The Senior Class

Looking back on the most-tenured player on all 30 MLB rosters. This list is based on continuous service time with the same team.

Bryce Harper is wearing Philly candy stripes. Paul Goldschmidt has left the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Cleveland Indians bade farewell to Michael Brantley, and Joe Mauer has retired from the Minnesota Twins. Is there any such thing as seniority in MLB clubhouses these days?

That depends, obviously, on the clubhouse. But as the 2019 season opens, long-term, one-team veterans are not yet an extinct species. In fact, nearly half of the 30 teams feature at least one player with a decade of experience – or more — in that team’s uniform.

These are the players we associate with a franchise. Several are likely to retire – and possibly someday go to the Hall of Fame – never having left the cities with which they debuted long ago.

In other clubhouses, of course, churn is a way of life. Five franchises opened 2019 with rosters devoid of even a single player who had been with the team as recently as 2013. The most veteran player on a certain South Florida club’s current roster only arrived in mid-season 2015, less than four seasons ago.

Let’s look at each team’s senior face, the player with the longest continuous tenure on each of MLB’s 30 franchises. The players are presented in the chronological order of their arrival, beginning with the most senior group…those whose team affiliations date back a dozen seasons or more.

That group includes several franchise icons who are doing double duty in 2019. They are leading their clubs’ pennant pursuits while simultaneously polishing their HOF credentials.

Criteria for inclusion involves the player having been included on the MLB roster (or injured list) for at least part of every consecutive season. Listed are the team, the player, his debut date with the team, and, in parenthesis, how he was obtained.

The Graybeards

St. Louis Cardinals: Yadier Molina, June 3, 2004 (2000 draftee). It will come as no surprise that the Cardinals’ catcher is the senior MLB player in terms of service in the same uniform. He began 2019 with 1,870 games of tenure since being promoted in mid-season 2004. He became the regular in his first full season, 2005.

Seattle Mariners: Felix Hernandez, August 4, 2005 (2002 amateur free agent). Installed as a rotation regular upon his MLB arrival, Hernandez has made 404 appearances in a Mariners uniform, all but one of them starts. He won the 2010 Cy Young Award.

Washington Nationals: Ryan Zimmerman, Sept. 1, 2005 (2005 draftee). Zimmerman debuted after only 67 games of minor league experience, batting .397 following his call-up. Installed as the regular third baseman at the start of the 2006 season, he finished second behind Hanley Ramirez in Rookie Of The Year voting. He has played more than 1,600 games for the Nationals.

Boston Red Sox: Dustin Pedroia, August 22, 2006 (2004 draftee). Pedroia spent the equivalent of two full seasons in the minors before getting the call, and save for a couple of injury rehab starts has never gone back. Despite the injury that cost him almost all of the 2018 season, Pedroia has played more than 1,500 games for the Red Sox. He was the 2007 Rookie Of The Year.

Kansas City Royals: Alex Gordon, April 2, 2007 (2005 draftee). Drafted out of the University of Nebraska, Gordon was a victim of expectations that prompted his shuffling between the Royals and the minors until 2011. He hit .303 that year and also played a key role in Kansas City’s 2014-2015 World Series appearances

Milwaukee Brewers: Ryan Braun, May 25, 2007 (2005 draftee). That 2005 first round was a prize-winner, producing Braun, Zimmerman, and Gordon as well as Justin Upon, Troy Tulowitzki, Andrew McCutchen, and Jacoby Ellsbury. With a 34-home run debut, Braun won the 2007 Rookie of the Year Award, later adding the 2011 MVP.

Cincinnati Reds: Joey Votto, Sept. 4, 2007 (2002 draftee). Votto has played more than 1,570 games, all of them for the Reds and all but 15 as the team’s first baseman. A nine-time .300 hitter with three 100-RBI seasons, he won the MVP in 2010.

A Full Decade

Detroit Tigers: Miguel Cabrera, March 31, 2008 (traded from Florida Dec. 4, 2007, with Dontrelle Willis for Burke Badenhop, Cameron Maybin, Andrew Miller, Mike Rabelo, Frankie De La Cruz, and Dallas Trahern). Until a series of injuries cost him much of the 2017 and 2018 seasons, Cabrera had been the anchor of the Tigers offense. He hit a league-leading 44 home runs in 2012 and has twice led the AL in RBIs, topping 100 RBIs in each of his first seven seasons with Detroit. He was the AL MVP in both 2012 and 2013.

Los Angeles Dodgers: Clayton Kershaw, May 25, 2008 (2006 draftee). Kershaw is a five-time NL ERA leader, winning the title annually from 2011 through 2014 and again in 2017. He won the Cy Young Award in 2011, 2013 and 2014, and in 2014 put the MVP award on top of it based on a 21-3 season record.

New York Yankees: Brett Gardner, June 30, 2008 (2005 draftee). Taken in the third round of that mighty 2005 draft, Gardner’s speed, hustle, and reliability have made him a regular in a lineup otherwise known for its power. He has played more than 1,360 games in pinstripes.

Texas Rangers: Elvis Andrus, April 6, 2009 (Traded by Atlanta with Beau Jones, Neftali Feliz, Matt Harrison and Jarrod Saltalamacchia for Mark Teixeira and Ron Mahay). Andrus debuted in 2009 and has held the regular shortstop position in Texas ever since. Barring injury, he will surpass 1,500 games with the Rangers in April.

Cleveland Indians: Carlos Carrasco, Sept. 1, 2009 (Traded on July 29, 2009 by Philadelphia with Jason Knapp, Jason Donald and Lou Marson for Cliff Lee and Ben Francisco.) Almost MLB ready at the time of his trade, Carrasco was called up when rosters expanded that season and became a rotation starter in 2011. An arm injury sidelined him for all of the 2013 season.

San Francisco Giants: Madison Bumgarner, Sept. 8, 2009 (2007 draftee). Brought to MLB during the 2009 roster expansion, Bumgarner was recalled from Fresno in mid-season 2010 and played a key role in the first of San Francisco’s three World Series wins. He has an 8-3 post-season record including 14 starts, four of them in the World Series. Bumgarner beat batterymate Buster Posey to MLB by three days.

Stars in their primes

Atlanta Braves: Freddie Freeman, Sept. 1, 2010 (2007 draftee). Following his September 2010 call-up, Freeman established himself as a regular in 2011, hitting 21 home runs. He finished second to teammate Craig Kimbrel in Rookie Of The Year voting. Freeman is a three-time All-Star selectee.

Los Angeles Angels: Mike Trout, July 8, 2011 (2009 draftee). Promoted in mid-season 2011, Trout is widely viewed as the majors’ best player. The 2012 Rookie Of The Year and a two-time MVP, he recently signed a contract keeping him with the Angels through 2030, so he’ll be the senior Angel for some time.

Houston Astros: Jose Altuve, July 20, 2011 (2007 amateur free agent signee). Debuting in mid-season 2011, Altuve became a leader in Houston’s development that eventually led to the 2017 World Series championship. He is a three-time batting champion, a four-time hits leader, and the 2017 AL Most Valuable Player.

Baltimore Orioles: Chris Davis, July 31, 2011 (Traded by the Rangers with Tommy Hunter for Koji Uehara). Davis blossomed into a power hitter in 2012, delivering 33 home runs that season, and leading the American League in two of the next three seasons. Like Trout he will be around a while; his contract with the Orioles runs through 2022.

Chicago Cubs: Anthony Rizzo, June 26, 2012 (Traded by the Padres with Zach Cates for Andrew Cashner and Kyung-Min Na). Cubs GM Jed Hoyer knew Rizzo from his days in San Diego, so when Hoyer and Theo Epstein took over his acquisition became a priority. He topped 1,000 games with the Cubs late last season.

Pittsburgh Pirates: Starling Marte, July 26, 2012 (2007 amateur free agent signee). Promoted just prior to the 2012 trade deadline, Marte has been a mid-order fixture ever since. He combines power (85 career home runs) with speed (214 stolen bases) and a .286 career average.

Five seasons of seniority

New York Mets: Juan Lagares, April 23, 2013 (2006 free agent signee). Lagares is an anomaly in that he has spent his entire career – now entering its 14th season – with one organization despite never winning the job as an MLB regular. A 2013 rookie, he finds himself cast in a familiar role: as a player, the Mets hope will break through this year.

Colorado Rockies: Nolan Arenado, April 28, 2013 (2009 draftee). Called up in late April of 2013, Arenado is a three-time NL home run leader and two-time RBI champion. Last month he signed an extension that is expected to keep him in a Colorado uniform through at least 2025.
Minnesota Twins: Kyle Gibson, June 29, 2013 (2009 draftee). Gibson established himself as a rotation starter in 2014 and has made 159 starts for the Twins, succeeding to the role of team elder statesman with the retirement of Joe Mauer.

Toronto Blue Jays: Kevin Pillar, Aug. 14, 2013 (2011 draftee). Pillar held this distinction when the season began, but lost it April 2 when the Jays traded him to San Francisco. With his departure, the most senior Toronto player is pitcher Marcus Stroman, who debuted May 4, 2014. Stroman was a June 2012 Jays draftee.

Chicago White Sox: Leury Garcia, Aug. 23, 2013 (Sent to Chicago by the Rangers Aug. 11, 2013 to complete an Aug. 9, 2013 trade for Alex Rios.) Like Lagares, Garcia has established his presence despite never nailing down a regular outfield role. His top season came in 2017 when he batted .270 in 326 plate appearances.

Tampa Bay Rays: Kevin Kiermaier, Sept. 30, 2013 (2010 draftee). Kiermaier and Pillar are baseball twins. Both late-round draftees (Kiermaier went in the 31st round), they have succeeded as defensive specialists with demonstrating overpowering offensive games. The Rays recognized Kiermaier’s contribution by signing him to a contract that will keep him in Tampa Bay at least through 2023.