Time to Jump on the Bandwagon of These 6 MLB Teams
A 162-game MLB season is an awfully long time to exclusively root for one team going nowhere fast, especially if that franchise has missed the playoffs in at least five consecutive years—or is very publicly making plans to relocate from Oakland to Las Vegas. (Please be kind to all the A's fans in your lives.)
If you're a fan in such a situation and you want a "backup" team for 2023, or if you're a brand-new fan of Major League Baseball looking for a favorite team to adopt—first of all, welcome to the party!—we're going to help you pick your bandwagon squad.
There are three basic rules when choosing your bandwagon team:
- Cannot be one of the five most recent World Series champions. (Adios, Houston Astros, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, Washington Nationals and Boston Red Sox. Though, if you really want to start rooting for one of the worst teams in baseball, the Nationals would be happy to have you in their corner.)
- Cannot be the evil empire, unless you live in NYC. (Adios, New York Yankees.)
- And from the remaining options, the team must be fun to watch and preferably a viable candidate to reach the postseason. (Let's discuss.)
There's also an unspoken rule that your bandwagon team absolutely cannot play in the same division as your primary rooting interest, nor can it be a team that eliminated your primary rooting interest from the postseason at any point in the past decade. However, we cannot exactly account for that for each reader, so you'll have to figure out which of these teams are options to become your secondary club.
We'll be identifying the top bandwagon option from each of the six divisions, so up to five of the six could appeal/apply to you.
AL East: Baltimore Orioles
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What Makes Them Fun: All of the stolen bases
Among American League teams, only Tampa Bay has a higher on-base percentage than Baltimore's .343 mark. And when the Orioles get baserunners, they give 'em the green light, sporting 25 stolen bases through 19 games. Most of that damage comes from Cedric Mullins (nine) and Jorge Mateo (eight), who are battling each other and New York's Anthony Volpe for the league lead in that department. But six other O's have attempted at least one stolen base. Always the potential for something to watch.
Postseason Potential: Tangible, but slim
The lineup is good enough to vie for a wild-card spot, and the pitching could get there if rookie Grayson Rodriguez starts living up to the hype and/or if John Means (Tommy John surgery) can get back on the mound before it's too late to matter. But welcome to the most frustrating part about being an Orioles fan: Realizing that they reasonably could be a playoff team with maybe one or two savvy deadline deals, but knowing that "spending money to try to win a title" simply isn't something this franchise does.
Jersey to Buy: Adley Rutschman OR Gunnar Henderson
Both youngsters made their MLB debuts in 2022 and have been near everyday staples in the lineup thus far in 2023. And neither one will even sniff free agency until at least half a decade from now, which is always a reassuring thought when shelling out some hard-earned money for a jersey. But even if you only intend on bandwagoning Baltimore for 2023, Rutschman and Henderson are already two of the most valuable players on the roster. Put one of those names on your back, some crab fries in one hand and a Natty Boh in the other and you'll fit right in at beautiful Camden Yards.
AL Central: Minnesota Twins
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What Makes Them Fun: Born to hack
Last year, the Twins had Luis Arraez, the 2022 AL batting champ and one of the most strikeout-averse hitters in the majors. But they didn't even finish .500, so they shipped him out to Miami and went all-in on dudes who will swing at just about anything, bringing in Joey Gallo and Michael A. Taylor to team up with Byron Buxton and Trevor Larnach. This team might hit five home runs one night and strike out 20 times the next. But it's always going to be entertaining.
Postseason Potential: Legitimate, especially in this division
The pitching staff led by Pablo López and Sonny Gray has been top-notch, boasting the best K/BB ratio by a considerable margin. While the offense struggled through the recent seven-game road trip against the Yankees and Red Sox, there are potent bats throughout the lineup, which should only improve with Jorge Polanco (knee) making his 2023 debut this past Friday. And in the AL Central where it's looking like Cleveland will be the only other team even remotely vying for the postseason, that might be more than enough.
Jersey to Buy: Carlos Correa
Correa merch didn't seem like a wise, long-term investment last year, when he signed a three-year contract in which he had the option to walk away after either of the first two seasons. But after trying to sign megadeals with both the San Francisco Giants and the New York Mets, Correa is back in Minnesota for the long haul, signed through at least 2028 and possibly for an entire decade. The 2015 AL Rookie of the Year has gotten out to a sluggish start, but he'll be indispensable in potentially leading Minnesota to its first postseason series victory since 2002.
AL West: Texas Rangers
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What Makes Them Fun: Frankenstein's starting rotation
Two years ago, Texas had one of the worst pitching staffs in the majors, shelled for 815 runs en route to 102 losses. But the Rangers signed Jon Gray and Martín Pérez during the 2021-22 offseason and added Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi and Andrew Heaney to the mix this past winter, putting together a five-man conglomeration making $93.7 million in 2023 alone. Yet, they only have the ninth-highest payroll, so it somehow doesn't feel like you'd be just glomming onto a team like the Mets who are trying to out-spend everyone for a World Series ring. Sort of a happy medium where you can jump on a bandwagon of a team with a nice stockpile of star power.
Postseason Potential: Better than was expected a few weeks ago
It still feels inevitable that the Astros will rebound from their slow start to win the AL West for what would be the sixth consecutive 162-game season. But with three AL wild-card spots to be filled, it's easy to like Texas' chances of playing into mid-October. In addition to that star-studded rotation, the Rangers have four guys (Marcus Semien, Corey Seager, Adolis Garcia and Nathaniel Lowe) who hit at least 25 home runs last season, plus rookie Josh Jung who has the potential to turn that quartet into a quintet in 2023.
Jersey to Buy: Marcus Semien
Plenty of good options on this roster, but if you want a jersey of a guy who is almost certainly going to be playing when you turn on/go to a game, Semien is just about the closest thing to Cal Ripken Jr. in the big leagues these days. Dating back to the beginning of 2018, only Freddie Freeman has played in more games (719) than Semien's 716. And during that time, he has racked up 130 home runs and 70 stolen bases.
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NL East: Miami Marlins
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What Makes Them Fun: Drama-filled wins
Last year, Miami was cursed in close games, particularly early in the season. In the month of May alone, the Marlins went 1-11 in games decided by one run. But, evidently, Skip Schumaker is better at managing nail-biters than Don Mattingly was, because the Marlins are 5-0 in one-run affairs thus far this season. Each one was a low-scoring game, too, which is a testament to the strength of a pitching staff led by Sandy Alcantara and anchored by A.J. Puk.
Postseason Potential: Minimal, but plausible
Life in the NL East is no picnic, so we would like the Marlins' chances a lot better in either the AL Central or NL Central. However, Miami has already played seven of its 13 Mets games and a three-game road tilt against Philadelphia and still entered play Saturday with a 10-9 record. Save for Luis Arraez and occasionally Garrett Cooper or Jorge Soler, the offense has been pathetic. But that should change if and when Avisaíl García and Jean Segura snap out of their horrendous starts to the season.
Jersey to Buy: Jazz Chisholm Jr.
Chisholm was a rather unexpected choice for the cover of MLB The Show 23, but he's an electric young star with the potential for greatness—if he can just stay healthy. He had a 162-game pace of 38 home runs and 32 stolen bases in 2022, and he already has three and six, respectively, early in 2023. Though he did have a throwing error on Opening Day, his transition from middle infield to center field has otherwise been flawless. He should be a star out there for Miami for years to come.
NL Central: Pittsburgh Pirates
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What Makes Them Fun: The mix of veterans and newbies
Having celebrated his 43rd birthday last month, southpaw pitcher Rich Hill is the eldest statesman of the 2023 MLB season. At 37 and 36, respectively, Carlos Santana and Andrew McCutchen aren't exactly spring chickens in Pittsburgh's every-day lineup, either. But Pittsburgh also has seven key players under the age of 25, including rookie utility man Ji Hwan Bae, who clubbed the walk-off home run in the April 11 win over Houston. It's a fun blend of guys enjoying perhaps one final hurrah and others just getting their foot in the door.
Postseason Potential: Sort of, maybe, legitimate?
Rather than one big splash, Pittsburgh made a litany of small moves this past offseason to put itself in a position to possibly contend in the NL Central. And early returns have been extremely encouraging with the Pirates entering play Saturday at 14-7—their best 21-game start to a season since opening the 1992 campaign at 15-6 (and later finishing that year at 96-66). They'll probably need to add a starting pitcher ahead of the trade deadline to legitimately keep pace with Milwaukee atop the division, but this is the ultimate bandwagon team here in late April.
Jersey to Buy: Bryan Reynolds
After all the offseason scuttlebutt about Reynolds being on the trade block, it's a risky investment that could be out of date by early August. But if Pittsburgh does remain in the mix for a playoff spot, he won't be going anywhere this season, and maybe they get that long-term deal worked out this winter. Either way, Reynolds was MLB's biggest star of the first week-plus of the regular season, opening the year with a nine-game hitting streak that included five home runs and a pair of stolen bases. If he played in a bigger market, we'd be hearing about him on a daily basis.
NL West: Arizona Diamondbacks
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What Makes Them Fun: Young star power
There are 22 players under the age of 24 who have made at least 40 plate appearances this season, and the Arizona Diamondbacks have four of those wunderkinds: Corbin Carroll, Gabriel Moreno, Alek Thomas and Geraldo Perdomo. Carroll is both the youngest (he'll turn 23 in August) and the brightest star of the bunch with four home runs and seven stolen bases already this season. Throw in 25-year-olds Drey Jameson, Ryne Nelson and Jake McCarthy and Arizona is practically overflowing with young talent.
Postseason Potential: Not as far-fetched as it seemed a month ago
The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres won't be sub-.500 teams for long, so winning the NL West is going to be a stiff challenge. But with the Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals also not looking good thus far, it does feel like there's at least one NL playoff spot entirely up for grabs. So, why not the Diamondbacks? They clearly mean business after eating $37 million to show Madison Bumgarner the door. They'll still need to figure out how to adequately fill what used to be MadBum's turn in the rotation, and the bullpen could certainly benefit from another reliable middle-relief arm or two. But this has quickly become a solid team, just two years removed from being a 110-loss mess.
Jersey to Buy: Corbin Carroll (and make it one of those "Serpientes" City Connect jerseys)
With an honorable mention to Zac Gallen—who is well on his way to at least some NL Cy Young votes for what would be the third time in four years—at least you know a Carroll jersey will be good for many years to come. Arizona signed the young outfielder to an eight-year, $111 million deal (plus a team option for 2031) this past offseason, and it's looking like a good possibility he'll be an All-Star in year No. 1 of that contract.
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