Where Are They Now? Baseball Players Who Retired in 2016

Looking back at some of the great baseball players who retired in 2016. From David Ortiz to Alex Rodriguez, these athletes made an impact on the game and will be sorely missed.

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Chris Carter

Chris Carter was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the fifth round of the 2013 MLB draft. He made his MLB debut with the Cubs in 2016. Carter was traded to the Los Angeles Angels in 2017. He was released by the Angels in 2018 and is currently a free agent.

Houston Astros

Chris Carter was originally drafted by the Oakland Athletics in 2005 but was traded to the Astros in 2010. He made his MLB debut with Houston in 2010 as a September call-up. In Carter’s six seasons with the Astros, he established himself as one of the top power hitters in baseball. He hit 20 or more home runs in five of his six seasons, including a career-high 41 in 2014. Carter was also a two-time All-Star (2013 and 2014) and won a Silver Slugger Award in 2014. He was traded to the New York Yankees prior to the 2016 season.

New York Yankees

Chris Carter was signed by the New York Yankees on December 18, 2016, to a one-year, $3.5 million contract. He was released on August 11, 2017.

Mark Teixeira

Mark Teixeira was one of the best players in baseball for many years. He played for the Yankees, Braves, and Cardinals during his career. He was a five-time All-Star and won a World Series with the Yankees in 2009. He retired after the 2016 season with a .281 batting average, 409 home runs, and 1,451 RBIs.

New York Yankees

Mark Teixeira played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball, including 12 with the New York Yankees. He was a three-time All-Star and won five Silver Slugger Awards. He also won a Gold Glove Award in 2005. Teixeira was a key member of the Yankees teams that won the World Series in 2009 and 2010.

Teixeira announced his retirement from baseball on August 5, 2016, after being released by the Yankees. In 1,914 career games, he batted .268 with 1,CC at-bats, 2,465 hits, 483 home runs, and 1,352 RBIs.

Alex Rodriguez

Alex Rodriguez, nicknamed “A-Rod”, is a former professional baseball shortstop and third baseman who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), as well as a businessman and philanthropist. He played for the Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, and New York Yankees. He was first drafted by the Mariners in the first round of the 1993 MLB draft at age 18. One of the sport’s most prolific and controversial players, Rodriguez amassed a .295 batting average, over 600 home runs (696), over 2,000 runs batted in (RBIs), and over 3,000 hits. He was a 14-time All-Star and won three American League (AL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) Awards, ten Silver Slugger Awards, and two Gold Glove Awards.

New York Yankees

Alex Rodriguez is one of the most accomplished baseball players of all time. He was a 14-time All-Star, three-time American League MVP, and ten-time Silver Slugger Award winner. He is also Major League Baseball’s all-time leader in home runs by a right-handed batter. But despite all of his on-field successes, Rodriguez will perhaps be best remembered for his involvement in the Biogenesis scandal which resulted in him being suspended for the entire 2014 season.

After the scandal, Rodriguez made a comeback and played well for the Yankees in 2015 and 2016. But after struggling in the first half of the 2017 season, the Yankees released Rodriguez. He played his final game on August 12, 2017. In total, Rodriguez amassed 3,115 hits, 696 home runs, 2,086 RBIs, and a .295 batting average over his 22-year career.

Matt Wieters

The Baltimore Orioles announced on June 5, that Matt Wieters was released from his contract. Wieters had been with the organization since 2007. He was drafted in the first round of the 2007 MLB draft by the Orioles. Wieters made his debut with the Orioles in 2009 and was selected to the All-Star team in his rookie season. Wieters was a two-time All-Star during his career with the Orioles.

Baltimore Orioles

Matt Wieters signed a one-year contract with the Washington Nationals in February of 2017. Prior to that, he had spent his entire career with the Baltimore Orioles, who drafted him in the first round of the 2007 MLB draft out of Georgia Tech. He made his major league debut in 2009 and was an All-Star for the first time in 2011. In 2014, he won a Gold Glove Award and Silver Slugger Award. He was limited to just 101 games in 2015 due to a forearm injury that eventually required season-ending surgery. He became a free agent after the 2016 season and signed with the Nationals.

Michael Saunders

After two injury-plagued seasons, Michael Saunders’ time with the Toronto Blue Jays came to an end. The outfielder was non-tendered by the team in November, making him a free agent. Saunders had a career-high .298 batting average with 24 home runs and 57 RBIs in 122 games in 2016, but he appeared in just 78 games the following year due to injuries. So where is Saunders now?

Philadelphia Phillies

Michael Saunders retired from baseball on May 16, 2016, after signing a minor league deal with the Chicago White Sox. The Canadian-born Saunders was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in 2004 out of high school and made his MLB debut with the team in 2009. He played parts of six seasons with Seattle before being traded to the Toronto Blue Jays in 2014. In two seasons with Toronto, he was an All-Star in 2016. After being released by the White Sox, Saunders played in Japan for one season before retiring.

Dexter Fowler

Dexter Fowler played 12 seasons in the MLB before retiring in 2016. Fowler was a switch-hitting center fielder who spent the majority of his career with the Chicago Cubs. He also played for the Houston Astros, St. Louis Cardinals, and San Diego Padres.

Chicago Cubs

Dexter Fowler was a key player for the Chicago Cubs during their 2016 World Series run. After signing with the Cubs prior to the 2015 season, Fowler helped lead the team to a 97-win season and their first playoff berth since 2008. In the 2016 World Series, Fowler hit .333 with two home runs and five RBI, helping the Cubs win their first championship in over 100 years.

Fowler became a free agent after the 2016 season, but opted to sign with the St. Louis Cardinals for 2017. He struggled in his one season with the Cardinals, hitting just .264 with eight home runs and 31 RBI. After a disappointing 2017 campaign, Fowler decided to retire from baseball at the age of 32.