Trevor Hoffman told Barry M. Bloom of MLB.com that he has decided to retire.

"It's time to retire. It's time to move on," said Hoffman. "This is more of a self-evaluation. I expect to pitch at a certain level and I had to be honest with myself that I wasn't certain I could maintain that anymore." Hoffman, who turned 43 in October, posted a 5.89 ERA last season and wasn't going to find a chance to close in 2011. He'll accept a role in the Padres front office, instead. Mariano Rivera may pass him eventually, but Hoffman is the current all-time leader with 601 saves. He's ticketed for Cooperstown.

Trevor Hoffman told MLB.com's Adam McCalvy on Friday that he's still hoping to pitch in 2011 but that interest has been "sparse."

Hoffman finished with an ugly 5.89 ERA over 50 appearances for the Brewers in 2010. His numbers were strong over the last few months of the season, but he turned 43 in October and may be asking for a bit too much in the way of salary. He indicated to McCalvy that he might simply call it quits. "I haven't really engaged in the continual workouts like I've done in previous years," said the all-time MLB saves leader, "and it's been a little refreshing. I'm hoping it will bring clarity into the decision."

According to Buster Olney of ESPN.com, Trevor Hoffman continues to indicate to teams that he wants to be a closer.

Hoffman, 43, had some interest in joining the Diamondbacks earlier this offseason, but that option is off the board now that the club has signed J.J. Putz. With an abundance of relievers still available and only so many closer jobs to go around, we may have seen the last of the all-time saves leader.

The Brewers and Trevor Hoffman have an agreement that the veteran will decline the club's arbitration offer.

This makes sense. Now, if Hoffman signs elsewhere, the Brewers will get a sandwich pick. The 43-year-old is unlikely to return to Milwaukee after posting a 5.89 ERA in 50 appearances this past season.

Diamondbacks general manager Kevin Towers told Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that he will consider signing Trevor Hoffman.

"He's been one of the most consistent closers that there's ever been in this game," Towers said. "I think you'd be nuts if you didn't at least consider somebody like Trevor Hoffman." The all-time saves leader recently told Barry M. Bloom of MLB.com that he would be interested in signing with the Diamondbacks and from what Towers told Piecoro, it appears the interest is at least somewhat mutual. Of course, Towers is Hoffman's former general manager in San Diego, so it's possible he is just being kind to one of his former players. The D-Backs need a closer, but with an abundance of relievers available this winter, Hoffman may be forced into retirement.

Trevor Hoffman told Barry M. Bloom of MLB.com that he is keeping his eye on the Diamondbacks' closer situation.

The Diamondbacks just hired Kevin Towers, Hoffman's former general manager in San Diego, so it makes some sense on the surface. "I've known K.T. for such a long time and I figured having a little history there would help," said Hoffman. "But I don't know. I'm coming off a tough year. I don't know if people are going to be turned off by that or not. I hope the strong second half I had will compensate." Hoffman, 43, that he is only willing to return for another season if a team will let him close games. The Diamondbacks' bullpen was a complete mess this past season, but it would be tough for any team to hand Hoffman the ninth-inning gig at this point.

SI.com's Jon Heyman reports that Trevor Hoffman is willing to return for the 2011 season if a team will let him close games.

Hoffman finished the 2010 season on a strong note, collecting his 600th career save and lowering both his ERA and WHIP considerably, but he just turned 43 and simply doesn't have the goods anymore to be a reliable ninth-inning stopper. There's a good chance Hoffman will hang up his cleats.

Brewers declined RHP Trevor Hoffman's $7 million option for 2011.

As expected. Hoffman's buyout increased from $500,000 to $750,000 when finished his 35th game of the season on September 26. With 600 saves out of the way, it's not known if we've seen the last of "Hells Bells."

Trevor Hoffman believes that he will not be back in Milwaukee next season due to the size of his contract and the presence of John Axford.

Hoffman will always be remembered in Milwaukee for recording his 600th save. But the Brewers are not going to pay a 42-year-old $7.5 million to be a set-up man. As for his future, he is not sure which teams will be after him. Even if there is interest among other teams, Hoffman is unsure whether he would even want to continue pitching.

Trevor Hoffman pitched a scoreless inning to notch his 600th save Tuesday night against the Cardinals.

Hoffman has crafted quite a career out of a poor fastball and an elite changeup, but it's now nearing the end. There really isn't a reason for the Brewers to choose Hoffman over Axford for the next save now that the record has been achieved, but perhaps they will just so it doesn't look like they took advantage of the veteran for an attendance boost. Keeper league managers should be confident that Hoffman won't be a closer next year.

Brewers manager Ken Macha said he is not saving Trevor Hoffman so he can get his 600th save at home.

Hoffman, who has been sharing closing duties with John Axford lately, is sitting at 599 saves, and Milwaukee will begin a six-game homestand Monday. But Macha said that he is "only concerned with winning games, not being ceremonious," so he'll use his bullpen the best way he sees fit, not with save No. 600 for Hoffman, who is sitting at 599 saves, in mind.

Trevor Hoffman and John Axford will share closing duties, according to Brewers manager Ken Macha.

The worst fear of Axford owners has been realized -- the rookie is removed from the undisputed closer's job despite posting a 3.00 ERA, 43/13 K/BB rate in 36 innings and converting 16 of 17 save chances. Hoffman, meanwhile, has a 6.25 ERA over 36 innings. To be fair, the veteran has a 1.42 ERA in his past 19 outings, including nine consecutive scoreless appearances. Of even more pressing concern to the Brewers is Hoffman's march to 600 saves that might put fannies in the seats. Hoffman was surprisingly given the save opportunity on Saturday against the Astros, converting it successfully to push his career total to 597. "The thing with Hoffman is he's earned his way back to saving games," Macha said. "If you're going to stay with the premise that the players write the lineup and things like that, he's put his name back in there. ... That's not to eliminate Axford from doing things, too, because he's done nothing to write his name out." Both Hoffman and Axford must be

Trevor Hoffman picked up his sixth save of the season on Saturday in the Brewers' defeat of the Astros.

John Axford has not been used since August 3, so it's a bit curious that he was not asked to close out the victory. Maybe the out-of-contention Brewers want to help Hoffman reach the 600-save milestone. He threw a perfect ninth inning on Saturday and is sitting on 597 career saves right now.

Trevor Hoffman, who was the subject of the inquiry by Boston, has reportedly told the Brewers he'd prefer to stay in Milwaukee.

Hoffman could have rejected a trade to Boston, but since his no-trade cluase blocks just four other teams, the Brewers could move him if they wanted to. They're expected to keep him, though.

According to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com, the Red Sox asked about the availability of Trevor Hoffman.

The Red Sox, however, are one of five teams of Hoffman's no-trade list. In addition, the Brewers are not inclined to move Hoffman, according to Rosenthal, because they feel the veteran is a good influence on their young bullpen arms like John Axford and Zach Braddock. The Brewers have also found interest in right-handers Carlos Villaneuva and Todd Coffey.

After entering with the Brewers down 7-3, Trevor Hoffman gave up two runs in the ninth Thursday against the Giants.

Hoffman had allowed just one run and six hits over his previous nine innings, but this could qualify as a setback for him. Of course, we won't have a good idea how the Brewers would prefer to employ Hoffman in winnable games until they start playing a few again. Closer John Axford has made just one appearance in a week, that coming in Wednesday's 15-2 loss.

Brewers manager Ken Macha said Trevor Hoffman could reclaim the closer role.

Hoffman has five consecutive scoreless appearances under his belt, but the only problem is John Axford is a perfect 4-for-4 in save opportunities. Macha said he isn't sure how the situation will play itself out, but Hoffman is certainly worth a speculative grab in mixed formats right now.

Trevor Hoffman gave up three runs over one inning of relief in a loss to the Marlins on Tuesday night.

The ninth inning will probably have to wait. Besides letting the Marlins off the hook in the seventh, Hoffman threw just 12 of 26 pitches for strikes and walked two. Quite simply, he'll need to do better than this in order to be trusted in the ninth inning again.

Brewers manager Ken Macha hinted that Trevor Hoffman could be ready to resume the closer role.

"We kind of talked about that several times today," said Macha. "We'll see how some things go. That is two good outings in a row, so I'll talk to him [Thursday] and see how he's feeling about himself." Hoffman has two straight scoreless innings under his belt since he was taken into the "repair shop" last week.

Trevor Hoffman worked a clean seventh inning in Wednesday's easy win over the Astros.

That's two straight scoreless innings for Hoffman. It may not sound like much, but one or two more like this and he'll be back in the closer's chair. The Brewers are wisely easing him back into his familiar role.