Worst Teams of the 2010's
Thanks to a combination of fellow Card Swap member Ryan Perry suggesting this, and the Pirates trading players faster than the Rays team on a 2019 Bowman Draft break can be bought, I have a feeling those Buccos may be one of the worst teams of the 2021 season. As a matter of fact, as I was about to publish this blog, the Pirates traded my current favorite player of the team (it was Josh Bell before) Jameson Taillon to the Yankees for even more prospects. Let's hop back into the time machine to see what were some truly bad teams from this past decade
2013 Houston Astros 51-111: (45.9%)
This was the first years for the Astros in the AL after transferring over from the NL Central. They were the youngest team in 2013, averaging 25.8 years old. When you look at the roster, you do see some great names like José Altuve, J.D. Martinez, and Dallas Keuchel, but this was prior to all of their breakouts. Although Altuve did steal 35 bases, he only mustered a .678 OPS. Martinez was worse, hitting a .650 OPS, and Keuchel posted a 5.25 ERA. This teams major downfall was their pitching, averaging a league worst 4.79 ERA and 4.67 FIP. They weren't the worst offensive team (that belonged to the Marlins, averaging 3.17 runs per game, managed 62 wins thanks to José Fernandez and Steve Cishek amazing pitching performances), but still were bottom five in runs scored.
Bright Spots
Jason Castro: By far Houston's best offensive player this year, his splits were .276/.350/.485. He hit 18 homers and drove in 56 runs. He was second amongst all catchers with a .835 OPS behind Yadier Molina's .836.
Chris Carter: Carter did lead the league in strikeouts, but this year started his four year run as a home run threat. He hit 29 homers and drove in 82 runs. If it wasn't for him and Castro, this team would've certainly been the worst offensive team.
Jose Veras: Before being traded to Detroit for Danry Vasquez and David Paulino, Veras did capture 19 saves for this team. He posted a 2.93 ERA and an above average 3.40 FIP.
Next years record: 70-92
2019 Detroit Tigers: 47-114 (41.2%)
The 2019 Tigers started off with a bang winning eight of their first twelve games. For the rest of the 149 games, they struggled to win 39 of them. The offense was anemic at best, with only two players having over a 100 OPS+ (Victor Reyes and Nicholas Castellanos). The Tigers scored the least amount of runs, averaging 3.61 runs per game, 1.2 runs under the league average. The pitching wasn't as bad as the offense, but that's not saying much. Jordan Zimmerman was the worst out of the crew, going 1-13 with a 6.91 ERA in 112 IP, even though he flirted with a perfect game early in the season.
Bright Spots
Nicholas Castellanos: Although traded 100 games into the season to Cubs for prospects Alex Lange and Paul Richan, Castellanos managed to put up numbers. He was one of two players to post an OPS+ over 100 at 105, while smacking eleven homers and 37 RBIs.
Matthew Boyd: Boyd is a purely strikeout pitcher, which he displayed in 2019. He finished 6th in strikeouts per nine, and 10th in strikeout to walk ratio. He became the first pitcher to ever throw 13 strikeouts without walking a batter in six innings on July 4th versus the White Sox.
Shane Greene (traded, 22 Saves, posted 1.18 ERA, ERA+ of 405, FIP of 3.69, first pitcher to record 8 saves in their teams first 12 games)
Next years record: 23-35
2018 Baltimore Orioles: 47-115 (40.8%)
Much like the Astros situation mentioned above, the Orioles struggles came from lack of pitching. They gave up a staggering 5.51 runs per game, with an average pitcher FIP of 4.98. They also gave up the most homers in the league, letting up 234 big flys. The spearhead of the pitching, Dylan Bundy, went 8-16 posting a 5.45 ERA in 171.2 innings. Offensively, they did have Manny Machado (partially), Mark Trumbo, and Trey Mancin, so they weren't in the basement, but they were on the stairs down. .
Bright Spots
Manny Machado: Machado was traded at the deadline to the Dodgers for Yusniel Diaz, Dean Kremer, Rylan Bannon, Zach Pop, and Breyvi Valera. Through 96 games with the team, Machado was hot, posting 24HR, 65 RBI, and a .963 OPS. Combining his Orioles and Dodgers seasons, he ripped off some amaizng offensive stats. He finished top ten in Offensive WAR (6.6), hits (188), Home Runs (37), and RBIs (107).
Kevin Gausman: Much like Machado, Gausman was also traded at the deadline. Along with Darren O'Day, Gausman was swapped to the Braves for Evan Phillips, Jean Carlos Encarnación, Brett Cumberland, Bruce Zimmerman and some international signing money. He was Baltimore best starter (which isn't saying much), posting a 97 ERA+ and a FIP 4.58.
Next years record: 54-108
Kommentit