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Wilkerson retires from baseball

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By Jesse Sanchez / MLB.com

04/19/09 10:27 PM ET

Brad Wilkerson's career is over.

Wilkerson, an eight-year veteran who signed with the Red Sox in February, has retired from the game, the Providence Journal reports.

Triple-A Pawtucket manager Ron Johnson told the newspaper that following the second game of the season, Wilkerson walked into his office and said he was done with baseball.

"Second game of the season, he came in afterwards and that was it," Johnson said. "He didn't have the fire anymore."

Wilkerson signed with Boston to compete for the spot on the roster that had been vacated when Mark Kotsay went down with an injury. Wilkerson struggled, however, during Spring Training and eventually accepted the assignment at Triple-A.

For his big league career, Wilkerson posted a .247 career batting average in 972 games with Montreal, Washington, Texas, Seattle and Toronto starting in 2001.

Jesse Sanchez is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.