Everybody loves a grizzled veteran. Old guys — OK, older guys — are part of the fabric of the game. These are players we have watched get older as we have gotten older ourselves.
We were all prospects at one point in our own lives. And with the years comes experience and wisdom: Baseball is a sport that benefits from having seen it all before.
As we approach the holidays this Hot Stove season, there are several of these “old guys” still on the market: Players 38 or older who have plenty of mileage on them but still plenty left to offer a team. Here are 10 vets who have had long careers — and who may not be done just yet. (Each is listed with his 2026 seasonal age in parentheses.)
It was only three years ago that Goldschmidt won the NL MVP Award with the Cardinals, the capstone of a career that could end up with a plaque in Cooperstown. He played two more campaigns in St. Louis before having a serviceable, if unspectacular, season with the Yankees last year (.731 OPS in 146 games). He’s not the star he once was, but if you’re looking for a one-year fill-in at first base (where he has won four Gold Gloves), particularly if you’re a team that may have missed out on Pete Alonso, you can do a lot worse than Goldschmidt.
Martin was nearly 28 years old when he made his MLB debut way back in 2014 with the Rockies, and he spent two years in Japan shortly after (2016-17). That makes his longevity all the more impressive. He has played for seven teams over his 10 big league seasons, pitching in 418 games and never starting a single one of them. Martin was terrific once again for the Rangers last year (a 2.98 ERA in 49 appearances) — and don’t forget that he had a 1.05 ERA for the Red Sox in 2023 and even received AL Cy Young votes. He just always finds a way to get outs.
It was downright inspiring in 2023 to see McCutchen, after five seasons away, return to the city where he won the 2013 NL MVP Award and became a franchise icon. He has now been back in Pittsburgh for three seasons, and while he won’t be winning any more MVP Awards, he has been one of the better hitters for the Pirates during that time — though that may say more about the Pittsburgh offense than him. McCutchen has said he’d like to come back to the Pirates again this year, but that seems very much up in the air. But if he’s not ready to say goodbye, neither are we.
First off, Tommy Pham will be 38 years old in March. Can you believe that? Last year was the first time since 2021 that Pham wasn’t traded at the Deadline — he had been on three teams in 2024 — but that still seems the ideal role for Pham, even at the age of 38: A right-handed bat off the bench with occasional power who can still get on base. (His .330 OBP in 2025 was 15 points above the MLB average.) Pham has said he’d like to play long enough to reach 200 home runs (he’s 51 short) and 200 stolen bases (69 short). That seems overly optimistic, but Pham is such a fun baseball character that we’d all be a little worse off without him.
Robertson has been around so long that he has been the Yankees’ closer twice, including being the guy with the unenviable job of succeeding Mariano Rivera. He sat out most of last year — playing tennis and working on his farm — before joining the Phillies to boost their bullpen in August. It ended up being his 10th postseason — and with a career 3.40 ERA in 43 postseason games, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him back in another one … though there still could be some time for tennis first.
The 16-year veteran has won a Gold Glove Award and a Silver Slugger Award, though it’s a little surprising he has made only one All-Star Game in his career (back in 2019). Santana has always been able to get on base, though his numbers were down in his return to Cleveland last year, as Santana slashed just .225/.316/.333 before the Guardians released him in August, after which he latched on with the Cubs. Santana is the active leaders in walks (1,330) and tied for 40th all-time; if he comes back and gets walked one more time, he’ll pass Hall of Famer Tim Raines.
If you just look at Scherzer’s regular-season stats for 2025, you might think he — at the age of 41 — might not have that much left to give. But in October, he reminded everyone he is Max Scherzer, and in a way that could surely encourage someone else to bring him back for 2026 for similar reasons. He’s been one of the most intimidating postseason pitchers for nearly two decades now. And remember: If you are a manager and you come out to the mound to take Max out of the game, be ready for a fight.
Turner just had — by far — his least productive year since those early days with the Mets, hitting .219 for the Cubs and only getting two at-bats in the postseason. Chicago declined his option, sending him back into free agency for the fourth straight offseason. Turner has said he wants to return in 2026 — and while his numbers were definitely down, he has certainly spent his entire career proving any doubters wrong.
Is Verlander going to make it to 300 wins, like he has explicitly stated he wants to? It’s going to be difficult. After earning just four wins in 29 starts in 2025, he’s still 34 short. But that doesn’t mean he’s not still a quality MLB starter, to say the least. Verlander had a perfectly respectable 3.85 ERA on the year and he was fantastic in five September starts, putting up a 2.08 ERA. Maybe he will get to 300 wins: After all, he might just pitch until he is 50.
Yates reached his second All-Star Game and finished eighth in NL Cy Young voting in 2024, after posting a 1.17 ERA and 33 saves with San Diego. But last year with the Dodgers was a mess — Yates posted a 5.23 ERA — and he struggled with hamstring issues the entire second half. If he’s healthy (and that’s something that gets more difficult in your late 30s) he would still seem to have plenty to offer.
