In baseball, there are some players who gain contracts on name recognition and past performance alone, but who don’t exactly perform up to expectations once they hit the field. Let’s take a look at a bounce-back candidate for each MLB team for the upcoming season.

NL East

Braves: Eddie Rosario

Rosario’s 2021 wasn’t the best year of his relatively young career, but it certainly wasn’t the worst either. He seemingly regained some of the speed that he was known for earlier on in his career, putting up rookie-year-esque stolen base stats, while still hitting for power and average. The well-rounded player in Rosario took a sharp downturn in 2022 in nearly every category, including racking up more strikeouts in over 30 less games played. Rosario’s not anywhere done yet, and still has enough left in the tank to be a dominant force for the Braves for years to come.

Marlins: Jorge Soler

Jorge Soler is interesting. The well-known power-hitter went from being Atlanta’s World Series MVP in 2021 to signing a free-agency deal with the Marlins for 3 years, $36 million. His first year with the Fish didn’t exactly showcase his prior potential, however, with only 72 games played, a fraction of his prior seasons’ home runs, and a far lower slash line across the board. He went from being an offensive wizard to leaving the 2022 season early with back injuries. Luckily, he’ll be healthy for Miami for the 2023 season, and has no reason to prove his mettle.

Mets: Omar Narvaez

To be completely honest, it was difficult to find a player in need of a bounceback season on the Mets, especially after the DFA of Darin Ruf, who would have been a shoo-in. However, Omar Narvaez, who has been aggressively average throughout his career, enjoyed an all-star selection in 2021 with the Brewers, with 11 home runs, a .266 batting average, an OPS of .743 and an OPS+ of 101. In 2022, he played less games, struck out more relative to the amount of games played, and was worth less as far as production was concerned. All of his offensive categories fell, including his OPS+ falling all the way to 71. The Mets seem to have a habit of fixing players, and it shouldn’t be a stretch to say that they should have a shot at fixing Narvaez.

Phillies: Nick Castellanos

Castellanos is paid to be better than he was last year. He went from being a 30-homer, 100-RBI guy to not even breaking the 15 home run barrier, while also halving his RBI count, and significantly reducing his slash line. He did markedly increase his defense and speed, stealing more bases and making better defensive plays, including the game-saving catch in Game 1 of the World Series, and the final out of the NLCS. He’s already looking good in Spring Training, with less strikeouts and more walks. He should have better control for the year to come.

Nationals: Dominic Smith

Smith played similar amounts of games in both 2020 and 2022, but their outcomes could not have been more different. In 2020, he was an MVP candidate, with 10 homers, and a fantastic slash line of .316/.377/.616. In 2022, with 8 more games played, he hit no homers, and his slash line suffered too: .194/.276/.284. The Nationals will take a chance on him in their rebuilding stage; however, if he doesn’t produce, he may be close to the end of his major league career.

NL Central:

Cubs: Cody Bellinger

From MVP to non-tendered. That’s the story of 2019 NL MVP Cody Bellinger, former Dodger World Series Champ who was scooped up by the Cubs this offseason. In 2019, arguably the best year of his career, he hit 47 homers and slashed .305/.406/.629 with a 1.035 OPS. He also enjoyed All-Star, MVP, Gold Glove, and Silver Slugger honors, and may have been one of the greatest players at the time. Last season, however, he regressed sharply. He only hit 19 home runs, dropped his BA by nearly 100 points, and raised his strikeouts by nearly 50% in less games. He’s still young, however, and the Cubs picking him up is an incredibly smart move.

Reds: Curt Casali

Casali has never been a star player; however, with the Reds finding a new star catcher in Tyler Stephenson, Casali will have to step up to be the franchise’s back-up. He’s been more of a contact hitter than a slugger in years past, but his 2022 season saw a regression in his slash line across the board, going from .251/.331/.411 in 2019 to .203/.318/.331 in 2022. He doesn’t need to bounce back, but as the backup catcher for a struggling franchise, it couldn’t hurt.

Brewers: Christian Yelich

Yelich was once one of the game’s most promising young stars, being 2019’s runner-up All Star to Cody Bellinger, while hitting 44 homers with a .329 batting average with a 1.100 OPS. However, he’s regressed sharply since, retaining most of his speed, but losing his offensive abilities. He went from a .329/.429/.671 slash line in 2019 to a .252/.355/.383 slash line in 2022, while also hitting 30 less homers. Being the star player in Milwaukee, the hopes of the franchise are undoubtedly on him.

Pirates: Austin Hedges

Hedges is the Pirates’ everyday catcher at this point, and, at one point, was one of the game’s most promising. His breakout 2018 saw 14 home runs with a .231 batting average in just 91 games; however, he hasn’t been able to match this offensive production since. Last season, he only his 7 homers in 105 games, and had a .163 batting average. He also had just a .248 slugging average, one of the lowest in the league amongst qualified players. Hedges now finds himself on a Pirates team in the middle of a semi-promising rebuild, and one that will need his production going forward.

Cardinals: Paul DeJong

Dejong, of the Cardinals’ two shortstops, had previously seen moderate success in a position infrequently filled well for the team. With a low batting average, he did enjoy a decent amount of home runs and OPS, but in 2022, he was significantly below replacement level, with a slash line of .157/.245/.286 and an OPS of just .530. With Jordan Walker as the projected Opening Day shortstop for the Cards, DeJong, while expected to be better, should be relegated to a bench role from here on out.

NL West

Diamondbacks: Ketel Marte

Marte enjoyed a batting average of over .300 in 2021, while also only striking out 60 times in 90 games and enjoying a .909 OPS. In 2022, however, in nearly 50% more games played, he hit less home runs, struck out more, hit for .078 less average, and had his OPS reduced by almost 200 points. He’s been one of the cornerstones of this D-Backs franchise for a long time, and with the team looking to contend either this year or in years to come, he’s expected to play a decent role in that.

Rockies: Kris Bryant

Bryant’s first season with the Rockies was nothing short of disappointing. His batting average was above 300, but after 42 games, he found himself injured, and out for the season. Even more bizarre, none of his 5 home runs hit in his shortened 2022 season were hit in his home Coors Field, easily the most home-run friendly field in the league. Rockies fans don’t have much to look forward to this season, but a healthy Kris Bryant and the production that comes with it should be one of them.

Dodgers: Max Muncy

With the Dodgers’ new shortstop, Gavin Lux, entering the season injured, the team is hungry for offensive production. They may have to look for it in former all-star and MVP finalist Max Muncy, who went from hitting 36 home runs and having a .249 batting average in 2021 to only hitting 21 homers with a .196 batting average in 2022. With more of an everyday role at third base, Muncy should be able to showcase his offensive prowess as one of the team’s remaining cornerstones.

Padres: Trent Grisham

While his power and defense improved in 2022, Grisham’s overall offensive stats took a heavy downturn. While he only hit .242 in 2021, he lowered his batting average even more in 2022, bringing it down to a measly .184. While he did hit 2 more home runs, it took him 20 more games to do so, and his slugging percentage went down almost a full 100 points alongside this. With the Padres looking to seriously contend this year, Grisham should hopefully be able to produce as a part of the postseason hopeful team for years to come.

Giants: Brandon Crawford

The veteran shortstop had a fantastic 2021, hitting close to .300, and getting All-Star and Gold Glove selections, and even being a finalist for NL MVP. In 2022, however, he essentially halved his offensive stats across the board, splitting his home run count from 24 to 9, his stolen base count from 11 to just 1, his batting average from .298 to .231, and his OPS+ from 141 to 85. He’s still got some gas left in the tank, and, at this point, is one of the Giants’ only hopes to still be anywhere near contention in the near future.