2024 Baseball Eligibles (17)
A Milwaukee Brewer for the first three years of his career, Alcides Escobar was traded to the Kansas City Royals in 2011, where he spent the next eight years as their starting Shortstop.
Brad Ziegler was a relief pitcher throughout his entire career, and the submarine-style hurler would accumulate 105 Saves.
Brandon Morrow's best seasons were with the Toronto Blue Jays, where as a starter, he had three straight ten win years (2010-12), and in 2011 he had 203 Strikeouts and led the American League in SO/9 (10.2).
Brandon Phillips played most of his pro career in the state of Ohio, four years in Cleveland, and eleven years in Cincinnati. It was with the Reds, where the Second Baseman would have the best run of his career.
Chase Headley was a switch-hitting Third Baseman, whose career was spent mostly with the San Diego Padres.
Playing all ten of his seasons in baseball with the Baltimore Orioles, Chris Tillman had five years where he was a solid rotation pitcher with the team (2012-16).
Known mostly for his speed, Denard Span used that skill to carve out an 11-year career in the Majors.
Playing for six teams (Seattle, Detroit, Washington, Houston, Boston & Texas) over ten seasons, Doug Fister spent his career as a middle of the rotation Starting Pitcher.
An innings eater throughout his career, James Shields used his fastball and changeup to be a solid starting pitcher over a long Major League career.
Jim Johnson played the first half of his career with the Baltimore Orioles, and in 2012 and 2013, he would lead the American League in Saves. An All-Star in 2012, Johnson finished seventh in Cy Young voting and was also the Rolaids Relief Award winner. Johnson finished first in Win Probability Added that season.
John Axford had his best years early in his career with the Milwaukee Brewers. In 2011, he won the Rolaids Relief Man of the Year while leading the National League with 46 Saves. Axford finished ninth in Cy Young voting that season. He had three other years where he had at least 24 Saves, two of them as a Brewer.
With probably a better Hall of Fame resume than you may realize, Matt Holliday went to seven All-Star Games, was a four-time Silver Slugger, and has over 2,000 Hits and 300 Home Runs.
As Phil Hughes worked his way up the New York Yankees system, the hype machine that surrounded him seemed to grow annually. He did not live up to it, and his career was riddled with inconsistencies, though that did not mean that Hughes did not exhibit flashes of brilliance.
The career of Ryan Madson began with the Philadelphia Phillies, where he struggled to find his role. He would later find his baseball purpose in late relief, and he would help them win the 2008 World Series. In 2011, he was Philadelphia's closer with 32 Saves, but that would be his final year with the team.
Santiago Casilla played his entire career in the Bay Area, and in the 655 Games he appeared in, he never started one of them.
Victor Martinez played a good chunk of his career as a Designated Hitter, which, as you may deduce, means that he was not a good defensive player. Saying that this does he mean he was pretty solid with his bat.
Yovani Gallardo played the first eight years of his career with the Milwaukee Brewers, where the last six of which saw him a decent starter in the National League. Gallardo was an All-Star and Silver Slugger in 2010, and in 2011, he had a record of 17-10 and was seventh in Cy Young Voting. From 2009 to 2012, he would fan at least 200 batters.