"According to a report out of Venezuela, former longtime Oriole Melvin Mora announced his retirement from major league baseball Thursday while in his home country.

Mora, who will turn 40 in February, was released by the Arizona Diamondbacks last June after hitting .228 in 127 at-bats for the Diamondbacks. He said earlier this winter that he wanted to play again if he could find the right opportunity, but apparently that did not happen.

Mora was traded to the Orioles by the New York Mets in July 2000 as part of then-GM Syd Thrift's fire sale. He played for the Orioles for the next 9 ½ seasons spanning 1,256 of his 1,556 career games. He made two All-Star teams for the Orioles and, in 2004, batted .340 with 27 homers and won a Silver Slugger and Most Valuable Oriole honors."