MLB Rumors: 3 NL Teams Who Will Be Worse in 2022
Every single MLB season there's a number of teams that come out of the wood work and surprise, winning way more games than anyone predicted. This however, works in the opposite direction as some teams will also be taking a dreaded step back. After we glanced over a few teams that will be improving in 2022, let's take a look at three teams who will be worse next season.
San Francisco Giants
The sudden retirement of Buster Posey threw a huge wrench into the Giants plans in 2022. Add that to the fact starter Kevin Gausman went north to Toronto and signed a massive deal with the Blue Jays, the Giants are in trouble. It doesn't help the case here because the Giants had their best season in franchise history in 2021, so they would have been hard pressed to match their wins total with a full compliment returning. With some of their most talented players gone, 2022 is shaping up to be a disappointing year in the Bay. The likes of Brandon Crawford and Brandon Belt are getting up their in age and their production will likely digress. Add the fact Kris Bryant is expected to sign elsewhere and Giants fans may need to refer to their program to familiarize themselves with next season's opening day roster.
Colorado Rockies
The Rockies were one of the teams that surprised last season because after the Nolan Arenado trade, all the experts picked them to fall to the bottom of the national league. That wasn't the case at all. However, with the pending departure of star shortstop Trevor Story, the Rockies are going to be hard pressed to score runs, even playing half their games at Coors field. Their division is tough and the San Diego Padres are expected to take a giant leap forward next season, which makes things even tougher for in Colorado. Expect to see another fourth place finish from the purple and grey out of the NL West and that's if Arizona doesn't find a way to leap frog them in 2022.
Cincinnati Reds
The Reds are the one team this offseason that have come out and flat out said we want to rebuild and cut costs. They have already made a big trade with the Detroit Tigers and more moves are on the way. The likes of Sonny Gray and Luis Castillo will be traded before spring training begins and don't expect to see Nick Castellanos re-sign with the Reds. The team will be taking a step back in 2022 and could fall all the way down to the bottom of the entire major leagues. You can't but feel for Joey Votto who has been so loyal to the Reds and now sits on a team that has no interest in winning ball games. The Toronto Blue Jays will be calling to see what it would take to get the beloved Canadian north and there's potential a deal could go down next season. It may not end up being Toronto, but the expectation is Votto doesn't finish the season in Ohio. When his team is in line to lose 100 games, he won't be missing much.
Photo credit: Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports
Post a Comment