NEW YORK -- Mariano Rivera has amassed a record 652 saves, has been a member of five World Series championship teams and is almost universally recognized as the greatest closer baseball ever has known.

This season, he has enjoyed a career victory lap afforded few players in the history of any sport.

But there is still one unfulfilled wish on Rivera's bucket list, and on Thursday, he moved closer to making it a reality: Yankees manager Joe Girardi said he would seriously consider playing Rivera in center field this weekend in Houston in one of his club's final three games.

"Absolutely," Girardi said when asked if he was entertaining the prospect of allowing Rivera to achieve one more baseball dream. "But not here, because these games are still meaningful for Tampa."

The Yankees were officially eliminated from playoff contention Wednesday night, but have one more home game remaining with the Rays, who are still battling the Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers for one of the two AL wild-card spots.

But with neither the Yankees nor the Astros playing for anything this weekend, Girardi said he might allow Rivera to play an inning or two in the outfield.

"You know, I don't know how I would do it," Girardi said. "It's something I would have to talk to him about. It's a situation where I might bring him in in the eighth to play the outfield, and then have him close it out in the ninth, if we have that opportunity."