Then they should retire Ichiro as well. He’s 41.
Forcing a 38 year old to miss a full year of playing, basically is forcing him to retire.
Unless he continues to work out, at a professional level, the year off will doom him. At 38, he's already in the twilight of his career. Every year it becomes harder and harder to hold off the young bucks. He'll be 39 years 9 months when the 2015 season starts. 40 years old, after having 1 year off.
Derek Jeter is 39. This is probably his last year.