2019's Struggling MLB Stars Who Should Be Tossed to the Bench
It happens every year. High-profile MLB stars struggle mightily and teams wrestle with the question of when to send them to the bench.
For some, the time is now.
Here are a half-dozen players who should be benched ASAP. We only considered position players, since star pitchers aren't generally benched, but rather demoted to the bullpen or simply DFA'd.
We defined "star" as players with at least a few awards and/or All-Star nods on their resumes. And we looked for instances where there was a viable alternative on the 25-man roster or in the upper minor leagues. Obviously you can't bench a guy if there's no one to take his place.
We also didn't include players currently on the injured list (cough, Chris Davis).
Some of these guys could work their way back into everyday roles; others are probably done as MLB-caliber starters. But they all should be riding the pine in the near future.
2B Starlin Castro, Miami Marlins
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Starlin Castro is slashing .227/.269/.284 for the Miami Marlins. He's in his contract year (assuming the team doesn't pick up his $16 million 2020 option), but he's probably torpedoed his trade value for the rebuilding Fish.
The Marlins could simply release Castro. Then again, maybe they value the 29-year-old four-time All-Star's experience on a young team.
Either way, Castro should stop getting regular reps at second base and should cede playing time to 23-year-old prospect Isan Diaz, who owns an .874 OPS with 10 home runs and 10 doubles at Triple-A New Orleans.
Those numbers, or anything close to them, would look pretty dang good at the keystone sack for the woeful Marlins.
OF Ian Desmond, Colorado Rockies
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Ian Desmond has been getting starts in the outfield for the Colorado Rockies while Charlie Blackmon recovers from a right calf injury.
To be fair, Desmond went 2-for-4 with an RBI on Sunday in an 8-7 win over the Baltimore Orioles. He's also hitting .228 with a .305 on-base percentage for the season.
The two-time All-Star boasts defensive versatility; over the past two seasons he's logged innings at first base, shortstop, center field and left field.
Desmond, however, should return to the bench, perhaps before Blackmon returns. And the Rox should consider adding more outfield depth behind the starting trio of Blackmon, David Dahl and Raimel Tapia. Prospect Sam Hilliard has 15 homers and an .864 OPS at Triple-A Albuquerque, to cite one possibility.
2B Brian Dozier, Washington Nationals
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Brian Dozier won a Gold Glove at second base and picked up down-ballot MVP votes with the Minnesota Twins as recently as 2017.
This year, with the Washington Nationals, he's slashing .213/.307/.367. Yes, he's hit seven home runs and could be a useful right-handed bat off the bench.
But the Nats should relegate the 32-year-old to that role and recall prospect Carter Kieboom.
The 21-year-old scuffled on offense and defense as a shortstop during a brief, 11-game audition with Washington earlier this season. But he's been making starts at second base since his demotion to Triple-A and overall is hitting .345 with a 1.117 OPS at that level in 2019.
It's time for the Nats, who are mired under .500 and in fourth place in the National League East, to make the Dozier-Kieboom swap.
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3B Evan Longoria, San Francisco Giants
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The San Francisco Giants figure to sell key pieces this July (or sooner) as they lurch into a much-needed rebuild. Third baseman Evan Longoria won't be one of those pieces.
The three-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove winner is hitting .225 with a .303 on-base percentage. Over his last 15 games, he's hitting just .212. Granted, he's flashed above-average glove work with five defensive runs saved at the hot corner.
He's also 33 years old and under contract through 2023, during which time the Giants owe him more than $60 million, including a $5 million 2023 buyout, per Spotrac.
In other words, the Giants don't need to worry about playing Longoria every day on a sinking ship to up his trade appeal to potential suitors. He's virtually untradable unless they want to eat huge sums of cash.
Instead, they could play that trick with Pablo Sandoval. He is in a contract year and hitting .299 with a .956 OPS. Sure, he can play first base and even pitch. But San Francisco should slot him at third on a daily basis, send Longoria to the bench and then flip the Kung Fu Panda for prospects.
3B Todd Frazier, New York Mets
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Todd Frazier was a 40-homer slugger not so long ago (2016, to be precise). This season, he's slashing .218/.269/.333 for the New York Mets.
Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen was Frazier's agent as recently as last season. It's reasonable to speculate he'd give his veteran former client every opportunity to get it going.
Hence, perhaps, the decision to move J.D. Davis to the outfield and let Frazier remain at third base, where Davis had been making starts.
Overall, Davis is slashing .270/.346/.443 for the Mets in 2019. He's one obvious choice to slide back from the outfield and send Frazier to the bench.
New York could also add outside reinforcements in both the infield and outfield. No matter what, the 33-year-old Frazier's tenure as a viable starter is kaput.
1B/DH Albert Pujols, Los Angeles Angels
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We don't mean to pile on Albert Pujols. The man is a 10-time All-Star and three-time MVP and should be a first-ballot Hall of Famer once he's eligible.
But he's slashing only .226/.300/.421 for the Los Angeles Angels. He posted a .672 OPS in 2017 and a .700 OPS in 2018.
The Halos owe him $28 million this season, $29 million in 2020 and $30 million in 2021. They have every reason to hope the 39-year-old sips from the fountain of youth.
Let's get real, though. Pujols should play out his MLB days as a part-time designated hitter and bench bat.
Shohei Ohtani can DH with Pujols there to give him days off. Two-way player Jared Walsh has gone 5-for-14 with the Angels since a call-up from Triple-A and is an interesting option at first.
Sorry, Albert...it was an incredible career. But all things end eventually.
All statistics current as of Monday and courtesy of FanGraphs and Baseball Reference unless otherwise noted.
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