Others that could leave the game after 2018
After moving around three of the five NL East teams in 2018, Jose Bautista may believe there’s enough reason to hang on for one more season, but in spite of his great attitude, he’s just not got the bat speed to contribute anymore.
Though his career line will read 8 organizations over 15 years, Bautista will be most known for his decade with the Toronto Blue Jays. He won two home run titles for the Jays, hitting .253/.372/.506 in 1,235 games for Toronto, clubbing 288 home runs. He may be at the end of the line, but it was a fun run.
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After getting sick last season and never really being 100% for the Yankees, Matt Holliday didn’t get a lot of contract looks over the offseason, so when he signed late to play with the Rockies, the team that initially drafted him, many thought it was a send-off sort of deal. Instead, Holliday has been tremendous, hitting .288/.422/.442 and showing well in the field. He has discussed how much he enjoyed being around his family, so he may choose to hang them up after helping the Rockies back to the postseason.
Wright’s teammate for years, Jose Reyes has had a checkered career to say the least, shaded by a domestic abuse suspension in the 2016 season. By then, Reyes was nowhere near the player that he was from 2005-2012 when Reyes was one of the premier speed men in the game, hitting .292/.345/.443 and averaging 47 steals over that time.
The Mets have moved on to Ahmed Rosario and Jeff McNeil up the middle, so it may be time to move on from Jose Reyes. If so, though personally he may not be a guy to cheer hard for based on what earned him his suspension, his play on the field was impressive, as he stole over 500 bases in his career and slapped over 100 triples and over 100 home runs.
The Minnesota Twins treated Joe Mauer well, but he wasn’t the only guy who may not be back in 2019. It will be very interesting to see how the offseason works out with many of these players mentioned and whether they’ll choose to play another season.