Nick Swisher officially retires

Nick Swisher won't be returning the major leagues this year or in the future.

After not having played in a big-league game since 2014, Swisher officially announced his retirement on Thursday through a statement in The Players Tribune.

"Your body tells you when it's time to call it quits," Swisher said. "And this offseason, my body was screaming, 'The dream is over, baby!' And I can't argue with that."

Knee injuries took their toll and made the 36-year-old Swisher decide during the offseason that he had enough.

Swisher won't be out of work, though. In addition to working as a guest instructor during spring training with the New York Yankees, he'll start a new TV gig with Fox Sports as a studio analyst.

Swisher played in 76 games in 2014 with the Atlanta Braves and Cleveland Indians in his last major league action.

Last year, Swisher attempted to resume his career and he played in 55 games for the Yankees' Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre franchise. He left in July when his second child was born.

Swisher hangs it up with a .249 career batting average, 245 home runs and 803 RBIs in 12 major league seasons. His stops included the Oakland Athletics (2004-07), Chicago White Sox (2008), Yankees (2009-12), Indians (2013-15) and Braves (2015).

Swisher's best seasons were 2006 with the Athletics, when he hit 35 home runs and had 95 RBIs and a .254 batting average, and in 2010 with the Yankees, when he batted .288 with 29 homers and 89 RBIs.

The No. 16 overall selection in the 2002 amateur draft out of Ohio State, Swisher was part of a World Series championship team with the Yankees in 2009.