Ranking MLB's 10 Biggest Fails of the 2025 Season
Sometimes, it's fun to take a bird's-eye view.
That's what we're doing in looking at some of the biggest fails so far during the 2025 MLB season.
This is an all-encompassing list that will include players, specific position groups and executives, ranked by magnitude.
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10. A Pair of Expensive Veteran Starters in Boston
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Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow is a former pitcher, so you would think he would have a great eye for talent in that regard. To his credit, he pulled off an offseason trade to land ace Garrett Crochet and has since signed him to a six-year, $170 million extension.
Still, Boston's starting rotation is thin after Crochet. That's in part because Breslow has whiffed on a pair of relatively big swings in the starting rotation.
One of Breslow's first moves in free agency was to give Lucas Giolito a two-year, $38.5 million deal, despite the fact that he was coming off a disastrous season that saw him pitch for three different clubs.
Giolito ended up missing the entirety of the 2024 season after undergoing an internal brace procedure on his right elbow. The former All-Star has been healthy in 2025, just not very good—he has a 4.53 ERA and 4.29 FIP.
Meanwhile, the Red Sox gave Walker Buehler a one-year, $21.05 million contract in free agency that felt misguided from the start. Granted, Buehler pitched well in the postseason, even closing out a World Series win for the Los Angeles Dodgers. But he posted a 5.38 ERA over 16 starts in his final season with the Dodgers. Well, he's been even worse in Boston, as evidenced by his 6.29 ERA and 5.74 FIP in 13 outings.
Both Giolito and Buehler were among the best pitchers in the game at one point. But there was ample reason to be wary of them as free agents, and it appears both were pretty bad misses on the part of Breslow.
9. Luis Robert Jr. Not Reviving His Trade Value
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After trading Crochet in the offseason, the White Sox were hopeful they would be able to get a noteworthy return for center fielder Luis Robert Jr. this summer as they continue their rebuild.
In a market with so few impact players capable of playing center field, there will definitely be interest in Robert. But considering he's hitting .184 with a .573 OPS, teams aren't going to part with noteworthy prospects for Robert.
Granted, he has 22 stolen bases and still grades out relatively well in the field. Heck, his .250 batting average on balls in play is significantly lower than his .320 career average in the category, and suggests he could be due for some positive regression. It's not hard, especially given the dearth of center field options, to talk yourself into Robert.
At the same time, this is a player who has a lengthy injury history and a .625 OPS since the start of 2024. He has a $20 million club option for 2026, but teams are going to view him as a rental they are likely to buy out of that option for $2 million. And whatever return general manager Chris Getz and the White Sox ultimately get for Robert will reflect that.
8. The Texas Rangers Lineup
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The starting pitching trio of Nathan Eovaldi, Jacob deGrom and Tyler Mahle was a question mark coming into the season because of their injury histories. But to this point, it's been one of the better trios in baseball.
Unfortunately for the Rangers, they are still under .500, in large part because of what looked like one of the better lineups in baseball coming into the season underachieving pretty much across the board.
Not only have offseason acquisitions Joc Pederson and Jake Burger flopped, but some of the faces of this franchise have also underwhelmed at the plate. Outside of Wyatt Langford and Josh Smith, pretty much every Texas hitter is underachieving to some degree.
Two-time World Series MVP Corey Seager is usually one of the game's elite players when he's on the field, but he's got just a .710 OPS. Three-time All-Star Marcus Semien is hitting only .222. Adolis García is playing great defense, but has an unsightly .285 on-base percentage.
The encouraging news is that Evan Carter has played well since being recalled from Triple-A Round Rock. With so many proven hitters underperforming, it’s reasonable to expect a turnaround that could push Texas back into the AL wild-card race, if not the AL West title hunt.
But man, Bruce Bochy's offense has been extremely disappointing so far in 2025.
7. Key Pieces Underperforming for Braves
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You keep waiting for the Braves to get going, but it just hasn't happened. Brian Snitker's club is in a distant third place in the NL East behind the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets. And it's not just because they were without Ronald Acuña Jr. and Spencer Strider the first month of the season.
While Matt Olson has had a bounce-back season, both Michael Harris II and Ozzie Albies have underwhelmed. Whether it's been the now-released Orlando Arcia or Nick Allen, the Braves have gotten almost nothing at second base.
Oh, and the struggles for the Braves in left field have continued. Jurickson Profar has been out serving a performance-enhancing drug suspension that will also prevent him from being available in the postseason, should the Braves get there.
The good news for the Braves is that Acuña has been on another planet since returning from his second ACL tear, which wasn't the case in 2022 under similar circumstances.
But Snitker may very well retire after this season, while Marcell Ozuna is set to become a free agent. And if the Braves offense doesn't rebound from this start, more changes could be in store in the offseason.
6. The Diamondbacks' Starting Rotation
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Entering the season, the Diamondbacks appeared poised to have one of the best starting rotations in baseball. Instead, they are 25th in team ERA among starting pitchers.
Corbin Burnes—who joined the Snakes on a six-year, $210 million deal in the offseason—has already been lost for the year due to Tommy John surgery. Ditto for Jordan Montgomery, who didn't even get a chance to rebound from a disastrous first campaign in Arizona.
Zac Gallen is having a brutal contract year with a 5.60 ERA an NL-worst 41 walks.
Brandon Pfaadt signed a five-year, $45 million deal in late March and has a minus-0.3 WAR, which FanGraphs says is the worst mark among qualified starters.
And the Eduardo Rodríguez deal—a four-year, $80 million pact signed prior to 2024—is in full disaster mode. Rodríguez has a 5.25 ERA over 23 starts since joining the Diamondbacks.
To his credit, Merrill Kelly is pitching well. But he and Gallen could soon become trade candidates, and with Burnes likely to miss most or all of 2026, it's fair to wonder what the rotation in Phoenix is going to look like next season.
5. The Offseason Disrespect of Pete Alonso
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If you were one of the many teams that had a need at first base and didn't show serious interest in Pete Alonso this past offseason, there's egg on your face.
Alonso had a relativley down year in 2024, posting a .788 OPS. Still, he hit 34 home runs, drove in 88 runs and had plenty of postseason heroics. The idea that Alonso wasn't worth a lucrative five-year deal last offseason was extremely misguided.
That notion looks even worse now that Alonso leads the NL in doubles and has a .929 OPS. Yes, he's benefited from hitting behind Juan Soto. But Alonso is one of the game's elite power hitters and is still only 30 years old. It was incredibly short-sighted to treat him like how some NFL teams have treated star running backs this past offseason.
That includes how the Mets acted, to be clear. New York played hardball with Alonso, and got him back on a two-year, $54 million that includes an opt-out clause.
Alonso will certainly exercise his opt-out in the offseason and return to free agency without a qualifying offer attached to him. He'll get at least five years in free agency this time around, something the Mets could have just done last offseason.
4. Mike Elias’ Sense of Urgency (or Lack Thereof)
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Baltimore Orioles general manager Mike Elias has earned the reputation as being an excellent talent evaluator, both because of his work in his current role and the various roles he held in building the most successful era in Houston Astros history.
But the jury is still out on whether he's capable of building a World Series-caliber team. Elias let Anthony Santander walk in free agency after he rejected a qualifying offer, which seemed smart considering the slugger seemed unlikely to ever match his 44-homer season from a year ago. He also let Burnes leave in free agency, which the Orioles might be thankful for with the benefit of hindsight, but seemed questionable at the time.
Perhaps the biggest issue isn't that Santander and Burnes departed, but how Elias tried to replace their production.
He signed Tyler O'Neill—a talented but seemingly always injured outfielder—to a three-year, $49.5 million deal. Well, in the least shocking development possible, O'Neill has played in just 24 games this season.
Meanwhile, Elias signed 41-year-old Charlie Morton and 35-year-old Tomoyuki Sugano in an attempt to replace Burnes, while banking on Grayson Rodriguez's health.
Right elbow inflammation and a right lat strain have prevented Rodriguez from pitching at all this season. Morton has pitched well in June, but prior to that had been one of the worst pitchers in baseball, which is why he still has a 5.64 ERA. Sugano has been a nice signing, as he has a 3.55 ERA. But Sugano's 4.81 FIP is a red flag, and he's also a mid-30s arm signed for just this season.
It's turned into a lost season for the Orioles, who fired manager Brandon Hyde in mid-May. Elias will most likely get to pick another skipper this offseason, but the clock has certainly started on him, because it's unclear if he has the killer instinct to actually build a World Series club, as opposed to just always having a really good farm system and occasionally having an early postseason exit.
3. Everything About the Colorado Rockies
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The Rockies have been much better in June, but they were so dreadful in March, April and May that they have a hole to dig themselves out of to avoid finishing with a worse record than the 2024 White Sox, who went a pathetic 41-121.
Jake Bird, Victor Vodnik and Jimmy Herget have each pitched well out of the bullpen, but other than that, the pitching has been atrocious, as per usual. None of the six starting pitchers who have made at least six starts this year for the Rockies—Germán Márquez, Kyle Freeland, Antonio Senzatela, Chase Dollander, Carson Palmquist and Ryan Feltner—has an ERA below 4.75.
Kris Bryant continues to look finished, as the former NL MVP is on the 60-day injured list with lumbar degenerative disc disease. Bryant is still owed $27 million in each of the next three seasons, a particularly tough pill to swallow for a team that doesn't issue a ton of big contracts.
Hunter Goodman looks like a potential star at catcher, but center fielder Brenton Doyle has regressed badly after being one of the team's bright spots a year ago. Doyle has a .567 OPS, down significantly from the .764 mark he posted last year. Even more troubling is that after posting 30 defensive runs saved and winning Gold Gloves in each of his first two MLB seasons, Doyle has minus-10 DRS this season.
In the end, the most problematic thing for the Rockies is that owner Dick Monfort doesn't seem to be equipped to make the drastic organizational overhaul needed to turn around a franchise that's in the midst of what will end up being its seventh losing season in a row.
2. The Pirates Wasting Paul Skenes
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Tarik Skubal might be the best pitcher in baseball, but Paul Skenes is the heavy favorite to win the NL Cy Young Award. The reigning NL Rookie of the Year currently leads the Senior Circuit in ERA, ERA+, WHIP, H/9, HR/9 and WAR. He's as impressive of a young pitcher as you'll ever see.
And yet, the Pirates have been out of the playoff race from the word go this season.
Pittsburgh responded to the generational greatness that Skenes showed in his rookie year by signing Tommy Pham for his age-37 season and trading for first baseman Spencer Horwitz.
Pham has a minus-0.6 WAR, and Horwitz has a .677 OPS. Oneil Cruz mashes righties and Andrew McCutchen still has some productive moments, but this team doesn't have a player with an OPS above .750. It's one of the worst lineups in baseball.
No, the Pirates shouldn't trade Skenes or even consider offers this summer. But there will come a day in a few years when the Pirates are faced with that reality unless owner Bob Nutting drastically changes his spending habits. So to have wasted one of the likely limited seasons you're going to have with Skenes is inexcusable.
1. Red Sox's Mismanagement of Rafael Devers
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Let's not allow there to be any revisionist history—the Red Sox had a Hall of Fame-caliber hitter at the height of his powers that they developed and managed to screw it up.
Yes, Devers probably could have handled what turned out to be his final months in Boston better. But a lack of communication from Breslow's front office regarding their pursuit of Alex Bregman and eventual decision to move Devers off third base created a toxic situation.
Again, Devers probably should have been willing to try to learn first base when the Red Sox asked him after Triston Casas' season-ending injury. But it's understandable that Devers grew frustrated with being jerked around by the Red Sox.
Ultimately, Devers was raking as a DH for the Red Sox. Before his shocking trade to the San Francisco Giants this month, Devers had a .905 OPS and led the American League with 56 walks. With that type of offensive output, don't let anyone convince you that the 10-year/$313.5 million contract that Devers was in the second season of was anything other than team-friendly.
The Red Sox got a return of Kyle Harrison, Jordan Hicks and prospects James Tibbs III and Jose Bello for Devers, with the Giants taking all his remaining money. Some have lauded that as a good trade for the Red Sox, and it's not impossible they successfully reinvest that money in other star players.
But they aren't going to find another Devers, and if they do, it will cost a lot more than the original one was making.
