5 MLB Teams at a crossroads featuring the San Francisco Giants, Atlanta Braves, and more
We are at a point in the young MLB season where the contenders and frontrunners separate themselves from the rest of the league. That means some teams find themselves at a crossroads where the rubber meets the road. Winning or losing in May could determine whether or not you'll be relevant come September and October. Though there's still the majority of the season to be played, 30 games in, these teams need to start winning if they wish to remain competitive in the 2022 MLB calendar year.
Atlanta Braves
The 2021 MLB champions have begun their 2022 campaign with a World Series hangover. With a record of 14-16, they find themselves six games behind their division foes and early-season favorite, the New York Mets. To put it in perspective, they're currently tied with the Miami Marlins for second place in the National League East.
Their slow start can be attributed to a number of factors. Mainly, their bats have gone cold, and Freddie Freeman's departure has sent wavelike ripples throughout their batting order. Though their 36 home runs are ranked second in the league, getting on base has been an issue with a 10th worst .301 on-base percentage. Home runs can't do damage without runners on base, and an equally uninspiring .226 team average doesn't help either. Will this team wake up, or is this just what we can come to expect from a Freeman-less Braves squad?
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals trail a Milwaukee Brewers squad that consists of a star-stuffed starting rotation by only 2 1/2 games. With that in mind, the Cardinals have no room for error if they want to keep pace in the MLB's NL Central division. The early race for the second MLB wild card spot is also getting very crowded. After a four-game split with the San Francisco Giants over the weekend, St. Louis found themselves knotted in a three-way tie for the second wild card spot. At this point, every loss matters.
A couple of weeks ago, I cited the Cardinals’ lack of rotation and bullpen depth beyond their top two as primary reasons they could find themselves falling behind in the playoff hunt. It didn't take long for that inconsistent back half of the rotation to reveal itself in the grand slam shown here to Wilmer Flores in the first inning of Saturday's tilt.
WILMER FLORES GRAND SLAM!
@SFGiants with an early lead in the 1st! 💪 https://t.co/V6YMpIybyJ
"WILMER FLORES GRAND SLAM!" - @ FOX Sports: MLB
Winning the first two games, only to settle for a split in San Francisco, is substantiating that claim thus far. To be fair, uncharacteristic errors cost them at a very critical time. But the Giants took advantage. It's also how you play in these critical situations that often separate the contenders from the rest of the pack. The Cardinals are going to have to prove they can perform under pressure down the stretch in May and beyond.
Boston Red Sox
This photo pretty much sums up how Boston's season has unraveled up to this point. There's no sugar-coating that the Boston Red Sox have been disastrous at best. The big splash signing of Trevor Story has not been as advertised, as Story sports a disturbingly atrocious .194 average and has yet to register a home run this season. For a third-baseman who just signed a six-year, $140 million deal, perhaps the most disturbing statistic is his strikeout percentage listed below.
Trevor Story strikes out again. He's 1-for-12 with 6 strikeouts this series. Entered today with a 32% strikeout rate, 9th-worst among 174 qualified players. Still batting in the top part of the Red Sox' order.
"Trevor Story entered today with a 32% strikeout rate, 9th worst among 174 qualified palyers." - @ Jason Mastrodonato
Story's monumental 35 strikeouts in just 24 games tell me he's not seeing the ball well. If this continues, the big free-agent signing could dictate the Red Sox position in the standings.
This team has more problems than Story. A full team effort across the board has contributed to their fourth worst record in the MLB. For a team that was projected to compete in the American League East at the start of the season, they need to turn their 10-19 record around now. If not, Boston could find themselves at a more difficult crossroads of rebuilding themselves back into contention.
San Francisco Giants
After losing the first two games of a four-game set, things were looking bleak for the 2021 NL West division champs. After five straight losses, they at least canceled out what could have been a disastrous series against the Cardinals over the weekend by winning the final two bouts.
The Giants remain at a crossroads with a lot of work ahead of them in the only division where all five teams have posted winning records thus far. In the MLB's deepest division to date, San Francisco holds a 16-12 record, four games back of the NL West-leading Dodgers.
While the Giants have been riddled with injuries, their hitting depth has been received with very mixed results. That depth could make or break them down the stretch games in May and June. With nine of their next 15 games being against division rivals, and a three-game set against the Cardinals straddled in between, the remaining games in May could set the course for their season.
Chicago White Sox
There haven't been as many postgame celebrations for the White Sox as we anticipated early in the year. One of the most disappointing storylines to start the MLB year is that of the Chicago White Sox. Most preseason rankings placed them in the top five out of 30 teams, yet here they stand with a 14-13 record and three games back of the surprise Minnesota Twins who are looking more and more like the team to beat in the AL Central.
After an impressive 93-69 record in 2021 despite a slew of injuries to their top players, there were high expectations at the start of the 2022 MLB campaign. With a healthy lineup for the first time since 2020, the White Sox were expected to run away with the AL Central. Suffice to say, they haven't lived up to the hype, at least not yet. Losing Carlos Rodon to the San Francisco Giants in free agency has had more of a lasting impact than many originally thought.
MLB Teams at a crossroads honorable mention
Philadelphia Phillies
After an MLB preseason projection near the top 10, Philadelphia has hovered below mediocrity right out of the gate. In fact, since their signing of Bryce Harper in the 2019 offseason, the Phillies have continually defied power rankings in the worst way possible. With little left in the prospect pipeline, it makes you wonder what's to come in the Phillies' bleak future outlook.