The Biggest Winners and Losers of 2022 MLB Regular Season
The 2022 MLB season owes us nothing.
There were pleasant surprises, from the Cleveland Guardians winning the AL Central to the Baltimore Orioles and Arizona Diamondbacks showing massive improvement from a year ago. The Seattle Mariners and Philadelphia Phillies both broke long playoff droughts.
The disappointments are there, too. Weren't the Chicago White Sox supposed to be good? Remember when Fernando Tatis Jr. was the most marketable player in baseball. Life came at us fast.
With the end here, let's go over the biggest winners and losers of this season as we get ready for the playoffs.
Winner: Seattle Mariners
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The Mariners clinched their first postseason berth in 21 years with a walk-off home run by Cal Raleigh. It was also the longest active playoff drought in North American pro sports.
They knocked on the door last year, winning 90 games and making it competitive all the way up until the final games of the season. Now, with an additional wild-card spot and an improved squad, the Mariners get to have their moment.
Just three years ago, the Mariners lost 94 games.
Raleigh, 25, now in his second big league season, is one player who represents the future of this organization. The big story to come out of 2022 for Seattle is the emergence of center fielder Julio Rodríguez, likely the American League Rookie of the Year.
The Mariners also improved their pitching with the additions of Luis Castillo and last year's AL Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray. The rotation, with Logan Gilbert and George Kirby, has been as dependable as it gets.
Seattle went from being 16th in ERA last year to seventh in 2022, and from 17th in FIP last year to 14th in 2022, according to FanGraphs.
Loser: Chicago White Sox
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Tony La Russa was hired to help the White Sox maximize their World Series window, since it was determined after the 2020 season that Rick Renteria simply could not.
They were moderately better in 2021, going from a wild-card series exit to an ALDS exit. But even then, it did not feel like the White Sox took the major step they were expected to take under La Russa and with such a talented core group of players.
This season, they went backward. Health issues, poor management and subpar defense led the way. The White Sox also lack power.
The White Sox lead baseball in singles, while they are in the bottom third of baseball in home runs and slugging. Last year, the White Sox were 10th in slugging.
It was expected the AL Central would be an improved division, but the White Sox were supposed to be the class of it and simply were not.
Winner: Philadelphia Phillies
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The Phillies snapped their 11-year postseason drought Monday night with a shutout win over the Houston Astros to clinch a National League wild-card spot.
Prior to this season, only four franchises had more losses than the Phillies from 2012 through 2021: the Miami Marlins, Colorado Rockies, Baltimore Orioles and San Diego Padres.
Since the Phillies clinched after the Seattle Mariners, whose postseason drought dated back to 2001, they briefly held the longest streak in MLB. But that was short-lived, and this squad finally gets to compete again in October.
They fired manager Joe Girardi after a 22-29 start to the season, then made it through being without their best player, 2021 NL MVP Bryce Harper, for two months.
The Phillies did it with a top-five NL offense (.744 OPS) and pitching staff ranking top-seven in FIP (3.57) across baseball.
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Loser: Bobby Dalbec
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Bobby Dalbec was so disappointing this season, the Boston Red Sox sent their once-promising young first baseman down to Triple-A a few weeks to get right.
It appears he's only back with the big league team now because they placed Trevor Story on the injured list with a lingering left heel contusion.
Dalbec played well in 2020 and 2021. It was a small sample size in 2020, but he posted a .959 OPS in 23 games and 80 at-bats. Last year, his OPS was .792 with 25 home runs in 133 games and 417 at-bats.
He was expected to emerge as one of Boston's better players this year, but it did not materialize. He's slashing .212/.281/.367 as of Tuesday for an OPS more than 100 points lower than last year.
The Red Sox are going to flush this season, get their priorities straight for 2023 and hope Dalbec gets it together with one more pre-arbitration year.
Winner: Albert Pujols
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You don't pass Babe Ruth on the all-time RBI list without getting acknowledged as a winner here.
Baseball fans had rightfully buried Pujols as a viable player in his 40s after a forgettable end to his time with both Los Angeles franchises.
But this Pujols run is one of the most remarkable of his career.
Remember when Pujols and Miguel Cabrera were named legacy selections to the All-Star Game, the first time it'd ever been done? Pujols obviously wasn't performing at an All-Star level at the time (.215/.301/.376 with six home runs).
Since the All-Star break, Pujols is slashing .321/.386/.718 with 18 home runs. He hit career homer No. 703 on Monday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates to pass Ruth on the all-time RBI list.
Loser: Patrick Corbin
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Patrick Corbin is supposed to be the Washington Nationals' ace. His $23.4 million salary is the 10th-highest this season for a starting pitcher.
But Corbin's performance is one of the worst for a starter in recent history.
After losing his final start in another poor outing Sunday, Corbin became the first pitcher since 2000 to finish a season with 19 losses and an ERA over 6.00. Only four pitchers have done it in the modern era.
He allowed seven runs on 10 hits Sunday, punctuating a truly awful season. Corbin's Baseball Reference WAR is -2.4, and the Nationals still owe him $24.4 million for next season and $35.4 million for 2024.
Given how poorly Corbin has pitched over three seasons, he's now both untradeable and just as hard to play.
Winner: Paul Goldschmidt, St. Louis Cardinals
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Don't let a slow September fool you. Paul Goldschmidt is still the best player in the National League.
He certainly is this season, leading the NL in OPS and wRC+ and tied for the lead in WAR. Goldschmidt had three different months with an OPS over 1.000 and, in May, slashed .404/.471/.817 with 10 home runs.
Goldschmidt should run away with the NL MVP award, on top of all the glory Pujols is getting.
Cardinals fans are demanding with high expectations of their team. Yet this is one of those seasons where even if they don't win the World Series, their ultimate goal, they've won so many games within the game.
Look at the storylines.
Pujols, after being written off in LA, chasing 700; Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado credibly competing in the NL MVP race; Pujols, Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright likely playing the last year of their Hall of Fame careers together.
Loser: Dallas Keuchel
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Dallas Keuchel's overall career is worthy of respect. He was a two-time All-Star on a World Series team. He also won the AL Cy Young with stuff that was not electric, but thoughtful and well-executed.
Everything seemed to fall apart for Keuchel in 2022.
The White Sox were done with him after a 7.88 ERA and 2.16 WHIP through eight starts. They designated him for assignment in May before Keuchel spent the next few months on minor league contracts with the Arizona Diamondbacks, reuniting with former pitching coach Brent Strom, and the Texas Rangers.
The Diamondbacks let Keuchel go after a 9.64 ERA in four starts. The Rangers let him go after a 12.60 ERA across 10 innings.
If Strom can't help, and then he fails to cut it on the Rangers with one of the worst pitching staffs in baseball, it's truly rock bottom.
Winner: Aaron Judge
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Aaron Judge is having an MVP-worthy season, highlighted by his chase of the American League and New York Yankees home run records.
ESPN was cutting into his at-bats for over a week as he chased history, which was a decision that was met with criticism.
It's unfortunate for Judge, who didn't exactly ask for this attention, but he is having a season worth discussing as much as possible. On Tuesday, against the Rangers, Judge hit his 62nd home run.
Judge has a chance to lead the AL in all three slash line categories (batting average, on-base percentage and slugging). He's a lock to have the most home runs and RBI.
Similar to Justin Verlander, Judge is also doing this in a contract year.
Maybe cutting into college football games for what amounts to a conference record is a bit rich, but Judge deserves all of the flowers we can throw at him.
Loser: Los Angeles Angels
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They wasted another Shohei Ohtani year. There isn't much more to it.
Last year, when Ohtani was the AL MVP, the Los Angeles Angels had the excuse of not being healthy or having enough pitching to compete.
This year, Ohtani took a massive step forward while remaining one of the game's most dangerous hitters, with Mike Trout healthy for much of the season. Trout was sidelined from July 15 to Aug. 19 with a rib injury.
But the Angels were out of it long before that. After going 14-8 in April, the Angels had a losing record every month until September.
They signed Ohtani to a one-year, $30 million deal to avoid arbitration drama in 2023, but the team is for sale and the most appealing part about them could be gone in a year or less.
Winner: Justin Verlander, Sandy Alcantara
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No pitcher has ever won the Cy Young in the first season back from Tommy John surgery. Justin Verlander is about to do it at age 39.
It's been a theme the entire season, marveling at how he missed two years of competitive pitching and somehow picked up where he left off in 2019, when he outdueled then-teammate Gerrit Cole for the award.
Verlander is also doing this in what is effectively a contract year, since he can opt out at the end of this season. If Max Scherzer at 37 was worth three years, $130 million, imagine what must be coming Verlander's way after his 2022 performance.
Then there's Sandy Alcántara, another runaway Cy Young winner on the NL side. On a Miami Marlins staff loaded with talent, Alcántara stands out.
He had the NL's second-lowest ERA, tied for the fourth-lowest WHIP, fourth-most strikeouts and fifth-lowest opponents' batting average when his season ended last Saturday.
Loser: Spencer Torkelson
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This was a good year for rookies.
Julio Rodríguez is already a star and soon to be one of the game's most recognizable faces. Adley Rutschman is already one of the best catchers in the league.
Spencer Strider and Michael Harris II are key pieces to a World Series contender. So is Jeremy Peña, who replaced a star in Carlos Correa.
Bobby Witt Jr. made adjustments and turned in a strong rookie campaign.
But it did not come together this year for Detroit Tigers rookie Spencer Torkelson.
Once a preseason candidate for AL Rookie of the Year and rated a top-five prospect heading into the last two seasons, Torkelson has more strikeouts (96) than hits (70). He ranks in the bottom 15 among qualified rookies in wRC+.
Torkelson was optioned to Triple-A in July, then brought back to the big leagues Sept. 1.
In September, he slashed .205/.287/.333 with 18 strikeouts compared to 16 hits and seven walks.
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