Alfonso Soriano announced his retirement from baseball after spending 16 seasons in the major league, reports confirmed on Wednesday.

Hector Gomez of Dominican Republic's Listin Diario broke the news after failing to find a team when he was released by the New York Yankees in July.

In a radio interview in his native Dominican Republic, the 38-year-old said that he lost his desire to compete at a high level after spending most of last season waiting for another opportunity to come.

"I've lost the love and passion to play the game," Soriano said via ESPN. "Right now, my family is the most important thing."

Soriano, who played in just 67 games last season for the Yankees and was released just a week after he was designated for assignment, said that he feels his body could still compete, but he is not focused on continuing his baseball career anymore.

"Although I consider myself in great shape, my mind is not focused on baseball," said Soriano, who ended his career 50th in the all-time homerun list with 412, while also tallying 2,095 hits and 1,159 RBIs in 1,975 major league games.

Soriano spent the first five seasons of his illustrious career with the Yankees before playing for the Texas Rangers in 2004 and 2005. He spent the 2006 season with the Washington Nationals.

In 2007, Rodriguez signed a lucrative eight-year deal worth $136 million with the Chicago Cubs before making his homecoming midway through the 2013 MLB season.

Last season, Soriano played in 151 games for the Cubs and Yankees combined where he batted .255 with 34 homeruns and 101 RBIs.

However, the 16-year veteran failed to make an impact for the Yankees the past season where he averaged just .221 with only six homeruns and 23 RBIs, his lowest outputs since his second year in the major leagues.

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