Major League Baseball’s exhibition chart opened Thursday with Chicago Cubs who visited the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. You know what this means, right?
This means that we have enough test size to mathematically eliminate at least five MLB teams from the 2025 World Series Chase.
Now you can say, hello, give these teams a few months to prove that they do not belong in a pennant. And we answer, hello, these teams had four months since the regular season in 2024 ended to do something to prove that they are interested in winning – and they basically chose not to.
The first team on our list is a Gimme because Chicago White Sox lost 121 matches last year – Major League records since 1900.
When professional team in Windy City throws past terrible and incapable and sinks so deeply that they turn into jokes, they become known as “funny bad.” Unfortunately for Chicagoans, fun is about the only type of fun offered today. Think bulls, hawks, bears etc. And nowhere is it more fun or bad than on the south side.
Given SOX’s major move during the off -season, the Ace Starter Garrett Crochet to Boston for four prospects was their major acquisition of free agent Robert Jr. As soon as he has a warm two weeks; There is a chance that is not zero that they threaten their own record for losses.
Realistically, Sox is a decent bet to win at least 50 matches because baseball is strange. But most recently we checked, it is still 35-40 wins shy to be a legitic wild cort. So scrape them from the list. If you can find someone who is willing to bet, they will not post 100-Plus losses for the third year in a row, it makes the investment immediately.
Next up? Colorado Rockies. Like White Sox, Rockies is a legitimate threat to lose 100-plus games for the third straight season.
September 13, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Rockies Catcher Hunter Goodman (15) celebrates with the first bass man Michael Toglia (4) and the second bass man Brendan Rodgers (7) after meeting a Grand Slam in the eighth round against Chicago Cubs at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn images If you are wondering why it is because they are stuck in a catch-22. In general, they try not to do any features to improve. But on the rare occasions when they convince themselves to take a big swing, they have a worrying tendency to miss like Javier Baez, which reinforces their desire to stand pat.
An excellent example is Baez’s former Cubs teammate, Kris Bryant. Since signing a seven -year, $ 182 million agreement before the 2022 season, Bryant’s injuries have limited him to 159 out of possible 486 matches. But perhaps his inaccessibility has been good -for he has handled a -1.3 war when playing.
So maybe we should applaud Colorado’s seasonal strategy to be low in the mountains. After ending up 37 matches from first in NL West and 28 wins under the Wild-Card team last year, Rockies’ boldest movement was to beef up its list to acquire Tool Inventer Thairo Estrada. Yes, Thairo Estrada who beat .217 with a .590 OPS last year in San Francisco.
Should we care about discussing Miami Marlins? They lost 100 matches last year as well. Fear that they might have the staff not to do it again, they sent leading homemade hitter Jake Burger to Texas and traded exciting left -wing starter Jesus Luzardo to Philadelphia for four prospects.
July 6, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Marlin’s right -wing fielder Dane Myers (54) is doused with streets by Catcher Ali Sanchez (47) as they celebrate their victory against Chicago White Sox in Loandepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Rhona Wise-USA Today Sports Former Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara is back from Tommy John operation and looks strong, so it will be a big plus -when Miami sends him out of the city for more prospects. If Marlins play their cards correctly, they may have a farm system ranked in the upper half of MLB one day.
April 6, 2024; Anaheim, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels Outfielder Mike Trout (27) makes a jumping catch at the wall outside an airball hit by Boston Red Sox Outfielder Jarren Duran (16) in the eighth round of Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Pictures It does not seem fair to choose from the Los Angeles Angels, so we will stay positive here while we still insist that they will not fight in Al West this year. You have heard how bad the third bass man Anthony Rendon’s seven -year contract of $ 245 million has worked for the angels, right?
Well, here are the positive news: after being healthy enough to be in Angels’ opening day set each of the last four years – just to play 57, 46, 42 and 56 more games the rest of the road due to several Diseases – Renders had the representative to suffer the major injury of the year before spring training.
The angels announced last week that Rendon demanded “long -term hip surgery” and will miss the season. Although it is bad for him, we choose to believe that he deliberately sacrificed himself to the baseball gods – who in exchange has promised to let Mike Trout play a whole season after being limited to 111 matches over the past two years.
St. Louis Cardinals First Baseman Willson Contreras (40) is greater than ever, hoping to produce power numbers to match 2025. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images Who is our fifth team mathematically eliminated? Unfortunately for the best fans in BaseBall ™ it is St. Louis Cardinals. With a choice between working hard to fill holes and fighting or working hard to get maximum trade value for veterans such as Nolan Arenado, Sonny Gray and Ryan Helsley to speed up the rebuilding process, the Cardinals have chosen atrophy.
In response, Cardinals fans have chosen apathy.
Here is the card’s only trade outside the season: De Stal Michael Helman, a 28-year-old tool player with 10 career-master-league bats, from Minnesota for “cash considerations.”
Yes, yes, the low season has been full of reports of their attempts to trade Nolan Arenado. Is it trying to win a pennant? Or try to save money?
Ah, the sound of dollars is sucked back to an owner’s bank vault. Now it is the cutest soundtrack in the spring.
