said to WEEI.com. “As you get older, your body breaks down easier than when you were younger. I’m fortunate because I’m almost 40 and I’m doing things normally. You get to this stage, you have to go day by day. You can’t promise people anything three years from now.”