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Nationals’ Miles Mikolas celebrates 10 years of MLB service with unique request
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- Nationals’ Miles Mikolas celebrates 10 years of MLB service with unique request
Nationals' Miles Mikolas celebrates 10 years of MLB service with unique request appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
On Thursday, Washington Nationals veteran starting pitcher Miles Mikolas reached a milestone, as he has now 10 years of service time in the big leagues. This is not the easiest feat to accomplish, as this speaks volumes to Mikolas' durability and reliability that he remains a contributor in the big leagues even now that he's 37 years of age.
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Mikolas' big-league journey is unorthodox, as he spent a good chunk of his 20s pitching overseas. But returning to the big leagues was always the Nationals pitcher's goal, which led to him eventually accruing over 10 years of service time in MLB.
To celebrate the occasion, Mikolas asked for a belt buckle to commemorate the accomplishment, as pointed out by Alexa Datt of Nationals TV.
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But in the end, the most important part of reaching 10 years of service time in MLB is receiving the financial benefits following retirement. This feat qualifies an MLB player for the maximum amount in the well-funded pension program. If one waits until the age of 62 before withdrawing money, their annual payout can reach up to $220,000, according to an article on Just Gloves from 2024.
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Suffice to say, Mikolas is now set for life, and with a commemorative belt bucket to boot. He may not have been pitching well for the Nationals in 2026, and Mikolas is surely going to be his own worst critic, but the outcome of his big-league career is nothing to be ashamed of.
Mikolas chose to pitch in Japan from 2015 to 2017, remaking himself into a quality starting pitcher. The Texas Rangers released him at the end of the 2014 season after putting up an ERA of 6.44 in 10 starts during that season, but he was a different man when he returned to the bigs in 2018, recording an ERA of 2.83 across 32 starts (200.2 innings). He made it to the All-Star Game in 2018 and even finished sixth in the NL Cy Young race.
Since then, Mikolas has been a reliable innings eater, although his performance in 2026 could lead to some uncertainty as to whether or not he'd still be in MLB in 2027.
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