Dodgers' Freddie Freemans Sets Retirement Timeline

The Los Angeles Dodgers have enjoyed five years of Freddie Freeman in Dodger blue, and amid his 10th All-Star Game, the superstar spoke on when his illustrious career may come to an end.

"I've always wanted to try and play until I’m 40 years old," Freeman said at All-Star Media Day. "That would be three more years after this."

At 36 years old (and turning 37 in September), Freeman is hitting .290 with 15 home runs, 49 RBIs and an OPS+ almost 40 percent better than league average at 138.

Freeman has one year left on his six-year, $162 million deal inked just a few months after winning the 2022 World Series with the Atlanta Braves, the team that drafted him back in 2007 and the one he debuted with in 2010.

"I'm not going to put a firm number on it," Freeman added. "I would have to get another contract, so I'm only worried about this year. But 20 years in the big leagues would be kind of cool and special."

Both the 20th year in a major professional sports league and the age 40 season are immense milestones to hit, but when Freeman was asked if he could play into his 40's like LeBron James and Tom Brady, he laughed.

"I'm not playing that long," he said.

For someone that has accomplished so much in the game of baseball, there appears to be two major things that would play into how long Freeman's career lasts. One of those is Freeman being 466 hits away from joining the 3,000 hit club, a fraternity of just 33 players. The other — and likely the more important one — is Freeman's family.

Freeman welcomed his fourth child and first daughter into the world this past April and spoke to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal in May about how this could potentially change his retirement plan.

“I don’t like seeing my daughter grow up on a FaceTime call,” Freeman said. “When I’m sitting in a hotel room by myself at night after a game, I’m just like, ‘Oh man, what am I doing?’"

If it wasn't clear by an All-Star first half of 2026, Freeman still has plenty more to give and is a crucial part of the Dodgers' quest to becoming baseball's first three-peat in a quarter-century.

How much longer he plays for the Dodgers, though, may not be up to him.

Freeman's contract expires at the end of the 2027 season. It remains to be seen what the team elects to do when he'll be heading into his age-39 season.

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