Josh Beckett confirms his season is over and he may retire

For a man who said he wasn’t announcing anything, Josh Beckett sounded a lot like a man ready to walk away.

The Dodgers right-hander confirmed that the hip injury he suffered Aug. 7 will end his season, and possibly, his career. Beckett left open the possibility of having surgery and then returning next season, but said he was unlikely to make a determination until the off-season.

“Those are decisions that I don’t know if they’ll be made before Christmas,” Beckett said. “It may be the day after the season, it may be January. I certainly have plans if I decide not to play next year. I’ll just leave it at that right now. I’m not ready to announce anything.”

Beckett, 34, can become a free agent at the end of the season. He returned this year after having a rare surgery to remove a rib last season that was causing nerve pressure and numbness in his fingers.

Beckett said he will probably have the surgery regardless of whether he decides to pitch again. He’s been told he would do nothing for two months after the surgery and then need another two or three months of rehab.

“One of the reasons I didn’t opt to just have the surgery now is that I’m not sure I want to play going forward,” he said. “I would have been out for the year one way or another, so why not give [rehab] a shot?

“Also, coming back from the surgery that I just had, it just seems it would have been 12 months in physical therapy. I wasn’t ready to just go back in to just doing rehab.”

Beckett has been pitching in the major leagues since he was 21. This is his 14th season, and he’s thrown more than 2,000 innings in the majors.

Relying more on a devastating curveball, Beckett went 6-6 in 20 starts this season for the Dodgers and was a pleasant surprise coming off his rib surgery. He threw a no-hitter May 25 against the Phillies and ends the season with a career-low 2.88 earned-run average.

Clayton Kershaw had a similar hip issue two years ago and was able to rehab it, but he was 10 years younger. A similar attempt with Beckett was not as rewarding.

“I think even with this part of rehab, we just hit a plateau where we’re not going anywhere,” Beckett said. “We’re just treading water. Playing catch at 50 feet and coming in the next day and I’m extremely sore. It’s not fun.

“I know a lot of people have been through this. I’ve talked to other teammates who have been through injuries towards the end. I think most of them leaned towards it helped them make the decision and be at peace with that.”