Injured Houston Astros star Jeff Bagwell said it's "50-50" that he will play baseball again, the Houston Chronicle reported Tuesday.

The Chronicle said Bagwell's ambivelance is in contrast to last month, when he was more confident in returning.

"I was," he said. "Now I know I'm still a long way away. I don't want to get too far ahead of myself. I understand that I might not be able to play again."

Bagwell has been sidelined since May 4, when he took himself out of the lineup with intolerable pain in his shoulder. He had surgery to loosen the bones in the shoulder, the Chronicle said.

Bagwell, who has 449 home runs and 1,525 RBIs, has wrestled with big pain in his shoulder for four years with a degenerative arthritic condition, the Chronicle said.

The 37-year-old longtime star of the Astros told the Chronicle he might have to face the reality of retirement.

"I think it'll be a little easier because I'm going to stay in the game," he said. "I don't know what I'll do, but it'll be something. Being hurt the way I've been for the last four years, knowing my time was coming anyway, that has forced me to think about it.

"It's not like I'm at the beginning of my career anyway."

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