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Over the last two years, the St. Louis Cardinals have had three franchise icons and MLB legends — Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright — retire from the sport, with the latter two spending the entirety of their respective careers with the NL’s most decorated franchise.
Among other notables who have walked away over the last two offseasons are two-time AL MVP Miguel Cabrera, two-time AL Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber, 2015 AL MVP Josh Donaldson and seven-time All-Star Nelson Cruz.
So with the 2024 season approaching, we decided to take a look at nine players who could be entering the final seasons of their excellent MLB careers.
9 MLB Stars That Could be Nearing the End of Their Careers
Charlie Blackmon, Colorado Rockies
Age in 2024 Season: 37
Because he fractured his right hand in June, Blackmon only played in 96 games a season ago. Still, he posted an .803 OPS in 2023, which was enough for the Rockies to sign him to a one-year, $13 million deal, which features up to $2 million in incentives based off of how many plate appearances he has in his 14th season. Rockies ownership doesn’t do a ton to excite their fanbase, but continuing to bring back Blackmon — who has spent his entire career in Colorado — is pretty cool.
Matt Carpenter, St. Louis Cardinals
Age in 2024 Season: 38
Carpenter is back with the Cardinals on a $740,000 MLB deal for the 2024 season. After spending the first 11 seasons of his career in St. Louis, Carpenter had stints with the New York Yankees and San Diego Padres over the last two seasons. He had 15 home runs in only 47 games for the Yankees in 2022, but like just about everything with the 2023 Padres, Carpenter disappointed with a .641 OPS. Carpenter will still work walks, and has enough pop to potentially make an impact for the Cardinals. There are a lot of “ifs” with the 2024 Cardinals, though.
Brandon Crawford in Cardinals gear after reporting today. pic.twitter.com/ABtFFKmgdP
— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) February 27, 2024
Brandon Crawford, St. Louis Cardinals
Age in 2024 Season: 37
If you need an idea of how much Crawford loves the game, he gave it to you in late February when he signed a one-year, $2 million MLB deal to join the Cardinals as a utility player after a tremendous 13-year run with the San Francisco Giants. Following a disappointing 71-91 season a year ago, Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak didn’t exactly go with a youth movement.
Instead, the Cardinals signed Crawford (37), Sonny Gray (34), Kyle Gibson (36), Lance Lynn (36) and Carpenter (38), who join Paul Goldschmidt (36) and Nolan Arenado (32). Will the Cardinals be able to put things together as an older team and make a deep playoff run like the 2002 San Francisco Giants? It’s fair to be skeptical, but it will be fun to watch no matter the outcome.
Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers
Age in 2024 Season: 36
Kershaw, an MLB legend, is back for at least one more season with the Dodgers, signing a complicated contract with the Dodgers that features $5 million in guarantees for 2024, a slew of incentives that can increase the value of the deal and a $5 million player option with further escalators for the 2025 season.
Kershaw will open the 2024 season on the 60-day injured list as he recovers from the shoulder surgery he underwent last November. He won’t be in play until the summer for the Dodgers, but should provide a shot in the arm once he returns for his 17th season in Los Angeles. The three-time NL Cy Young Award winner went 13-5 with a 2.46 ERA and 4.03 FIP over 131 2/3 innings pitched in 2023.
Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh Pirates
Age in 2024 Season: 37
McCutchen was productive in his return to the Pittsburgh, homering 12 times, driving in 46 runs and drawing 75 walks in 112 games for the Pirates. A partial tear of his left achilles ended McCutchen’s 2023 season in early September, but he showed enough for the Pirates to bring him back on a one-year, $5 million deal for 2024. The former NL MVP recorded his 2,000th career hit last year, and is sitting on 299 career home runs, so should reach another milestone early in his 16th MLB campaign.
Charlie Morton, Atlanta Braves
Age in 2024 Season: 40
Morton has truly had a remarkable career. From 2008-2016, Morton had a 4.54 ERA and 4.10 FIP over 893 innings pitched for the Braves, Pirates and Philadelphia Phillies. But since the start of the 2017 season, Morton has a 3.55 ERA and 3.51 FIP in 1,067 1/3 innings pitched for the Houston Astros, Tampa Bay Rays and Braves. He closed out the 2017 World Series for the Astros, and finished third in AL Cy Young Award voting with the Rays in 2019.
Now in his fourth season back with the Braves, Morton has averaged 174 innings pitched over the last three seasons. The Braves exercised his $20 million club option for 2024, but his MLB future after that is uncertain.
David Robertson, Texas Rangers
Age in 2024 Season: 39
A nightmarish month of August put a damper on what was otherwise a very impressive 2023 season for Robertson. After Edwin Díaz went down for the season in the World Baseball Classic, Robertson stepped up and was the top relief option for the New York Mets, recording 14 saves and posting a 2.05 ERA in 40 games.
He was traded to the Miami Marlins in July, and his 5.06 ERA would lead you to believe he was a disaster for the Fish. In August, he was. However, Robertson settled down in September, allowing just two runs in 11 appearances. That gave the defending World Series Champion Rangers enough confidence to give Robertson $11.5 million for 2024. He’ll likely be the top set-up man for José Leclerc.
Justin Turner, Toronto Blue Jays
Age in 2024 Season: 39
Turner was quite productive in what turned out to be his lone season with the Boston Red Sox, clubbing 23 home runs and driving in 96 runs. That earned the long-time Dodger a one-year, $13 million deal with the Blue Jays, where he’ll be the primary DH and an occasional option at both corner infield spots. Turner’s age is more the reason he’s on this list than anything, because he posted an .800 OPS in 2023, and appears to have a lot left in the tank. But as you can approach 40, things can go south quickly. And with only one year of contract security, all Turner is guaranteed right now is 2024.
Joey Votto, Toronto Blue Jays
Age in 2024 Season: 40
Votto is in camp with the Blue Jays, his hometown team, as a non-roster invitee. This, of course, follows up 17 seasons with the Cincinnati Reds where Votto cemented himself as one of the greatest players in team history, winning the 2010 NL MVP and making six All-Star teams. He’s not guaranteed anything in Toronto, and it appears he’ll open the season at Triple-A Buffalo.
Joey Votto bomb on the 1st pitch he ever sees as a Blue Jay!! pic.twitter.com/I1ZDuNeorT
— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) March 17, 2024
Votto did hit 25 home runs over two final seasons with the Reds, which saw left shoulder surgery limit him to just 156 games. If healthy, Votto probably still can contribute in a limited role.
More must-reads:
- Mets' playoff chances in jeopardy after latest tough loss
- Padres starter lands on IL again with knee inflammation
- The 'MLB franchise home run leaders' quiz
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TODAY'S BEST
Mets' playoff chances in jeopardy after latest tough loss
The New York Mets have been in a slump for a couple of weeks now, and it is putting their playoff chances in some serious jeopardy. After Thursday's 4-3 loss to the Atlanta Braves, the Mets have lost 13 of their past 15 games and have seen a once-comfortable lead in the wild-card race nearly completely disappear. Following Thursday's results, the Mets have the slimmest of leads over the Cincinnati Reds for the third and final wild-card spot in the National League, sitting just 0.5 games ahead of them. It is a stunning reversal from where things were just a little more than two weeks ago. On July 27, the Mets completed a three-game sweep of the San Francisco Giants to win their seventh game in a row and improve to 62-44 on the season. They were not only six games ahead of the Reds in the playoff race, but they were on top of the National League East (holding a 1.5-game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies) and were just a half-game behind the Milwaukee Brewers for the best record in the National League. Now all of that is gone. As of Thursday night, the Mets trail the Phillies by five games in the NL East, they are 12.5 games back of the Brewers for the top spot in the NL overall and now only have half a game of cushion over the Reds. They also have the St. Louis Cardinals (3.5 back) right behind them and gaining ground. Manager Carlos Mendoza tried to remain optimistic while also acknowledging they are not playing well. The Mets' bats have been a big source of frustration during this slump, but it's not the only issue. The bullpen has also been a major problem, and key trade-deadline addition Ryan Helsley contributed to that on Thursday by giving up two runs in the top of the eighth inning to turn a 3-2 Mets lead into a 4-3 deficit. Whether it is the bats, the arms or the defense causing the problem, the common result remains the same — more losses. Now the Mets find themselves right in the thick of the playoff race, fighting for a spot. It was not that long ago that they seemed to be a playoff lock.
Jonathan Kuminga Posts Two-Word Message Amid Warriors Trade Drama
The Golden State Warriors have had their free agency headlines dominated by one individual name, Jonathan Kuminga. For what feels like an eternity, the Warriors have been stuck in a standstill with Kuminga. The 22-year-old forward believes he's capable of being a max contract player, but the Warriors don't seem to have maximizing him in their current timeline - that much was evident after the team traded for Jimmy Butler. It's clear that Kuminga does not want to be a member of the Golden State Warriors any longer. Every day, a new headline emerges coming from either side of the camp, but no resolution has been found. As the headlines have been growing, Kuminga gave a simple message on social media. "And at the buzzer, the Golden State Warriors will say, 'Alright, well, we can't afford to lose him for nothing, and Malik Monk and a protected pick, that's much better than nothing. So let's go ahead, do the deal, and be done with it.' " While the Bulls and Bucks have trade interest, it seems like the package that they want from the Golden State Warriors may not work financially. Does Kuminga Staying With the Warriors Make Sense? Realistically, Jonathan Kuminga staying with the Golden State Warriors does not make sense. He does not want to play for the team, and the team did not play him consistently after acquiring Jimmy Butler. Even during the playoffs, he was only really used as an emergency scenario. For a team as serious about winning as the Warriors, it does not make sense to keep a younger player who could potentially disrupt the chemistry. At the same time, it makes sense for the team to want to get the maximum value out of Kuminga and not trade him hastily.
Another Cowboys star could hold out amid Micah Parsons' contract drama
The Dallas Cowboys need to figure out what to do with Micah Parsons because whatever they're doing right now isn't working. Team owner Jerry Jones said he was willing to "stir the pot" when asked about Parsons' contract stalemate and trade request. Given Parsons' character, that may have rubbed him the wrong way. However, that's not the only contract situation they need to address. While everybody's focused on the Penn State product, CB DaRon Bland is also waiting for an extension of his own. More importantly, he recently said that he hoped it would get done before the Cowboys open the season on Sept. 4. "I do, but I'm not here to talk about it really too much," Bland told the team's website. "But yea, hopefully." Jerry and Stephen Jones aren't that fond of players setting deadlines for contract negotiations, and they've shown that they're willing to wait until the very last second to get a deal done, relationships be damned. Bland has been an instrumental piece of the Cowboys secondary, especially with fellow CB Trevon Diggs struggling with injuries. When asked about his goal for next season, he opened up about his desire to dominate opposite Diggs. "Always hopeful for both of us to be healthy first of all, and for both of us to show out on the field together. Can't wait until it happens," Bland said. Still, given the way the Cowboys have treated their stars and have dealt with contract situations, it wouldn't be much of a surprise to see Bland also go to desperate measures to get what he's earned.
Three NFL teams facing Super Bowl-or-bust expectations in 2025
Saying a team is facing championship-or-bust expectations is a dangerous game. The odds are always stacked against any one team, no matter how talented they are, and every season ends with one team hoisting the Vince Lombardi Trophy. However, that doesn't stop fans from placing those expectations on their respective teams each year, particularly those with a track record of recent consistent success. Let's take a closer look at three teams that stand out as having that championship-or-bust mentality. Buffalo Bills The Bills are near the top of the Super Bowl-or-bust list. They have been one of the NFL's best teams for the last six years, with quarterback Josh Allen leading the way and a strong defense. Still, Buffalo hasn't been able to break through and reach its first Super Bowl since 1993. Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs have repeatedly stood in their way. The Bills are searching for their first-ever Super Bowl title. Allen's tenure has seen the second-best stretch of success in franchise history, and if any group is going to get it done, it should be this one. The pressure isn't just on Buffalo as a team; it's also on Allen. Fair or not, quarterbacks are generally measured by rings — Allen needs his. Baltimore Ravens The Ravens are in a nearly identical situation to the Bills. Consistent contender, top-tier quarterback, strong defense and always sky-high expectations, but the Ravens have had even less playoff success in recent years than the Bills have. Baltimore has reached just one conference championship game during Lamar Jackson's career, having won just three total playoff games over the past seven seasons. Their playoff track record does not match the talent level or regular-season success the Ravens have had. Like Allen, Jackson must reach a Super Bowl to fortify his legacy in the NFL, and it's hard to imagine the roster surrounding him getting better than it is now. Detroit Lions The pressure on the Lions isn't quite the same as the Bills or Ravens, mainly because they are a relatively new contender in the NFL. They have made the playoffs two years in a row with their current core and haven't consistently fallen short in the playoffs the way Buffalo and Baltimore have. That doesn't mean expectations shouldn't be high. Not only are the Lions one of the NFL's darlings right now, given head coach Dan Campbell's personality, the creativity of the offense and talent on the roster, but they have been knocking on the door of a championship. They blew a three-score lead in the NFC Championship game two years ago to the San Francisco 49ers. Detroit followed that up by finishing with the NFL's best record in 2024 at 15-2, but did not win a single playoff game, losing 45-31 to the Washington Commanders in the divisional round. The Lions, who have yet to appear in a Super Bowl, have never really had to deal with expectations throughout their history — they are now.
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