MLB: The 5 biggest “revenge series” of the 2022 season
While we now know the destinations for the vast majority of Major League Baseball’s star free agents, we also can look at the schedule and see when these players will first get a chance to take on their former clubs.
Here are the five MLB series we are most looking forward to seeing in terms of “revenge” in 2022
Nick Castellanos — Philadelphia Phillies at Cincinnati Reds (August 15-17)
When Castellanos opted out of his remaining two years with the Reds early in the offseason, it was clear that change was coming to Cincinnati. Now that he has signed a a five-year, $100 million deal with the Phillies, Castellanos can see if he can build off his best MLB season, posting a career-best 3.2 bWAR in 2021.
Castellanos won’t get a chance to play against his former teammates until August, then will see them plenty in a 10-day span that includes a pair of three-game series between the two squads. It will be a different Reds team he will face as Cincinnati has traded away multiple players with an eye for a lower payroll.
What kind of reaction with Castellanos gets when he arrives with the Phillies in the Queen City? By August, it could well be a matchup of two teams going in opposite directions, one of the reasons why Castellanos is no longer in Cincinnati.
Gary Sanchez — New York Yankees at Minnesota Twins (June 7-9)
Gary Sanchez had moments of brilliance with the New York Yankees … and a seemingly equal number of frustrating moments as well. There was plenty of talk even before the Yankees pulled the trade with the Twins to send Sanchez to the Land of 10,000 Lakes that he might be traded or even designated for assignment.
The Yankees no longer have to worry about what they’re going to do with the 29-year-old catcher. After a season where he hit 23 home runs but slashed just .204/.307/.423 (which was an improvement from the 2020 pandemic-shortened campaign), he will look to bounce back with a new organization … and show the Yankees they should have stuck with him.
Carlos Correa — Houston Astros at Minnesota Twins (May 10-12)
In a surprising twist, the top free agent of the offseason (Correa) ended up bolting Houston for Minnesota and getting a three-year, $105.3 million deal in the process. It was certainly less than the 10-year, $320 million deal that was predicted and also less than the five-year, $160 million deal the Astros reportedly offered as well as a 10-year, $275 million deal that was reportedly offered by the Detroit Tigers before the lockout.
Do the math and the average annual value (AAV) on Houston’s rumored contract was $32 million. That’s not much less than the $35.1 million per year Correa will average with the Twins.
There are plenty of questions about why Correa didn’t return to Houston, which could lead up to some interesting talk before Correa sees his former Astros teammates in the Twin Cities in mid-May.
What will Correa’s reception be like in Houston when he returns to Minute Maid Park from August 23-25? That should be very interesting as well.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa — Texas Rangers at New York Yankees (May 6-8)
The former Rangers infielder admits that it “definitely hurt” when Texas inked Corey Seager to a mega-contract in one of the biggest splashes of the season. Now the man known as “IKF” has been traded from the Rangers to the Minnesota Twins and from the Twins to the New York Yankees.
“The fact that they couldn’t make a spot for me was really tough,” Kiner-Falefa told reporters as documented by ESPN.
Now Kiner-Falefa, now with the Yankees and without his facial hair, will get a chance to remind Texas that they decided to move on from him.
Freddie Freeman ‚— Atlanta Braves at Los Angeles Dodgers (April 18-20)
What more needs to be said about Freeman finally getting to play against his former teammates after an offseason where the status of his relationship with the Braves was the subject of so many stories and rumors?
Atlanta chose to trade for Matt Olson and officially put an end to the Freeman era in Atlanta. Now, with the Dodgers considered one of the front-runners to upend the Braves on the road to the World Series, will Freeman have the last laugh with his new team?
Next. Where does Freeman fit into the Dodgers lineup?. dark
The cameras are always bright at Chavez Ravine, but expect there to be plenty of extra emotion inside the stadium when the Braves make their only regular-season visit to Los Angeles in mid-April.