As one generation of professional athletes' careers begin to blossom, others are starting to wind down. We always knew this was going to be the case; it might be more than just the beginning of the end for these former high-profile stars in baseball. With the MLB trade deadline having come and gone and only two months left in the season ahead of us, we need to starting thinking about 2026.
Yes, 12 teams will be playing meaningful postseason baseball games in October, but the other 18 teams will be watching them at home from the couch. At the end of the day, baseball players are competitive and everybody wants to win a championship. Not all can, but some end up doing that. Unfortunately, there are a handful of former baseball stars who are about to see their careers end.
What I am going to do today is highlight five former All-Stars, some of which have won league MVPs before, who are all playing on expiring contracts with an undetermined amount of MLB future ahead of all them. Not all are going to wash out of the league after this season, but we have probably seen them play their best baseball of their once-strong careers already. Father Time calls for us all, folks.
Here are five former MLB stars whose professional careers are hanging on by a thread this season.
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5. Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen
Andrew McCutchen is finishing up his 17th big-league season, his 12th spending at least some time as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates. While the soon-to-be 39-year-old outfielder from Florida is every bit a Hall of Very Good candidate, he does not have the numbers, nor does he have the allotted time left to end up in Cooperstown. He was sensational during his prime, but it ended a decade ago.
On the season, McCutchen is hitting .249 with 11 home runs and 39 runs batted in over the course of 99 games. He is wrapping a one-year deal he signed with the Buccos for pennies on the dollar. Ideally, he can be a part of next year's team that might maybe contend for a postseason berth. McCutchen was a great player at his peak and a great locker room guy, but all good things must come to an end.
If I had to guess, McCutchen may play one or two more years so he can approach 2,500 career hits.
4. New York Yankees first baseman Paul Goldschmidt
Although Paul Goldschmidt is only three years removed from the only MVP campaign of his career, the soon-to-be 38-year-old could be seeing his career winding down before our very eyes. The likely future Hall of Famer has done it all in a big-league uniform, short of winning a World Series that is; while he could conceivably win one with the New York Yankees this season, their window is closing.
Should Goldschmidt play into his early 40s, he could eclipse 2,500 career hits and 400 home runs quite easily. While he is not going to get to 3,000 or 500 in most logical estimations, I wonder how many more years he is going to be playing first base for someone. He may be hitting .281 on the season for New York, but only 10 home runs and 40 runs batted in are showing he is losing his power.
I doubt Goldschmidt hangs it up after this year without a ring, but I am unsure he is back in New York.
3. Atlanta Braves designated hitter Marcell Ozuna
This one hits close to home. With how badly the Atlanta Braves' season has gone, where is Marcell Ozuna going to play next year? Although he has had his best seasons in an Atlanta uniform, he has not hit for a high average this year, or necessarily for the power Atlanta wanted. Ozuna was put on the trading block at the deadline, but the Braves got no takers. He is not coming back next season, we know that for sure.
So what I am getting at for the former NL All-Star is that the rest of the league is really questioning his value and viability long-term. Despite not turning 35 until the offseason, Ozuna's streaky nature at the plate, declining glove in recent years and his issues with the law will all contribute to him not making nearly as much as he did with the Braves on his most recent contract. The money is going to dry up.
Since Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos does not pay 30-somethings, he is as good as gone.
2. St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Miles Mikolas
Miles Mikolas' professional career is all over the place. He has played for three different franchises since 2012, but is best known for his seven-year run over eight seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals. Mikolas has been mediocre at best the last three years: Since earning his second NL All-Star nod in 2022, Mikolas' ERA has been hovering and now over 5.00. He has not had a winning record since.
In the event that the soon-to-be 37-year-old wants to go back to Japan and pitch like he did in his mid-to-late 20s, I am sure there are Cardinals fans who would love to make that dream a reality. The Cardinals have simply not been themselves over the last few years. Moving on from Mike Shildt made sense at the time, but the Oli Marmol experiment has not gone as planned. Mikolas has not helped.
It is hard to see the Cardinals justifying giving Mikolas another contract after how this one played out.
1. San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Justin Verlander
I keep forgetting that Justin Verlander is pitching for the San Francisco Giants now. The future first-ballot Hall of Famer will eclipse 3,500 career strikeouts before the end of this lost season for him. He has won AL Rookie of the Year, three Cy Youngs, a pitching Triple Crown, league MVP and two World Series. Barring an impossible run at trying to get to 300 wins, what else does he have to accomplish?
Verlander is 42, going on 43. He has pitched in the big leagues in 20 of the last 21 seasons. He will down as one of the greatest players in Detroit Tigers and Houston Astros history when all is said and done. With how bad he struggled the last two years, I am honestly shocked that he is still electing to pitch into his early-to-mid-40s. Let's stop delaying Cooperstown already and call it a career in 2025.
With the Giants going nowhere, this just feels like he and everyone is wasting their time with all this.