9 players looking for fresh start after tough Year 1 of new deals

A yr in the past right now, we had been questioning the place a number of notable free brokers would find yourself, together with Kris Bryant, Trevor Story, Javier Báez, Nick Castellanos, Chris Taylor and Eduardo Rodriguez. What else do these gamers have in widespread aside from being a part of final offseason’s free-agent class? They all had 2022 seasons they’d wish to overlook about.

Now that the calendar has flipped to 2023, the query is: Will the brand new yr carry good fortunes on the diamond for these guys? Here’s a have a look at 9 gamers hoping to rebound in Year 2 of free-agent offers this season and why there’s motive to consider it may possibly occur.

Kris Bryant, Rockies
The baseball world was shocked when Bryant signed a seven-year, $182 million cope with the Rockies. Hopes had been excessive within the Mile High City that he could be the big-name slugger the staff wanted in the midst of its lineup after the departures of Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story. But it didn’t work out that manner, at the least in 2022.

Bryant suffered a pair of accidents that restricted him to only 42 video games in his first season with Colorado. A again damage landed him on the injured record lower than a month into the season, and after he returned from that, a foot situation that was later identified as plantar fasciitis saved him out of the lineup for a lot of the the rest. In 181 plate appearances, Bryant did hit .306/.376/.475, however he enters 2023 with no homer at Coors Field in a Rockies uniform.

As he turns 31 on Wednesday, Bryant already boasts fairly the resume, with a Rookie of the Year Award, a Most Valuable Player Award, 4 All-Star alternatives and a World Series ring to his title. But he’ll must show he can keep on the sector shifting ahead — final season wasn’t the primary by which he missed important time because of damage.

What Bryant has confirmed is that when he’s within the lineup, he’s productive. His profession slash line is .279/.376/.503 with 172 homers in simply over 4,000 plate appearances. Much of the Rockies’ hopes fall on Bryant’s shoulders — and again and foot — and Colorado will hope he’s on the sector for at the least 150 video games in ’23.

Trevor Story, Red Sox
We go from a brand new Rockie to a former Rockie. Story’s first season in Boston didn’t go the best way he would’ve hoped, although there was a stretch over which he was the most well liked hitter on the planet. The shortstop-turned-second-baseman (turned shortstop once more?) had loads on his plate going into his first season with the Red Sox — a brand new staff, in fact, but additionally a brand new place and a child on the best way.

Story inked a six-year, $140 million cope with Boston and bought off to a sluggish begin on the plate, batting below .200 as late as May 15, when his OPS was .562 with one house run. But then he had an incredible 10-game stretch by which he launched eight homers. His slugging proportion skyrocketed practically 200 factors within the course of, and it appeared that Story was flipping the script.

But Story went homerless with a .552 OPS over his subsequent 20 video games. Still, he was undeterred, hitting .271/.307/.496 the remainder of the best way, although he was sidelined with wrist and heel accidents that restricted him to 13 video games within the second half.

With the modifications and accidents behind him, and assuming he can keep on the sector for many of subsequent season, there’s no motive to consider Story gained’t be the Story he was in Colorado, the place he had a .909 OPS (123 OPS+) with 83 homers and 65 steals from 2018-20, earlier than an elbow damage derailed him in ’21.

Javier Báez, Tigers
Báez’s first style of the American League was bitter – he hit simply .238/.278/.393 with 17 homers in his first season with Detroit after spending the primary eight years of his profession within the National League with the Cubs (and the Mets for a few months in 2021).

Those numbers are a bit deceiving, although. Báez had a really tough begin to his Tigers profession, and by June 15, he was hitting .190 with a .524 OPS. From there on out, nonetheless, he hit .264/.302/.448 with 14 homers in 94 video games.

If the adjustment to a brand new staff and league had been really the explanation he struggled early on, we may see a way more Báez-like efficiency for Detroit in ’23.

Eduardo Rodriguez, Tigers
Another Tiger who needs his first yr in Detroit went higher than it did, Rodriguez is seeking to regain the shape he had with the Red Sox earlier than he missed the whole 2020 marketing campaign because of coronary heart irritation ensuing from a COVID-19 an infection.

In 2019, Rodriguez had the very best season of his profession. In a Major League-best 34 begins, the left-hander had a 3.81 ERA (128 ERA+) over 203 1/3 innings for Boston. He’s nonetheless solely 29, and he’s proven he might be one of many higher starters within the AL. Interestingly, in ’21, when he made 31 begins, his 3.47 xERA was greater than a run decrease than his precise ERA of 4.74 (his FIP was additionally a lot decrease, at 3.32), which means he gave the impression to be the sufferer of unhealthy batted-ball luck.

Last season, Rodriguez made solely 17 begins after lacking time with a rib cage damage after which taking a three-month depart of absence on the restricted record to deal with a household state of affairs. If he has an uninterrupted 2023 marketing campaign, and his luck is healthier than what it was in ’21, the veteran left-hander may return to prominence in his age-30 season.

Nick Castellanos, Phillies
That the Phillies practically gained all of it with Castellanos posting a .694 OPS within the common season is kind of one thing. When he reached a five-year, $100 million cope with Philadelphia final offseason, Castellanos joined a lineup that includes then-reigning NL MVP Bryce Harper and, very quickly thereafter, one other free-agent slugger, Kyle Schwarber. While the protection would definitely be a query mark within the outfield, the potential for fireworks on the plate was huge.

While Harper had one other incredible yr despite accidents, and Schwarber led the NL with 46 homers, Castellanos by no means really bought going offensively. That goes to have to alter in 2023, significantly as a result of the defending NL champions can be with out Harper for at the least the primary half of the season (restoration from Tommy John surgical procedure).

While his total numbers for the common season weren’t nice, there have been some encouraging indicators for Castellanos earlier than an indirect damage prompted him to overlook most of September — from July 2-Aug. 27, he hit .303/.327/.431. Prior to that, he was slowed by a wrist damage, posting a .674 OPS by 75 video games. His bat did not get up within the postseason (.478 OPS in 17 video games), however he did handle to contribute together with his protection.

Much like others on this record, if he can keep within the lineup at full energy, Castellanos ought to return to his All-Star kind from 2021 with Cincinnati.

Chris Taylor, Dodgers
Taylor proved to be a key cog within the Dodgers’ well-oiled machine from 2017-21, when he had an .804 OPS with 78 homers and helped Los Angeles win a World Series title in ’20. Then, through the ’21 postseason, he adopted an All-Star regular-season marketing campaign by hitting .476 with three homers within the NL Championship Series in opposition to the Braves.

All of that earned Taylor a four-year, $60 million contract to stay with the Dodgers. Unfortunately, 2022 was a down yr for him — his OPS dropped greater than 100 factors from the prior season, to .677 in 118 video games. He had a very robust second half, hitting .193/.278/.313.

While these numbers are robust to take a look at, there’s a silver lining: Despite his OPS falling so drastically from 2021 to ’22, Taylor’s hard-hit fee and barrel fee had been every practically similar in each years. His hard-hit fee in ’21 was 38.1 p.c in comparison with 38 p.c in ’22, whereas his barrel fee was precisely the identical in each years, at 10.2 p.c.

Although his chase fee was within the 83rd percentile final season, Taylor’s strikeout fee was manner up, from 28.7 p.c to 35.2 p.c year-over-year from 2021-22. That might want to change if he’s going to bounce again in ’23.

Avisaíl García, Marlins
García inked a four-year, $53 million contract with Miami following a fantastic 2021 marketing campaign, by which he hit .262/.330/.490 with 26 homers in 135 video games for the Brewers. But his first yr with the Marlins was a disappointment. He was restricted to 98 video games due to lingering hamstring points, in addition to again and hand accidents. In 380 plate appearances, he had a .582 OPS with solely 17 extra-base hits (eight homers).

The query with García has at all times been well being — he’s performed in additional than 130 video games solely 3 times throughout his 11-year MLB profession. In the final two such seasons, he posted an OPS over .800, together with an .885 mark throughout an All-Star marketing campaign in 2017 with the White Sox.

The method is fairly easy for the 31-year-old slugger, and it’s a well-known one for gamers on this record: keep on the sector. If he can try this in 2023, it might be an excellent yr for him.

Jorge Soler, Marlins
Another Marlins slugger who slumped in his first season with the membership, Soler wasn’t in a position to observe up an MVP efficiency within the 2021 World Series for the Braves with something near that with Miami in ’22.

Soler was damage for a lot of final season with again points and solely performed in 72 video games, hitting .207/.295/.400 with 13 homers in 270 plate appearances. Compare that to his manufacturing after the Royals dealt him to Atlanta the prior summer time — in 64 fewer plate appearances down the stretch with the Braves, he smashed 14 homers with an .882 OPS.

After setting a Royals franchise document with 48 house runs in 2019 (tied by Salvador Perez in ’21), Soler had a down yr within the pandemic-shortened ’20 marketing campaign and a poor begin in ’21 earlier than his rejuvenation with the eventual World Series champion Braves. But he has but to show 31, and he is not far faraway from good offensive manufacturing.

Once once more, assuming well being, search for Soler to bounce again in 2023.

Mark Melancon, D-backs
This one’s iffy, given we’re speaking a few veteran reliever — relievers’ performances can differ drastically from one yr to the subsequent, and Melancon goes to be 38 on Opening Day. But we’re additionally speaking a few man who led the Majors with 39 saves to go together with a 2.23 ERA for the Padres in 2021.

That was earlier than Melancon signed a two-year cope with the D-backs, and 2022 wasn’t as variety to the right-hander. His ERA was 4.66, his highest mark in 10 years, and his WHIP was 1.50.

The silver lining, although exhausting to search out, was that Melancon’s stroll fee was truly decrease in 2022 (8.5 p.c) than in ’21 (9.4 p.c). The drawback was that his strikeout fee dropped drastically, from 22.3 p.c to 14.2 p.c, and the standard of opponents’ contact was much better in ’22 — their common exit velocity jumped from 86.6 mph to 89.7 (the best Statcast has ever tracked in Melancon’s profession) and the hard-hit fee went from 36.1 p.c to 38.9 p.c.

Some of that could be a results of Melancon shedding a tick on his fastball. It averaged 92 mph in 2021, and 90.9 mph final yr. That raises the age and mileage questions once more, but when there’s one factor Melancon has proven all through his profession, it is his capability to rebound following unhealthy years — see 2012, and 2017.