"Chipper Jones said he will return to play for the Braves in 2012, ending speculation that the 39-year-old third baseman might retire after this season and walk away with a year left on his contract.

"I'm playing next year," he told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Friday. "I still feel like I can go out there and play a good third base and be a threat, at least, at the plate. I'm having a good defensive year, and the [batting] average is on the rise."

Two hours later, he hit a home run for the second night in a row to give him 12 this season.

Jones is owed $14 million in 2012 in the final year of a three-year, $42 million contract extension, which also includes a $9 million option for 2013 that becomes automatic if he plays in 123 games next season or averages 127 games this season and next.

He has hit .275 with 26 doubles, 12 homers, 56 RBIs and a .349 on-base percentage in 93 games, including a home run off San Francisco ace Tim Lincecum on Thursday in a 1-0 win and another homer Friday off Arizona's Daniel Hudson in a 4-2 win.

Jones hasn't ruled out playing in 2013, but will probably wait until next season to decide.

"That's going to be a big decision because you've got to weigh whether it's worth it to be away from home for eight months," he said. "You've got to weigh whether you can tolerate the amount of pain that you deal with on a daily basis, and then how much you're helping the team and how much possibly the money that's paid to you can be used to better the ballclub in other areas.

"I'm not really ready to make that [2013] decision yet. We sit here right now and I feel good, I'm being productive, I'm having fun, we're winning. I like to think that if I can keep my knees and my leg muscles intact for any period of time, that I can still put together a pretty good season. But even if I do that [in 2012], I may just say I'm ready to do something else.""