Biggest Disappointments of the 2025 MLB Regular Season
by Sam Cox
As the end of the 2025 MLB regular season nears, it’s time to reflect on the teams and players that have disappointed us the most. Those who have exceeded expectations are likely extending their season into the playoffs.
Disappointment is judged relative to preseason expectations. For instance, the Rockies being historically bad doesn’t fall into this category, because that seemed unfortunately predictable before opening day.
Many of these teams had playoff aspirations or at least wanted to be more competitive than they have been throughout this season.
Twins Fall Miles Short
Minnesota looked like the best team in the AL Central before opening day. The offense was sneakily good, the rotation was led by Joe Ryan and Pablo López, and the bullpen had the potential to be the best in baseball.
Fast forward to Sept. 16 and Minnesota is 18 games under .500. Carlos Correa, Harrison Bader, Jhoan Duran, Chris Paddack, Griffin Jax, Louis Varland, Brock Stewart, Willi Castro, Ty France, and Danny Coulombe were traded away.
That’s a bullpen decimated, a franchise cornerstone flipped to his former team, and several useful role players moved on. The Twins have only won three playoff games since 2004.
Rays’ Rotation
With Ryan Pepiot and Drew Rasmussen set to be joined for a full season by Shane Baz and Shane McClanahan, the Rays had the upside to be one of the five best rotations in baseball.
McClanahan never made a regular-season start in 2025. He had triceps surgery after suffering with nerve issues in his pitching shoulder. Baz has a 5.15 ERA. Adrian Houser and Joe Boyle have combined for 15 starts as of Sept. 16.
Tampa Bay’s rotation is 15th in ERA and 22nd in FIP. It’s a group that looked capable of carrying the Rays to the postseason, but their underachievement has left the franchise facing a second straight season below .500.
Young Orioles Core
Having lost Corbin Burnes and failed to fortify their rotation, not many MLB picks fancied the Orioles to win the AL East. Still, few people thought they would start 19-36 and be out of contention before the beginning of June.
Baltimore’s Pythagorean record is 66-84. Trevor Rogers is their only starter with an above average ERA. The rotation being this bad wasn’t the most outlandish preseason prediction, but did anyone expect their young offensive core to be so underwhelming?
Only six teams have scored fewer runs per game. Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, Coby Mayo, Ryan Mountcastle, Colton Cowser, and Heston Kjerstad disappointed at the plate. Kyle Stowers’ success in Miami rubbed salt into the wounds.
Everything in Atlanta
Who really lived up to expectations on the Braves? Ronald Acuña Jr. has great rate stats, but he’s only been worth 2.1 bWAR. Matt Olson is a long way off his 2023 peak, even though he’s been better than he was in 2024. Marcell Ozuna has regressed considerably, and Spencer Strider is a far cry from his pre-injury self.
Chris Sale has backed up his Cy Young-winning campaign. Drake Baldwin has had an excellent rookie year. Pierce Johnson has been pretty reliable in the bullpen.
Other than that, this has been a year to forget for the Braves. They’ve never really been in contention, and they’re on course for their worst winning percentage since 2017. With a long streak of playoff appearances coming to an end, what comes next?
Limited Progress in the Capital
Washington had upside coming into 2025. Dylan Crews, Nathaniel Lowe, Robert Hassell III, Keibert Ruiz, and others have disappointed at the plate. James Wood leads the majors in strikeouts.
After impressing early in the year, MacKenzie Gore has a 7.07 ERA in the second half. It’s even been a bit of a mixed bag from their top prospects across the minor leagues.
The Nats weren’t realistically going to be a playoff team, but this season has still been a disappointment relative to expectations. Only the White Sox and Rockies have lost more games in 2025.
