San Francisco Giants’ Longest-Tenured Player Treating 2025 As Potential Last Season

The San Francisco Giants may be losing their longest tenured player after 2025, with him treating the upcoming season as potentially the last of his career.

San Francisco Giants outfielder Mike Yastrzemski waves after hitting a lead-off home run against the Baltimore Orioles. | Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

The San Francisco Giants have had a pretty solid offseason, bringing in players like Willy Adames, Justin Verlander, Sam Huff, and Lou Trivino. The roster turnover with the team has been pretty consistent year after year, but one player has remained for six seasons now and is currently the longest-tenured member of the team, Mike Yastrzemski.

At 34 years old, Yastrzemski has only seen six seasons of MLB service time due to being drafted three separate times, and making his debut six years after the final one. He has been a strong presence in the field for the Giants, and his bat is strong enough to keep him at the MLB level and produce effectively each season.

However, 2025 may end up being his retirement tour of sorts, as he was recently quoted discussing this topic. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (subscription required) transcribed his comments regarding the upcoming season, where he would state:

"Part of what I’m excited about is the freedom of that, not really having to stress about anything, because I don’t want to be thinking of ‘what-ifs.' I’m going to play this year as if it is my last year here and really enjoy it, have fun, go win ballgames, because this is where I’ve had every single big league memory I’ve ever had...This team means a lot to me, the city means a lot to me, the fans mean a lot to me. I’m going to go out and give it my best effort like it’s my last chance to play for them."

This is a tough one, as Yastrzemski has become an integral part of the team culture, and is highly valued by the franchise as a leader. Having him around to help the prospects coming up through the system has been a net positive for San Francisco no doubt, and now his run at the MLB level may be coming to an end in the near future.

While it is clear he was staying away from declaring this his year of retirement and did not clearly state anything regarding his future, the indication is there that it may be coming, whether that be the 2025-2026 offseason or later.

Hopefully, 2025 is an exceptional season for him where he can really find his footing at the plate and help the Giants to a potential postseason berth. Giving him a proper send-off would be a great way to see the end of his career through, or give him something to consider going into the offseason.