The five MLB teams with the most grim futures
As another regular season ends, one might take solace in the boundless potential of the future. However, not all teams have the resources for the bright future that fans are envisioning.
An MLB team’s future is, of course, determined by an assortment of factors. Part of the proverbial equation is the current roster, the contract status of the main contributors, and most importantly those in control.
A team like the Mets could have very easily been an entry on this list. They have surrendered a copious amount of prospects with seemingly no benefit in return. Their first-year general manager has paid multiple players to multi-year deals that have ultimately been unmitigated disasters.
Despite this cloud of negativity that has seemed to engulf the team, they have prevailed and made a legitimate push for the postseason. The ultimately splendid seasons of Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil, as well as the perennially great Jacob deGrom, provide enough of a long-term future to avoid placement here.
Most teams with farm systems that verge on barren are likely in playoff contention. They have reached this state because good players are expensive and a team has to make the best use of them when they are cheap. One of the most efficient forms of currency is MLB futures- prospects.
These five MLB teams are either on the verge of collapse or in the opening stages of a lengthy rebuild. The Detroit Tigers and Baltimore Orioles play a putrid brand of baseball, however, they are beginning to accumulate prospects. The other examples on this list not so much.
Five MLB Teams With The Grimmest Future
Boston Red Sox
The reigning World Series champions are in a precarious spot in many regards. Their contracts have become an issue, in recent years they have depleted their farm system, and their leadership is in flux.
The last drops have been rung from a long-arid farm system. They have almost been unanimously ranked at the last rung of every farm system power ranking list. They lack a top 100 prospect talent.
Such a situation tends to ensue from many years of competing, going all in. Boston signed players like J.D. Martinez and David Price at salaries that pushed the payroll to its limits. They traded hoards of prospects for Chris Sale, leaving nothing else for them to reinforce their expensive and aging roster.
They assuredly have a team that can compete next season and possibly after that as well. However, Martinez appears ready to opt-out and Mookie Betts has one arbitration year left. How could they possibly let both of these massive assets go without recouping any value?
One might reply that they have to be extended, yet that would take a fair amount of cash, which they do not have. Price is locked in at over $30 million for the next three seasons, Nathan Eovaldi– who has been massively disappointing after the extension- is owed $17 million per season over that span, and Sale has just under $30 million per season owed to him in the next five years.
This is not to mention the upcoming pay increases looming for Andrew Benintendi and Rafael Devers as the arbitration system takes hold. Even Xander Bogaerts will earn $20 million per year for the next six seasons. Although nearly all of these players are quality, they no longer can all be members of the same team.
Management cannot justify such an outlandish payroll if they are not serious playoff contenders. Therefore, the trading will likely begin and significant names will move. However, they do not have the farm system to replaces these valuable players. They need to make good trades and find bargains to remain relevant.
A savvy GM with the right plan may be able to pull such a feat off. Yet, with the organizational leadership in flux once again it seems very unlikely that this will occur. The issue is not that they will be awful, but rather they will be mired in mediocrity for a number of years.
Five MLB Teams With The Grimmest Future
Chicago Cubs
Nico Hoerner– the last remaining top 100 Cubs prospect- was just called up to a roster that admittedly has a number of stars. However, when one observes past the surface they will realize that all which remains is the hollow remnants of a World Series champion.
Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Javy Baez, and Kyle Hendricks are all unquestionably great. Yet, most of the Cubs salary is dedicated to Yu Darvish, Jon Lester, and Jason Heyward, none of whom are force multipliers with the team.
Deals that appeared foolish at the time- and even more so now- are lingering above the heads of Jed Hoyer and Theo Epstein. Darvish’s contract was predictably bad, yet it went south far sooner than anyone could have figured. Lester’s deal will be worth it in the end- a World Series is all the justification required- even though it stagnates the team’s future.
The trades have further put the Cubs behind their competition.
The acquisition of Aroldis Chapman paid great dividends at first glance, they won a World Series. Despite this clear fact, it should be mentioned that Chapman- when pushed to the brink- almost cost the Cubs that series. The return in that deal is none other than Gleyber Torres. A very valid counterpoint to this line of reasoning is that the Cubs may not have reached the Fall Classic without him.
Jose Quintana‘s acquisition also saw massive talent leave and go slightly south. Eloy Jimenez and Dylan Cease are now at the forefront of the next wave of Chicago White Sox prospects. This trade particularly hurts because it did not propel them to playoff glory, they have not come particularly close since the first title.
This description may seem overly reliant on the past, yet this specific past will determine the Cubs future. Their attempts in the last two seasons have had an overall soulless feel to them. There has been no support to the pillars of their team.
The club will encounter the expiration of Bryant, Rizzo, and Baez’s respective deals with large sums of money to rather ineffective players still on the books. This will likely force them to choose between the overwhelmingly large sources of production. The resultant situation prevents them from providing reinforcements because there is no cash to spend and the farm system is barren.
Five MLB Teams With The Grimmest Future
Colorado Rockies
The Rockies went for it, they deserve credit for that. Perhaps this is a rush to judgment, but Colorado is a team with a few excellent players and not much of anything else. The pitching- which they supposedly were built around- was non-existent.
German Marquez had a difficult season, swinging on a pendulum from dominant to readily hittable. Jon Gray had another solid season, further building his case as a middle of the rotation arm. However, not a single other member of this highly thought of rotation was even close to average.
The biggest disappointment has to be Kyle Freeland, who went from a top of the rotation arm to the minor leagues. This is not a permanent state, yet with the money allocated to Nolan Arenado and Charlie Blackmon where precisely are the reinforcements coming from?
Such a situation allows one to project this Rockies club to simply fade into obscurity over the next few seasons. As they compile a few excellent individual seasons, the peripheral offensive production and pitching- both rotation and bullpen- cannot be strengthened.
In order to make a substantive impact, they must sign numerous players. First of all, they do not have the assets to make any substantial trades, unless they will trade from the current roster. Their farm system is slowly becoming depleted, especially considering the promotion of Brendan Rodgers.
The Rockies are not necessarily in as a precarious position as the two prior clubs, however, if they are unable to make changes and become mired here, it will certainly last longer. Luck also can play a factor, as Freeland will likely be better in 2020 and the Rockies would then have a solid top three in their rotation.
The pressing issue then would be to find a way to pad the back end of the rotation and bolster the bullpen. A couple of recent free-agent acquisitions have weighed down the bullpen. Bryan Shaw and Wade Davis were nothing short of dreadful in 2019- with not much more success in 2018. Considering the capital already invested, Rockies management has to decide whether they will invest more or let the team wither away.
The striking issue is that this club has a glaring number of holes, yet there is no simple solution to alleviating the situation. Their listless turn in the 2018 postseason and subsequent struggles in 2019 echoes the idea that maybe that team only got hot at the perfect time and was not one ready to take the proverbial next step.
Five MLB Teams With The Grimmest Future
Los Angeles Angels
The Angels have seemingly been in the same position for the entirety of Mike Trout‘s career. For a fleeting moment, they were a number one seed in the postseason. However, they were easily pushed aside by the Kansas City Royals in a three-game sweep.
Mike Trout is a generation-defining talent, who simply has had the misfortune of being buried on a team riddled with mismanagement. During his tenure, big-name players have come and gone. Josh Hamilton, Albert Pujols, Dan Haren, C.J. Wilson, and Zach Grienke have come and gone but to no avail.
There has been only one line of consistency in this decade of Angels baseball, mediocrity. The attempts to build a roster around Trout and his other high-priced teammates of each respective year- by both Jerry Dipoto and Billy Eppler- can be criticized for their lack of sustainability.
Perhaps a lineup with Trout, Pujols, Anderlaton Simmons, Shohei Ohtani, and Justin Upton can have sustainable success. However, a pitching rotation with no steady presence and little depth does not provide enough of a compliment. The issue is that at any point in time the Angels have not been able to create a complete roster that plays a complementary style.
One attributable factor to this unfortunate set of circumstances is the constant status of the Angels’ farm system as towards the bottom of the league. A few players not reaching their potential and some unwise trades have hollowed it out over the years. To follow this up, the Angels have never had a realistic chance to rebuild it due to the presence of Trout.
Unfortunately, they have not found the correct pieces to place around him and they have done enough not to be in the bottom 10 of the league, where they can replenish their prospect pool. This current state of affairs is unlikely to change. Jo Adell will have an impact, as a top 10 prospect overall. Yet, there is not much more behind him and that is a troubling sign.
Five MLB Teams With The Grimmest Future
Pittsburgh Pirates
The categorically awful Pittsburgh Pirates are unmistakable owners of the worst second half in 2019. They originally had some hope- actually buying at the 2018 trade deadline- and plummeted in every conceivable way since.
The Pirates are far from the most barren farm system and the most depleted roster. They have three very promising prospects and a couple of young roster players that have displayed potential- Josh Bell and Bryan Reynolds mainly.
Despite this considerable ray of light that has broken through the bleak smog of the 2019 Pirates season, there is a line of thinking that this supposed bright spot is nothing but a manifestation born out of wishful thinking. Neal Huntington has gone from the champion of MLB’s have nots to a perpetrator of utter quizzical moves that defy any grain of logic.
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His main flaws have been the veritable misunderstanding of his roster and reprehensible- in baseball terms- undervaluing of his prized assets. His mistakes have continued to fester under a manager that has seemingly let the lockerroom erode into a toxic environment and further committing to him after the disaster of 2019.
For starters, Chris Archer– who has been abysmal since venturing to the Steel City- was merely requisitioned for a slugging outfielder with an outrageous amount of control and a young, dynamic starter with ace potential.
Tyler Glasnow has been limited to 56 innings in 2019 due to injury, however, during that span, he has done nothing but glimmered with unadulterated potential. Austin Meadows has had the benefits of a full season and with it has earned an All-Star appearance, 32 home runs, and an OPS above .900.
Gerrit Cole has evolved into the most dominant pitcher in the league- in terms of strikeouts- and is primed for a $30 million payday. Yet, the Pirates acquired a middle of the rotation starter, a utility infielder, and a middle reliever for two-years of Cole. Not receiving an above-average player in return for such lengthy control of a prized asset is borderline criminal.
I must disclaimer these observations, as well. This analysis is not a form of revisionist history, rather it is an acknowledgment that the transactions were egregious at the time and even more so now.
A sensitive issue that arose at the end of this season cannot be ignored in this analysis. First of all, since the allegations against Felipe Vazquez are about as cut and dry as can be, the Pirates must be proactive and release him. A ghastly accusation is one thing, yet the nearly unimpeachable evidence that allows him to be held without bail should be reason enough to warrant action.
Perhaps the league office is conducting an investigation. Whatever the case may be, he cannot be employed by the MLB at the start of next season, unless of course, the case takes a major turn. The fact that this situation has lingered- and the Pirates are in no way complicit- and a shakeup in the form of a managerial firing has not been undertaken, is frankly irresponsible.
Fair or not the Pirates must distance themselves from the insidious actions of a player and the toxic mark it leaves on the team. The logical way to do so is Clint Hurdle‘s departure.
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In essence, the Pirates appear to be mired in the middle of mediocrity. In terms of a roster, payroll, and their unwillingness to act. They are in need of a full rebuild- both organization and roster- and seem to deny this blatant fact. Therefore, despite a roster with more potential in terms of the currency of young assets, the Pirates outlook is doomed because they have been plagued by incompetence.