20 MLB players that could retire after the 2024 season

Dodgers' lefty Clayton Kershaw has already cemented himself as a first-ballot Hall of Famer, and long after his career is over, he will still be remembered as one of the best starting pitchers of all time. Kershaw has won three Cy Young awards, an MVP, five ERA titles, and a Triple Crown. He's been selected to 10 all-star games, earned a Gold Glove, and in 2020 won the World Series ring he'd long coveted. Even after 16 seasons in the big leagues, he still remains incredibly effective, but his heavy workload has noticeably taken a toll in recent years. Kershaw has not made 30 starts for the Dodgers since 2015 and hasn't thrown more than 170 innings since 2019. He'll turn 36 a week before opening day, and while his performance on the mound has not been hampered by the ailments that have caused him to miss so many starts in recent years, it's to the point where it's fair to wonder how much longer he wants to continue putting his body through the rigors of being a Major League starting pitcher. 

Andrew McCutchen returning to Pittsburgh last season was one of the really cool stories of the offseason, but the veteran's fit with the Pirates was not just ceremonial. Splitting time between the outfield and DH, McCutchen swung the bat well in 2023, slashing .256/.378/.397 with 31 extra-base hits and 43 RBI. The Fort Meade, FL native is 37 years old and there was speculation that he'd retire last fall. Instead, he re-upped for another year in Pittsburgh in December, but the same questions will clearly persist at the conclusion of the 2024 campaign. 

Colorado outfielder Charlie Blackmon has become a regular on these types of lists in recent years, but I suppose that comes with the territory when you are one of the oldest active players in the sport. The Dallas, TX native will turn 38 later this summer and has spent his entire 13-year career in Denver with the Rockies. Injuries limited the veteran to only 96 games in '23, in which he slashed .279/.363/.440 with 37 extra-base hits and 40 RBI. Blackmon is a beloved fan favorite in the Mile High City and his status as an iconic player in Rockies history is more than secure. But he will be a free-agent at season's end and both he and the club will have decisions to make. At some point you'd have to believe the Rockies would like to get younger in the outfield, and if that's the case, would Blackmon rather hang up his spikes or put on another uniform?

Veteran righty Charlie Morton will begin the 2024 season at 40 years old, and while he remains an effective middle-of-the-rotation starter, the end is clearly coming soon. Pitching for an extremely dominant Braves team in 2023, Morton won 14 games and put up a strong 3.64 ERA across 30 starts. A further inspection, though, does expose some cracks in the armor. The 1.42 WHIP he finished with was his worst mark in over a decade, and he contributed fewer innings than he had in any season since 2018---the pandemic truncated the '20 campaign, notwithstanding, of course. Morton is entering the final season of his contract in Atlanta, and it would be fair to speculate he feels the Braves give him an excellent chance to win his 3rd World Series ring and then ride off into the sunset. 

Right-hander Max Scherzer's career arc has been eerily similar to that of the aforementioned Clayton Kershaw. Both pitchers debuted in 2008, and the duo will likely be remembered as the top two starters of this generation. While Kershaw has spent his entire career in LA, Scherzer has bounced around, pitching for six different organizations across his 16-year career. He earned his second career World Series ring with the Rangers last fall, but the toll of more than 2,800 big league innings has started to catch up with him. Scherzer was slowed significantly by injuries in both '22 and '23, and offseason surgery to repair a herniated disc will prevent him from pitching in 2024 until at least July. Scherzer's contract expires at the conclusion of this season, and he'll turn 40 later this summer. This feels like his swan song. 

Cal State Fullerton alum Justin Turner has put together an incredibly productive Major League career, and at age 39, he's still going strong. After close to a decade in LA with the Dodgers, Turner joined the Red Sox last season, and gave his new team an excellent 2023. In 146 games, he slashed .276/.345/.455 with 23 home runs, 96 RBI, and 31 doubles. Boston chose to go in a different direction this season, as after a last-place finish in the AL East, they put an emphasis on getting younger. They'll still see Turner quite a bit, however, as he landed in Toronto as a free agent, where he could very likely end up finishing his career. 

Switch-hitting first baseman Carlos Santana has quietly been one of the more productive offensive players in baseball over the last decade and a half. The Dominican Republic-born slugger has already suited up for six different Major League teams, and he'll soon add a 7th after signing with the Twins as a free agent this winter. Splitting '23 between Milwaukee and Pittsburgh, Santana slashed .240/.318/.429 with 23 home runs, 86 RBI, and 33 doubles. The Twins hope he can duplicate that success in 2024 and help catapult them to a repeat title in the American League Central. From a performance standpoint, Santana does not stand out as someone who should be thinking about retiring, but he will turn 38 in April and it's at least fair to consider how much longer he wants to continue playing--particularly as someone who's had to bounce around quite a bit in recent years. 

Brazil-born Yan Gomes has been a valuable big-league catcher for five different teams during his dozen years at the sport's highest level. In 1,084 career games he's produced a lifetime .248/.298/.416 slash line to go along with 135 home runs, 510 RBI, and 190 doubles, while constantly being considered among the better defensive backstops in the game. Gomes earned a Silver Slugger award in 2014, was an all-star in 2018, and won a World Series ring with the Nationals in 2019. He's spent the last few seasons in Chicago with the Cubs, and at 36 years old and entering the final year of his contract, it's certainly fair to wonder if he'd consider retiring at years' end. 

Veteran righty Kenley Jansen has been one of the sport's most dominant closers for well over a decade, and his 420 career saves are the most of any active pitcher. Jansen's 2023 campaign in Boston was a little uneven, as while he nailed down 29 saves, the 3.63 ERA he produced was his worst since 2019, and his 1.28 WHIP was his highest total since '14. Jansen is 36 years old and entering the final season of his contract with the Red Sox, and while it is certainly conceivable that he'll look to sign another deal with Boston or someone else next winter, it also wouldn't be shocking if he decided to call it quits. 

Veteran infielder Matt Carpenter was once a perennial all-star while with St. Louis, and while he's not nearly that type of difference-maker anymore, he has transitioned into a useful role player. Carpenter hit 15 home runs in only 47 games with the Yankees in 2022, and last season in San Diego he produced 17 extra-base hits in 237 at-bats. His .176/.322/.319 slash line was not overly encouraging, however, and his decision to return to the Cardinals as a free agent this winter feels like a move he made to retire in the place he enjoyed his most success. 

Righty Alex Cobb was selected by Tampa Bay in the 4th round of the 2006 draft, and he's carved out a nice career for himself at the sport's highest level. Cobb has pitched for the Rays, Orioles, Angels, and Giants during his dozen years in the big leagues, and is the owner of a lifetime 3.85 ERA across 230 starts. He's been a productive starter for San Francisco in each of the last two years, but he'll turn 37 later this fall and is heading into his contract year. Like the earlier mentioned Kenley Jansen, it would be surprising if Cobb looked to continue pitching in 2025, but it would also be understandable if he instead decided to ride off into the sunset. 

Newport Beach, CA native Kyle Hendricks has spent his entire 10-year career in Chicago with the Cubs, and he's quietly been one of the upper-echelon starters in the National League for most of that timeframe. Hendricks has won an ERA title, finished in the top nine of the Cy Young voting twice, and helped Chicago win a World Series title in 2016. Last season he made 24 starts and pitched to a 3.74 ERA with a 1.20 WHIP across 137 innings. At only 34 years old, Hendricks conceivably has quite a bit left in the tank, but he'll be a free agent at the end of this season, and it's at least feasible he could consider calling it quits. 

University of Missouri product Kyle Gibson has pitched in the big leagues for 11 seasons now, and while he's never been considered a star or a top-tier starter, he's consistently provided his teams with innings and durability from the back half of the rotation. In 33 starts with Baltimore in 2023, Gibson won a career-high 15 games while working to a 4.73 ERA with a 1.32 WHIP in 192 innings. The veteran signed a free-agent deal with the Cardinals this winter that includes a club option for 2025, but Gibson will be 37 when this season ends, and if St. Louis declines his option, it could have him mulling retirement. 

Veteran right-handed reliever Jesse Chavez made his Major League debut all the way back in 2008, and entering 2024 he's one of the sport's oldest active players. Chavez has pitched for nine different clubs, but it's with Atlanta here at the end of his career that he's been his best. In 36 appearances a year ago, he delivered a sparkling 1.56 ERA with a 1.09 WHIP, while punching out 39 hitters in 34.2 innings. That performance certainly does not indicate he should be considering retirement, but Chavez is 40 years old and does not have a contract beyond this season, so it certainly is a possibility. 

Veteran righty Adam Ottavino has been a solid set-up man for well over a decade, but he's done some of his best work these last two seasons with the Mets. In 2022, Ottavino delivered a dazzling 2.06 ERA in 66 appearances, and while he wasn't quite that good a year ago, he was still a critical piece of New York's relief corps. This winter, the 38-year-old lingered on the free-agent market for a while before ultimately returning to Queens, and while he's clearly still capable of getting big-league hitters out, it's definitely possible he will consider retiring at year's end. 

Switch-hitter Yasmani Grandal was once one of the premier offensive catchers in baseball, but the last few years have not been kind to him to say the least. In 118 games with the White Sox in 2023, Grandal slashed a disappointing .234/.309/.339 with eight homers, 33 RBI, and 14 doubles. The veteran is still considered one of the league's better defensive backstops and has a well-deserved reputation as someone who can call a good game and help manage a pitching staff. That was the primary reason the Pirates were eager to add him in free agency, but at 35 years old, it is within the realm of possibility that the 2024 season could be his last. 

Righty Carlos Carrasco is one of the more likeable players in baseball, and his comeback from cancer was incredibly inspiring. That said, after a disappointing 2023 season Carrasco's career seems to be hanging in the balance. With the Mets a year ago, the veteran made 20 starts and finished with an ugly 6.80 ERA across 90 innings. This winter he signed a minor league contract with Cleveland that included an invite to big league spring training. Carrasco is easy to root for and it would be great to see him make the Guardians rotation and deliver a strong season in the city where his career began. Regardless of how the next few months transpire, though, it seems more likely than not that 2024 will end up being his swan song. 

Early in his career with Tampa Bay Southpaw, Matt Moore was one of the most exciting young starting pitchers in the American League. He was an all-star in 2013 and gave the Rays several strong seasons, but from 2017 through the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign, his career seemed to hit a wall. Moore was up and down with the Phillies in '21 before he transitioned to a full-time relief pitcher in 2022 with Texas, and he's enjoyed a remarkable turnaround ever since. That season he delivered a 1.95 ERA in 63 appearances, and he was almost equally as successful a year ago. He inked a free-agent deal with the Angels this winter, and the Halos firmly expect him to be a reliable set-up man for them in 2024. Moore seems to have found his niche, but he'll also be 35 later this season and has endured a plethora of injuries during his career. My hunch is he'll be pitching somewhere in 2025, but it's not inconceivable that he'd consider hanging up his spikes. 

Veteran right-hander Luis Garcia has pitched for five different teams during his 11-year career, and while he's never really been a top-tier reliever, he's enjoyed periods of extended success pitching in the middle of games. In 485 career outings, the Dominican Republic native has pitched to a lifetime 4.05 ERA in 469 innings, while striking out 446 hitters. He pitched well for the Angels in 2019 and as a free-agent this winter he decided to return to Anaheim for a second stint with the organization. Garcia's performance has not really slipped in recent seasons, but he will turn 38 next winter, and retirement certainly must be something he's considered. 

Not that long ago, Kevin Pillar was a staple in center field for the Blue Jays and carried a hard-earned reputation as one of the premier defensive outfielders in baseball. He was also a steady offensive contributor and, in many ways, was the heart and soul of some talented Toronto teams. Late in his career Pillar has transitioned into more of a role player, and he was a serviceable bench player for Atlanta in 2023. In 81 games the veteran slashed .228/.248/.416 with 19 extra-base hits and 32 RBI. He signed with the White Sox this winter, and at the age of 35, it's certainly possible this could end up being his final season in the big leagues.