The midsummer classic is vastly approaching as the MLB season hits the halfway mark. When it comes to baseball anything can happen and preseason predictions and expectations don’t always pan out. Heading into this season there were high hopes for many teams and players who signed mega deals the past few offseasons. Clubs finished the 2014 season on a high note, with grand expectations this season, but previous momentum doesn’t always carry over.
Here’s a look at five of the biggest disappointments thus far this baseball season.
1. Boston Red Sox
The Sox have been downright awful this season. After winning the World Series in 2013, they struggled last year, but made moves this offseason to keep them in contention in the tough AL East, however that hasn’t been the case.
As it stands now, the Red Sox are in last place six games behind the first place Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees. It has been a tough race in the East so far between the other four teams as the Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays are each only a game out of first.
Boston’s revamped roster included the offseason acquisitions of Hanley Ramirez, Pablo Sandoval, Rick Porcello, and Justin Masterson.
The Sox pitching has been subpar this year as they are ranked 28th in the league with a 4.47 team ERA, allowing 358 earned runs thus far.
Offensively, they are ranked 13th in the league sending 335 runners across home plate thus far and a team batting average of .255. The lineup has combined for 79 homeruns on the year, but they have shown signs of struggle when it comes to power at the plate.
Many expected the Red Sox to take the East and make a serious case for the AL pennant this year, instead they have been a huge disappointment. After such a blockbuster offseason, there were high hopes for this Red Sox team and they simply haven’t delivered.
2. Robinson Cano
The Seattle Mariners nearly made the postseason in 2014, but missed out in part because of poor offensive production early in the season. This past offseason, they went out and added Nelson Cruz to accompany Cano in this M’s lineup to be heavy hitters, but Cano just hasn’t performed as well as everyone hoped.
Cano signed a 10-year, $240 million deal back in December of 2013 after spending his entire career in pinstripes. Cano brought a lot to the table, a veteran presence on a young roster and the experience of winning a World Series, as well as being a productive asset both offensively and defensively.
Last season he was solid for Seattle hitting .314 with 27 homeruns and 107 RBI, this year that hasn’t been the case. Through the first three months of the season, Cano is batting .244 with five homeruns and 27 RBI.
The M’s are ranked 29th in the league in offense, scoring only 267 runs and a mere .229 batting average. Cano is part of a team in a serious offensive slump after making strides to contend in the AL West. Currently the M’s are in fourth place ten games out of first.
3. Cleveland Indians
There were high hopes for the Cleveland Indians heading into the 2015 season, but they have yet to live up to the hype as they sit in fourth place of the AL Central, eight games behind the first place Royals.
The Tribe are ranked 18th in offense with 317 runs scored and a .252 batting average, but their underwhelming start to 2015 created a hole they have to climb out of.
Pitching wise, Cleveland is ranked 17th with a 3.92 ERA.
This year, the AL Central is being dominated by the Royals who are out to prove 2014 wasn’t a fluke, but the other teams have also disappointed especially the Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers.
4. Chicago White Sox
Another huge disappointment thus far this season is the play of the Chicago White Sox. After acquiring Jeff Samardzija, Adam LaRoche, David Robertson and Melky Cabrera there were high expectations for this club to contend in the AL Central. Instead, they find themselves in last place 10 games out of first.
They have a 4.13 ERA despite having both Samardzija and Chris Sale in the rotation. At the plate, the ChiSox are ranked last in the league scoring only 266 runs with a team average of .241.
The White Sox just haven’t clicked this season and the result on the field has been quite disappointing. They made strides this offseason to put together a solid roster with talent to help both on the mound and at the plate, but it hasn’t panned out.
5. San Diego Padres
One of the biggest disappointments of 2015 has been the San Diego Padres. Talk about a blockbuster offseason, this team bought in James Shields, Matt Kemp, Justin Upton, Wil Myers, Will Middlebrooks, Craig Kimbrel, and Derek Norris.
Heading into the season, the Padres were expected to contend in the NL West and possibly be a dark horse in the National League. Instead, they are in fourth place, seven and a half games behind the first place Los Angeles Dodgers.
They are ranked 14th in the league at the plate with a team batting average of .240 and have scored 332 runs.
Pitching wise, they have struggled. They have a 4.07 ERA despite adding some of the better pitchers around the league.
The Padres haven’t been in contention for a while, but made significant strides this offseason to do just that. They brought in top producers with high expectations that they could help improve this club both on the mound and at the plate, but so far that hasn’t been the case.
They aren’t completely out of the NL West race as there is still plenty of baseball left to be played, but they aren’t in good standing and have been greatly disappointing thus far.