One player still on each team in 2026

Many players switched teams at the Deadline last week. Even more will switch teams this offseason. Hundreds will switch teams over the next five years. Players change teams, and that has been the case for decades. We hope you are used to this by now.

But there are some players who are the centerpieces of everything their teams are doing, foundational pieces into the next decade -- and they’re not going anywhere. So today we take a look at the player in each organization most likely to still be on their same team in 2026, seven whole years down the road. Seven years is a long time. How long? The Yankees only have two players on their roster today who were on it in 2012: Brett Gardner and CC Sabathia. The Red Sox have only one, and that’s only if you’re still counting Dustin Pedroia.

Here’s a look at who your team might still have hanging around come 2026. Some of them aren’t even in the Majors yet. So we’ve listed each player’s current level in parentheses.

AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST

Blue Jays: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 3B, age 20 (MLB)
Vlad and the rest of the Blue Jays' Junior Brigade will all hit free agency after the 2025 season … but he’s the one they’ll work the hardest on extending, even if they can just buy out one or two years of his free agency.

Orioles: Adley Rutschman, C, age 21 (Class A)
By 2026, the team should be built around him. Again, no pressure, kid.

Rays: Wander Franco, SS, age 18 (Class A Advanced)
The Rays are always turning over their roster, but baseball's No. 1 overall prospect is a foundational piece well into the next decade.

Red Sox: Xander Bogaerts, SS, age 26 (MLB)
Mookie Betts has said he wants to hit free agency when he is eligible after the 2020 season, which means it’s Bogaerts, who has a vesting option for the 2026 season through the extension he signed last season, who's the pick here.

Yankees: Giancarlo Stanton, OF, age 29 (MLB)
He’s signed through 2027, and suffice it to say, he won’t be opting out before then, even though he can after the 2020 season.

AL CENTRAL

Indians: Jose Ramirez, 3B, age 26 (MLB)
Maybe the toughest team in the AL to guess on this one, considering how much turnover they’ve got coming in the next few years. But Ramirez has options through 2023, and Francisco Lindor might not be around next year, and, well, your guess is as good as ours.

Royals: Jorge Soler, OF, age 27 (MLB)
With the season he’s having, maybe it's not the worst idea for the Royals to at least approach Soler about an extension?

Tigers: Casey Mize, RHP, age 22 (Double-A)
The No. 2 MLB Pipeline prospect is the pick here, and, alas: The Tigers are likely to buy out Miguel Cabrera’s option … in 2024.

Twins: Royce Lewis, SS, age 20 (Double-A)
Lewis should arrive next season, and Minnesota's No. 1 prospect will be near the top of the Twins’ order for most of the next decade.

White Sox: Luis Robert, OF, age 21 (Triple-A)
Eloy Jimenez will be a free agent and hungry for a shot at the open market by then, so just in case, the pick here is the top White Sox prospect.

AL WEST

Angels: Mike Trout, CF, age 27 (MLB)
Signed through 2030 now, heck yeah.

Astros: Jose Altuve, 2B, age 29 (MLB)
Altuve will be 36 in 2023, and it’s impossible to imagine him playing anyplace else.

Athletics: Matt Chapman, 3B, age 26 (MLB)
The third-base maestro is a free agent after the 2023 season, but if there is ever a player the A’s will extend, it’s him.

Mariners: Jarred Kelenic, OF, age 20 (Class A Advanced)
Sorry, Mets fans: You’re going to see the centerpiece of the Robinson Cano/Edwin Diaz trade in Seattle for a long time. The bright side is, there probably isn’t a team Mets fans have to watch less than the M’s.

Rangers: Joey Gallo, OF, age 25 (MLB)
Jon Daniels and company have to be thinking about getting an extension offer out there for Gallo sooner rather than later, no?

NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST

Braves: Ronald Acuna Jr., OF, age 21 (MLB)
The glory of the Braves’ offseasons for the next seven years will be that Acuna is already signed for that long.

Marlins: Victor Victor Mesa, OF, age 23 (Double-A)
If he isn’t on the Marlins in 2026, something has gone terribly wrong.

Mets: Pete Alonso, 1B, age 24 (MLB)
Alonso will be 30 by the time he is eligible for free agency after the 2024 season, and given the way players with his profile tend to age, that probably makes it more likely he stays with the Mets, not less.

Nationals: Juan Soto, LF, age 20 (MLB)
It comes down to whom you find it more likely the Nats will give an extension: Soto or Victor Robles. (Or Carter Kieboom, really.)

Phillies: Bryce Harper, RF, age 26 (MLB)
Eventually we will forget he was ever a National.

NL CENTRAL

Brewers: Christian Yelich, OF, age 27 (MLB)
The Brewers might be the toughest team on this list to conjure a guess. Yelich is a free agent after the 2022 season, and you’d think teams would be lining up for him -- but he’s been so much better as a Brewer than he was as a Marlin that maybe he’ll want to make sure he plays the rest of his career there. It’ll be fascinating to see where it lands.

Cardinals: Nolan Gorman, 3B, age 19 (Class A Advanced)
It’s either the power-hitting third-base prospect or Paul DeJong, who's tied to the Cards through 2025. Though it’s still just tempting to say “Yadier Molina.”

Cubs: Kris Bryant, 3B/OF, age 27 (MLB)
What are the Cubs going to look like in 2026? Well, here’s guessing they won’t actually fail to re-sign Bryant when he hits free agency after the 2021 season.

Pirates: Oneil Cruz, SS, age 20 (Double-A)
Which of the Pirates’ MLB Pipeline Top 100 prospects do we pick? We’ll go with the one not likely to reach the Majors for a couple of more years.

Reds: Nick Senzel, CF, age 24 (MLB)
For what it’s worth, Eugenio Suarez is signed through 2025, so he’s close.

NL WEST

D-backs: Ketel Marte, 2B/CF, age 25 (MLB)
Marte’s signed through 2024 already, which means he could remain a D-back well into his 30s.

Dodgers: Cody Bellinger, 1B/OF, age 24 (MLB)
Belli is a free agent after the 2024 season, but it’s tough to imagine the Dodgers ever letting him get away.

Giants: Joey Bart, C, age 22 (Class A Advanced)
Whatever the Giants end up being over the next decade, the heir apparent to Buster Posey behind the plate will be right in the middle of it.

Padres: Manny Machado, 3B, age 27 (MLB)
He’s signed through 2028 … three years longer than Fernando Tatis Jr.

Rockies: Nolan Arenado, 3B, age 28 (MLB)
The 2026 season is actually the last of Arenado's contract. At 35, even then, you’d think the Rockies will always find a place for him.