Darren Oliver will return to the Blue Jays. (Cooper Neill/Getty Images)

Toronto Blue Jays reliever Darren Oliver will return to the team this year for what will be his 20th season in major league baseball.

The MLB twitter feed confirmed the report Wednesday afternoon.

Oliver, 42, seems to be getting better with age. His ERA, which was 2.88 five years ago, has improved each season to the point where last year, he recorded a 2.06 ERA and pitched 57 innings.

The team had exercised a $3 million option on Oliver earlier in the winter with the hopes of bringing him back, but he had said that he wants a raise or a trade to the Texas Rangers to be closer to his family, or he will just retire.

Oliver was drafted by the Rangers in the third round of the 1988 MLB Draft and had three stints with the team. In December 2011, he signed with the Blue Jays as a free agent and the team signed him in January 2012 to a one-year, $3 million deal.

OFFICIAL: LHP Darren Oliver returning to @BlueJays for his 20th @MLB season after his $3 million option was exercised.—
  (@MLB) January 16, 2013

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Darren Oliver is reportedly leaning towards retirement despite recording a 2.06 ERA last season and the team exercising a $3 million option on the 42-year-old for next year, according to a tweet from Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.

Oliver has seen somewhat of a resurgence since 2006, turning out an ERA of less than 3.00 over the past five seasons. This past season, he also recorded a 1.02 walks plus hits per inning pitched and a 52/15 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 56 and two-thirds innings. He has gone to the playoffs for each of the past six years as a member of the New York Mets, Los Angeles Angels and most recently with the Texas Rangers.  If he does in fact decide to retire, he will end his career with a win-loss record of 115–94.

According to a report from John Lott of The National Post, Oliver had said at the end of September that he wants to spend more time with his wife and two sons in Texas:

“Every kid needs a father at home. That’s important to me. I think it should be important to a lot of people. Baseball’s second. Family’s first. I’ve always said that.”

The Blue Jays have seen a flurry of personnel leave for Boston this off-season, starting with John Farrell, who became the new manager of the Red Sox following Bobby Valentines departure. Brian Butterfield also left Tornot this offseason to become Boston’s third base coach, as did Torey Lovullo, now the bench coach for the Sox.

the blue #jays exercised the $3M option for darren oliver. but he is still said to be leaning toward retiring.—
Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) November 01, 2012

The Toronto Blue Jays have agreed to terms left-handed reliever Darren Oliver to a one-year deal, according to MLB.com. The deal is pending a physical.

Oliver, 41, played a significant role in the Texas Rangers bullpen for the second consecutive year in 2011. In 61 appearances he posted a 5-5 record with a 2.29 ERA while earning two saves. In 2010 he posted a 1-2 record with a 2.48 ERA in 64 appearances for Texas.

Over the course of his 18-year career, Oliver has a 112-90 overall record with a 4.60 ERA. He has pitched in 654 games, and started 229 contests throughout his career.