MLB players who may retire during or after the 2019 season

We're getting closer to the new baseball season finally getting underway. For some players (and even one manager, at least), this new season just might end up being their last, and there are plenty of familiar faces who could potentially hang up the cleats after or even during the season.

We'll start with the two who have already said that 2019 will be their last in MLB. CC Sabathia wasted no time in announcing that this would be his final season in the big leagues. He's definitely earned the right to go out on his own terms, and if all things go well for the Yankees this season, he'll go out as a member of a contender. 

Unfortunately for Bruce Bochy, his swan song as a baseball manager may not be a successful one. The Giants aren't projected to do too well this season, so Bochy may not go out on a championship-winning note. Still, he called the shots from the dugout when the team won three World Series in five seasons, so he's another baseball man who's earned the right to call it quits on his own terms. 

Now it's time to get down to speculation. There are a lot of players who have yet to see the free agent market materialize for them, which could mean that the call may not come at any point during the season. This list includes guys like Jose Bautista, Brandon Phillips, Matt Holliday and, sadly, Bartolo Colon. They've all had their time to shine as stars over the years, but now it appears Father Time may be catching up to them. There's still the possibility that teams could take a chance on them, but it wouldn't be shocking if the call never comes for these former All-Stars. It'll be a tougher road for others like J.J. Hardy and Yunel Escobar, who both sat out the entire 2018 season, and a long shot for either of them to see the big leagues again. 

Then there are the players who will keep going because they have millions and millions of reasons to, in addition to just having a love for the game. Three in particular are Ian Kennedy, Miguel Cabrera and Albert Pujols. Kennedy is still owed $33 million over the next two seasons, but that's relatively small coin when compared to what Cabrera and Pujols are still looking at. Pujols has three years and $87 million left on his deal, while Cabrera is entering the fourth year of an eight-year deal that the Tigers owe $154 million on. Additionally, Miggy could play his way into two option years of $30 million each. It'll be a huge shock if he plays into 2024, but he has all the reason in the world to keep on trying, right?

There also are players on teams this season, but the looming specter of retirement is creeping into their minds. Unfortunately, tops on this list is Felix Hernandez. Poor King Felix was actually contemplating retirement when the Mariners sent him to the bullpen last season, but he was talked into keeping at it. This will be the last season of his contract with Seattle, and it doesn't seem like either party is interested in continuing the relationship. Once that's done, who will want to take a flier on a pitcher who showed such a swift decline as soon as he turned 30? Hopefully we'll see a resurgence, but the King's run of royalty may be coming to a close after this season. 

Let's not forget players like Jason Hammel, Martin Prado, Adam Wainwright, Dustin Pedroia and even Troy Tulowitzki, all of whom are being chased by Father Time. If they do decide to call it careers after 2019, it wouldn't be a major shock, and they would leave the game knowing they all made big-time contributions to the sport. 

Then again, they could follow in the footsteps of Oliver Perez and Fernando Rodney, who are still going — and will keep on going for as long as they desire. One of these guys also could pull a Hunter Pence and have a spring training resurgence that makes us all forget about how long they've been playing. You could even see one of them play a David Freese role and show up in time to help some team over the finish line during September and the playoffs. 

You never want to play the role of calling time on someone's career, so I'm optimistic that we could see some of these players beat back the clock and continue to play at a level that earns them that sweet MLB money. Still, it wouldn't be a major twist in the plot of this season to see any of these guys decide to call it a career. Time comes for all of us, eventually.