At some point in most professional sports careers, there comes a time when you need to prove yourself. Whether you are an aging star, a young prospect, or just had a bad few years. How you perform in the following season can make or break your future in sports.
In baseball, we see it all the time so that’s why for this list we’ll be going over 10 MLB Players That It’s “MAKE-OR-BREAK” Right Now.
Tim Anderson
At the beginning of his career, it looked like Anderson would be the next big thing. In 2020 he finished seventh in MVP voting while also winning a Silver Slugger. He followed that up with back-to-back All-Star appearances in 2021 and 2023. After that though things went downhill.
He had the worst year of his career in 2023 sporting a .582 OPS in 493 at-bats. That led him to sign a one-year $5 million contract with the Miami Marlins in 2023 and if he doesn’t show out it could be the last of his career.
Chris Sale
Sale has consistently been a victim of the injury bug. He recorded less than 10 games started in 2021 and 2022 due to a series of injuries. 2023 proved to be a better year though because he was able to start in 20 games. However, he was pretty mediocre when he finished with a 4.30 ERA.
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Now after being traded to the Atlanta Braves, Sale will be entering his age 35 season. Usually, players that old don’t make a resurgence in performance but if Sale wants to continue playing he would need to show his value.
Kris Bryant
The Colorado Rockies missed big time when they signed Bryant to a seven-year $182 million contract which was also the largest contract in franchise history. His inability to stay on the field has been the biggest factor in the disappointment. In his last two seasons with the Rockies, he has yet to record even 100 games in a season and has a combined .740 OPS when he does.
Patience is sure to be growing between Bryant and the organization and that contract could blow up with another bad year.
Spencer Torkelson
Torkelson should have been the next big thing in Detroit when he made his MLB debut back in 2022 but has yet to live up to the hype. His career .701 OPS in 269 total games is not what you expect from a former top prospect. At 24 years old though he has a lot of time to continue to grow, but at some point, you have to just accept someone isn’t the player many thought they’d be.
Sixto Sanchez
Sanchez is such an interesting story because in 2020, at just 21 years old he was a dominant force. He was set up to have such an amazing career and would only get better with age. Of course, he has yet to throw a single pitch at the MLB level since that season. It’s been a string of shoulder injuries that have kept him from the field but there’s a strong chance he returns in 2024.
If he can still be a valuable player in the rotation for the Marlins he could revitalize an otherwise lost career.
Alek Manoah
Manoah needs to have a strong season in 2024. After finishing third in Cy Young voting in 2022 which happened to be just his second year, there was hope he’d turn into a perennial ace for the Blue Jays. That’s yet to come to fruition though because after immensely struggling in 2023, Toronto sent him down to their team in the Florida Complex League.
Manoah is another case of someone who needs to prove their worth before it’s too late.
Trevor Story
Now at 31 years old, Story has shown some serious signs of regression. Last season he had an OPS of .566 and a batting average down to .203. As of now, he fits into that aging star category even though he’s just getting into his early thirties. With the way the Red Sox are being run these days, if he cannot produce near what he once did then he could be out the door.
Tyler Glasnow
When the Dodgers traded for Glasnow and they signed him to a five-year $136 million contract many spectators had questions. 2023 was the first year he had thrown in over 100 innings since 2018. Not something you’d expect for someone making so much money. However, in 2023 his ERA was a relatively mediocre 3.53, especially for someone with such a large price tag. It’s not so much that Glasnow will be out of the league if he doesn’t have a good year but a lot of people will lose faith in him.
Carlos Rodon
Rodon is in a similar boat as Glasnow. In 2021 and 2022 he finished within the top 0 of Cy Young voting sporting a combined 2.67 ERA and .998 WHIP in 310.2 innings. So when the Yankees signed him to his six-year $162 million contract his expectation could not have been any higher, especially playing in New York. Injury hit him like a truck though and he was able to pitch just 64.1 innings and his ERA skyrocketed to 6.85. He seriously needs to turn things around for people so people can keep believing in him.
Dylan Cease
When the Padres traded for Cease, they expected to be acquiring the 2022 version of him where he threw 184 innings with a 1.109 WHIP 2.20 ERA and finished second in Cy Young Voting. Every other year of his career has been pretty mediocre with the worst being 2023 when his ERA went up to 4.58 in 177 innings. Cease now at 28 years old still has two more years under the same contract. You can think of him as really having two seasons to prove to everyone that 2022 wasn’t just a fluke.
