Ex-Giants star Angel Pagan sitting out entire '17 MLB season, but not officially retiring

Free-agent outfielderAngel Pagan, who was a key member of two San Francisco Giants World Series teams, told the Puerto Rican newspaper El Vocero that he has decided not to sign with any franchise for the 2017 major league season, although he left the door open for a possible return in 2018.

Pagan, speaking in an interview published by El Vocero on Wednesday, said that he's taking time off to spend more time with his family, but not officially retiring.

"I am now dedicating myself to focusing more on my family," Pagan, 35, told the paper. "Devoting the time that my family deserves. I've spent a lot of time away from home."

Pagan, who had been with the Giants since 2012 and become a free agent after last season, said his major objective was putting family first in his decision to take time off.

"At the end of the day, the decision to take a year off wasn't mine. It was all of my family's joint decision," he said. "Because I could just be the man of the house, but we are all a family and we decide, as a family, what suits us most."

Pagan's future has been up in the air since he hit free agency after the Giants declined to bring him back this offseason. He was reportedly offered minor league deals by the Washington Nationals, Philadelphia Phillies and Toronto Blue Jays but he said in the interview that the offers weren't what he was looking for.

"There were a lot of teams interested in me, but none of the offers I had on the table were attractive enough to pull me away from home," he said.

Pagan said his decision to spend more time with his family this season is "100 percent certain" but he kept the door open for a return to the big leagues next season.

"I'm not saying that I'm officially retiring because, who knows, next year I might return and play again," Pagan said. "But for now I'm 100 percent certain I'm going to spend more time with my family. I want to repay them for the personal time that we have lost, because you can't get the time back. Thank God I have made enough money and my family's future is taken care of."

A member of the Giants' 2012 and 2014 World Series squads, Pagan also has been limited by injuries the past four years. He played in only 96 games during the 2014 World Series run and 71 in 2013 because he was hurt.

In 1,124 career games, Pagan is a .280 hitter with 1,143 hits and 339 extra-base hits.