Baseball, like most sports, is a young man’s game, with value placed on speed, reaction time and the raw power and vigor that comes with youth. But baseball is also a game that respects the experience and savvy of veterans, one that understands the importance of having seen it all before. It’s a game that loves the old guys.

And there are quite a few old guys on the free agent market this year, guys who clearly are on the back end of their careers but might still have something to offer to prospective teams. How old is an Old Guy? We put the cutoff line at a seasonal age of 37-plus in 2025.

Below is a look at 11 of these grizzled vets, each of whom faces significant questions about just how much he has left in the tank. (We’re skipping the notable starting pitcher trio of 42-year-old Justin Verlander, 40-year-old Max Scherzer and 37-year-old Clayton Kershaw, whom we recently discussed in greater depth.)

Everyone on this list could be nearing retirement -- voluntary or otherwise. It’s possible that they won’t all find a team for 2025. But don’t be surprised if some of these Old Guys still have some baseball golden years left in them.

Note: Players are listed in ascending order of age.

Craig Kimbrel, RP
Age 37 in 2025 (Born May 28, 1988)

Kimbrel was thought of as a future Hall of Fame closer for quite a while -- he’s fifth on the all-time saves list with 440 -- but the past few years have been rough for him, particularly in the second half of seasons. Perhaps it’s the constant changing of settings: He has pitched for five teams since the start of 2021. Other than a difficult 2019-20 stretch at Wrigley, though, his only truly bad year was 2024 with Baltimore, which released him in September. Still, Kimbrel has enough history and enough left in his arm that you figure someone will give him a shot. After all, the Orioles bet $12 million on him just last year.

Paul Goldschmidt, 1B
Age 37 in 2025 (Born Sept. 10, 1987)

Goldschmidt won the NL MVP Award two years ago, for crying out loud, so it seems difficult to imagine him as somehow washed up. But Goldschmidt’s production plummeted in 2024, when he put up career-low numbers in nearly every category. He came around a little bit as the season went on -- his second-half OPS was .799 -- and his batted-ball data showed that he was hitting into a little bit of bad luck. The Cardinals are moving on, but you can bet someone will make a play to try to wring one more year (or more) out of this possible future Hall of Famer.

J.D. Martinez, DH
Age 37 in 2025 (Born Aug. 21, 1987)

Martinez is coming off his worst season since way back when he was with Houston, before he became a late-blooming star with Detroit in 2014. After hitting 33 home runs for the Dodgers in 2023, Martinez saw that total drop to just 16 with the Mets, and his slugging fell from .572 to .406. But his numbers shouldn’t cause that much panic. Martinez still ranked in the 87th percentile in expected slugging, with one of the largest gaps in the Majors between his expected and actual production. Basically, he’s still J.D. Martinez: Someone will pay him to swing the bat real hard in 2025.

Lance Lynn, SP
Age 38 in 2025 (Born May 12, 1987)

Do you realize that Lynn finished in the top six in AL Cy Young Award voting three consecutive years, from 2019-21? That just happened! He was already in his 30s when that run began. But as he has aged in the past few years, his best skill (his ability to produce consistent innings), has begun to erode. He’s still not half-bad, though. His 3.84 ERA and 109 ERA+ over 117 innings for the Cardinals at the age of 37 was quite respectable. Lynn has also reportedly lost some weight, which was clearly an issue in 2024, and he is motivated to keep his career going. Lynn is always a little bit better than you think he’ll be, so look for that to continue in 2025.

Andrew McCutchen, OF
Age 38 in 2025 (Born Oct. 10, 1986)

Only three Pirates regulars had an OPS+ over 100 (the league average) in 2024: Bryan Reynolds, Oneil Cruz and, yep, McCutchen, who has given us -- and the Pirates -- a warm reunion tour two years running. Why not make it three? It has been a decade since he received any MVP votes, and he is mainly a DH now, but McCutchen can still hit, and he can still be the leader of your team … just like he has been for 16 seasons. The Pirates have to bring him back, don’t they? (We will likely still be saying this in 2030.)

Chris Martin, RP
Age 39 in 2025 (Born June 2, 1986)

Getting confused with the Coldplay lead singer since 2014! Martin spent two years in Japan back in 2016-17 and he came back an entirely different pitcher, a relief specialist who ended up being a rather important cog on the Braves’ 2021 World Series-winning team. He was truly dominant for the Red Sox in 2023 -- he posted a 1.05 ERA in 51 1/3 innings -- and that’s recent enough success that someone will surely bring him in at some point. (Coldplay hadn’t even put out "Everyday Life" yet when their Chris Martin was 39, for what it’s worth.)

Carlos Santana, 1B/DH
Age 39 in 2025 (Born April 8, 1986)

It feels like when Santana is 95 years old, he’s still going to be able to draw a walk if you need him to. He’s not a guy you can build around anymore, but at the very least you can sign him as a stopgap and trade him to a team that needs him at the Deadline (like the Pirates did just two years ago). Or you can keep him in the lineup all year (like the Twins did last year). He’s not expensive, and you can count on him.

David Robertson, RP
Age 40 in 2025 (Born April 9, 1985)

Robertson has been around so long that he was Mariano Rivera’s setup man before he replaced Rivera as the Yankees’ closer. Robertson has been remarkably consistent as a reliever. After pitching in just 19 games from 2019-21 due to injury, he recovered at age 37 to be better than he had been in the first place. You don’t have to use him as a traditional closer, but you know he can handle it, if you put him there. He pitched in 68 games in 2024 … his most since 2018.

Justin Turner, 1B/DH
Age 40 in 2025 (Born Nov. 23, 1984)

Justin Turner is 40? Well, don’t forget, he was 29 by the time he finally broke out with the Dodgers in 2014. He went on to become a hero of that franchise -- but after nine seasons in Los Angeles, the final phase of Turner’s career has turned him into a bat for hire. He’s helped the Red Sox, Blue Jays and Mariners over the past two seasons and he will probably help someone again next year, even if his days at third base are mostly behind him.

Charlie Morton, SP
Age 41 in 2025 (Born Nov. 12, 1983)

The last season (excluding the shortened 2020 campaign) that Morton didn't start 30 games was 2017; he hit that number on the dot the past two years for the Braves. His numbers took a step backward in 2024, which is why Atlanta likely isn't bringing him back, but you have known what you are getting from Morton for more than a decade now, and that will surely be true in 2025 as well. Even 160-plus league-average innings has quite a bit of value these days.

Jesse Chavez, RP
Age 41 in 2025 (Born Aug. 21, 1983)

Chavez broke into the bigs in 2008 on a team that had Doug Mientkiewicz, Matt Morris and José Bautista (as a Pirate!). He has played for eight additional teams since then, including multiple stints with a few of them. Chavez has spent the past two-plus seasons with Atlanta, where he has been a perfectly serviceable reliever who -- more than anything else -- you can count on being able to take the mound when you need him. (Outside of the truncated 2020 season, he has pitched in at least 30 games every year since 2013.) He’s not flashy, he never has been, but he keeps going out there. There is undeniable valor in that.