There are a number of ways a team can go about trying to replace the production of a player who left via free agency or was traded away.

Sometimes, the answer is as simple as acquiring someone else, or turning the job over to a top prospect who is waiting in the wings. Often, though, it’s up to the established players already on the roster to cover the loss.

The eight stars below find themselves in that predicament entering 2024 after each of their teams lost a key player this past offseason.

• At a glance: Key additions, departures for all 30 teams

Mike Trout, OF, Angels
Obviously, no one player can replicate the overall impact two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani -- now a member of the Dodgers after signing the richest free-agent deal in baseball history -- had for the Angels. Trout, though, could help to make up for the loss of Ohtani’s bat if he can find a way to stay in the lineup after missing 249 games over the past three years.

The three-time AL MVP showed some signs of decline in 2023, posting his worst slash stats (.263/.367/.490) since his abbreviated debut season in 2011. However, he isn’t far removed from producing 40 homers with a .630 slugging percentage over 119 games in 2022.

Freddy Peralta, SP, Brewers
Peralta has flashed ace potential since becoming a full-time starter in 2021, striking out 31.1% of the batters he has faced and yielding a .191 batting average. But with Corbin Burnes traded to the Orioles and Brandon Woodruff recovering from right shoulder surgery, the Brewers need more consistency and durability from the pitcher now heading up their staff.

Peralta posted a 2.44 ERA with 92 strikeouts and 11 walks over 62 2/3 innings in his final 11 starts last year, but he had a 4.72 ERA in 19 starts before that. Peralta also made just 18 appearances in 2022 and has never thrown more than 165 2/3 innings in a season. Burnes, meanwhile, tossed 562 2/3 innings over the past three years, the fourth most in MLB.

Jake Burger, 3B, Marlins
When Jorge Soler (36 homers) opted out of the final year on his contract and signed a three-year deal with the Giants, the Marlins lost the only hitter who had more than 19 home runs for the team in 2023. Miami, though, has another 30-homer bat on its roster in Burger, who was acquired in a Trade Deadline deal with the White Sox last summer. Burger finished 2023 with 34 homers, slugging 25 for Chicago and nine for Miami.

With Soler gone, Burger’s performance could go a long way toward determining whether the Marlins are able to make another postseason push in 2024. The 27-year-old needs to work on his plate discipline and bat-to-ball skills, but his power is legitimate, as evidenced by his 99th percentile max exit velocity mark and 98th percentile barrel rate in 2023.

Joe Musgrove, SP, Padres
Michael King is taking reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell’s spot in San Diego’s rotation, but with King entering his first year as a full-time starter, the team can only reasonably expect so much from the right-hander. The same goes for Yu Darvish, who is now 37 years old and coming off a season in which he recorded a 4.56 ERA over 24 starts. As a result, the onus is on Musgrove to replace Snell (currently a free agent) as the Padres’ ace.

The 31-year-old Musgrove went down with a right shoulder injury last July and made just 17 starts on the year, but he was effective before the injury and has posted a 3.05 ERA with 484 K’s over 459 2/3 innings during his tenure with the Padres.

Fernando Tatis Jr., OF, Padres
The Padres are not only entering 2024 without their best pitcher from last season but also their best hitter, having traded Juan Soto to the Yankees in a December blockbuster that created more payroll flexibility and replenished some of the team’s pitching depth. To make up for the loss of Soto, who posted a 158 OPS+ in 2023, the Friars will need to get more from their top returning bats than they did a year ago.

Tatis is especially important, considering the lofty offensive ceiling he showed over his first three seasons. He had a 160 OPS+ in that span, considerably better than the 113 OPS+ he recorded in his 2023 return after missing the previous season due to injuries and a suspension.

Jon Gray, SP, Rangers
The duo of Nathan Eovaldi and Jordan Montgomery was instrumental in helping the Rangers win a World Series title in 2023, combining for 43.7% of the team’s postseason innings and recording eight of its 13 wins. But with Montgomery entering free agency back in November and Max Scherzer (back surgery) and Jacob deGrom (Tommy John surgery) both expected to miss a significant chunk of 2024, Texas needs one of its other starters to step up and be a capable No. 2 behind Eovaldi.

Among the trio of Andrew Heaney, Dane Dunning and Gray, the latter is arguably the best bet to do it. FanGraphs projects Gray to tie Eovaldi for the team lead with 2.3 WAR in 2024.

Tarik Skubal, SP, Tigers
Although he missed some time with a finger injury, Eduardo Rodriguez set the tone for the Tigers’ rotation for much of 2023. The left-hander threw 47 more innings (152 2/3) than any other Detroit pitcher and recorded a 3.30 ERA before opting out of his contract and signing a four-year deal with the D-backs in the offseason.

Skubal was already expected to take up the ace mantle for the Tigers in 2024, but E-Rod’s departure makes the 27-year-old even more essential to Detroit’s rotation. Skubal has certainly demonstrated the potential to be a frontline starter, having recorded a 2.80 ERA with a 2.00 FIP, a 0.90 WHIP and a 7.29 K/BB ratio over 80 1/3 innings last year. However, he needs to show he can handle an increased workload after missing parts of 2022 and 2023 while recovering from flexor tendon surgery.

Joe Ryan, SP, Twins
The Twins had a three-headed monster of Pablo López, Sonny Gray and Ryan atop their rotation over the first three months last season, but Ryan was unable to keep up with his counterparts the rest of the way. Ryan hurt his groin prior to a start in Atlanta on June 27 but did not inform the team, pitching through the injury and allowing 17 homers and 31 earned runs over his next seven starts before finally going on the IL in early August. He was better after returning, but he finished the season with a 4.51 ERA.

With Gray departing as a free agent to sign with the Cardinals after finishing second in the American League Cy Young Award voting in 2023, the Twins are counting on Ryan to rediscover the form he showed over his first 15 starts last year (2.98 ERA, 2.77 FIP).