This is our final era to assess to date, and the pickings might be slim considering many great players are still mid-career peaking right now. So far, we have a whopping 51 players forwarded to our great MLB GOAT debate, and it’s time now for the Sign Stealing Era of the 2010s and early 2020s. We’re not going to waste column inches on cheaters here, so if a name is “missing” from these analyses below, you can do a search on the site for the name and find an explanation previously given for omission from consideration. Cheerio!

Catcher: We have three guys here to consider for the era (Russell Martin, Salvador Perez, and J.T. Realmuto). Martin (38.8 WAR) is done playing, while Perez (32.9)—and more so, Realmuto (32.0)—have some years left in their careers. That could make Realmuto the favorite long term, but we have to do this for the here and now … and Martin is in the clubhouse with the lead. But, of course, he’s not advancing.

First Base: Somewhat of the same situation here with Joey Votto (64.5) and Paul Goldschmidt (60.8). The former is hitting under .200 this year at age 39, while the latter is still pretty good at age 35. But Votto’s career is all but retired to stud, so we give him the edge here, without advancement, though.

Second Base: There is one player to consider, and that’s Ian Kinsler (54.1). He will do for the era only.

Shortstop: Another similar situation to catcher and first base here with Jimmy Rollins (47.6) and Francisco Lindor (40.8). Rollins last played in 2016, but Lindor is just in his age-29 season right now. In this case, since the age gap is so broad, we’re going to assume Lindor does not suffer a career-ending injury any time soon. He will blow past Rollins in this era before too long now. But there’s no advancement (yet).

Third Base: Here we go again, with Evan Longoria (59.0) and Manny Machado (54.5). The former is with the Arizona Diamondbacks this year at age 37 and hanging in there, somehow. The latter is in his age-30 season with the San Diego Padres and coming off one of the best seasons of his career. We will choose Machado here, in expectation of greatness. But like most in this era, no advancement can be done here.

Left Field: There is one player to consider, and that’s Brett Gardner (44.3). He will do for the era only.

Centerfield: There is one player to consider, and that’s Mike Trout (5th positionally all time, 85.3). We should advance Trout, although his injuries in the last few years have slowed him down now at this point in his age-31 season. But the dude has put up 9.3 WAR per 162 games over the course of his career, which is pretty insane. We hope he can stay healthy for another 9 seasons and really put up a stellar WAR figure.

Right Field: Once again, it’s a small field. Giancarlo Stanton (45.1) and Bryce Harper (43.8) are the leaders here. Stanton is 33 and hasn’t been healthy for a full season now since 2018. Meanwhile, Harper is just 30, but he is also experiencing injuries without a full season since 2019. We’re going to give Harper the edge here, due to age, but either of these guys could retire tomorrow—and it wouldn’t surprise us. No advancement for Harper, either, although he could earn his way if he plays until he’s 40 at a high level.

Pitchers: We have a clean trio to consider here in Clayton Kershaw (28th, 79.3), Zack Greinke (29th, 76.7), and Max Scherzer (32nd, 73.8). As good as Kershaw has been in his career (207 wins, 2.48 ERA), he’s still a ways down the all-time list. That’s crazy to us. While Kershaw is still effective at age 35 with a 10-4 record and a 2.55 ERA, Greinke is 39 and posting a 1-11 record with a 5.32 ERA. Yikes! Finally, Scherzer is also 10-4 this year, albeit with a 4.04 ERA. But his K rate is still strong. We can name all three guys to the era’s best roster, but we think only Kershaw with that sterling career ERA should get advanced. Yet … we will move Scherzer forward, too, because his 3.15 ERA isn’t that bad, either. Both guys have been dominant. Now, there is one reliever to consider, and that’s Craig Kimbrel (23.1). He will do for the era only.

Utility Player(s): This is where we put Shohei Ohtani (33.2). In five-plus seasons, his hitting WAR mark (18.8) is pretty good. Oh, and then there is his pitching WAR (14.4). He is only 28, and he could play another 12 seasons. Let’s just say he doesn’t get hurt … he will end up very high on some special lists. We advance.

In quick review in the moment, our Sign Stealing GOAT lineup is as follows: C Martin, 1B Votto, 2B Kinsler, SS Lindor, 3B Machado, LF Gardner, CF Trout, RF Harper, SP Kershaw, SP Scherzer, RP Kimbrel, and UTL Ohtani. Of course, four of these players get advanced to the GOAT finals, and … that complicated analysis is coming soon! We will have to pare down a 55-man list to a smaller number, and then go to it.

Yikes. Help us … why did we decide to do this? It’s much harder than football.