1 quick fix each team can make to take the next step

1 quick fix each team can make to take the next step

May 16th, 2024

Each MLB team, no matter the amount of talent on its roster or its place in the standings, has weaknesses and shortcomings that need to be improved. But some improvements take longer than others. With the help of our MLB.com beat writers, here's a look at one quick fix for every club.

All stats updated entering Wednesday unless otherwise noted.

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AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST

Blue Jays: Power
Home runs can cover up a lot of problems. The Blue Jays rank near the bottom of the league in homers and slugging percentage, which has turned so many of their games into a low-scoring grind. The Blue Jays have the talent on their roster to rank in the top 10 in both categories, so they don’t need anyone to ride in and save the day here, but it needs to be a collective approach. For a club trying to climb back up the standings over the next month or two, a few home runs could help them steal a game here and there. -- Keegan Matheson

Orioles: Get going
The O’s lineup is at its best when Mullins is playing at a high level. He has a 30-30 ceiling, which he reached in 2021 when he hit 30 homers, stole 30 bases and was named both an All-Star and AL Silver Slugger. This year, the 29-year-old continues to play a Gold Glove-caliber center field -- making catches like this nearly on a routine basis -- but he’s struggling at the plate. Entering Thursday, Mullins was mired in a 5-for-59 (.085) slump over his previous 18 games. He was out of the starting lineup Saturday and Sunday before going 0-for-6 in the past two games. -- Jake Rill

Rays: Get Randy right
has shown some signs lately that he might be coming out of his season-long slump. He homered four times in an eight-game stretch beginning on May 3 and punctuated that run with his first multihit game since March 30. Then on Tuesday night, he tied atop the team’s leaderboard with his eighth home run. But even with back from the injured list and back to looking like his usual self after a slow start of his own, the Rays' lineup needs more power and a dynamic presence near the top of the order. Specifically, they need Arozarena to rediscover his All-Star form from a year ago. It’s a different lineup when he and Díaz are at the top of their game, and Arozarena at his best provides the kind of energy that can power the whole club. -- Adam Berry

Red Sox: Offense needs to support pitching
The Red Sox have led the Majors in starting pitching ERA and overall ERA for most of the season, yet they continue to hover near .500. Why is this happening? Because the offense is struggling to maintain any kind of consistency. In 15 of their first 42 games, the Sox scored two runs or fewer. Sure, they are missing three key players (, , ) due to injuries. While Story is out for the season, the Sox must find a way to generate more offense until the latter two players get back. In particular, Boston has lacked production at first base, second base and shortstop. -- Ian Browne

Yankees: Add a fresh bullpen arm
There aren’t many holes to plug on a Yankees roster that has won 10 of its first 13 series, especially now that shrugged off a dismal April and is crushing the ball like an MVP candidate. Though the Bombers are second in the Majors with a 2.63 bullpen ERA, a workload paced by closer ’ exceptional first half so far, the relievers have been worked more heavily than manager Aaron Boone would like. The pending return of , who has yet to pitch this season due to right shoulder inflammation, will add a fresh arm to the mix. Kahnle most recently pitched on Tuesday for Double-A Somerset, striking out the side in a scoreless, 10-pitch inning. He’s expected to be activated by Sunday. -- Bryan Hoch

AMERICAN LEAGUE CENTRAL

Guardians: Stabilize this rotation
Whether the Guardians seek external help or the team gets (elbow discomfort) back into the mix, Cleveland needs to find a way to make this rotation more reliable. For the last few years, the one guarantee with this club was that its starters would keep it in contention. Now that the bats are slowly becoming more productive, the rotation has been shaky, largely due to losing and having injuries to two of its top pitching prospects, and . If the rotation can match the bullpen’s dominance and offense’s grit, the Guardians may find a way to shift into another gear. -- Mandy Bell

Royals: Find power in the outfield
The top part of the Royals’ lineup -- third baseman , shortstop , first baseman and catcher -- is doing a lot of the heavy lifting for the offense this year. Thanks to some good pitching performances, that’s been all the Royals have needed. But a glaring hole is still the outfield’s production. Getting and/or , who have a .594 and .499 OPS, respectively, hitting consistently would do wonders for the Royals’ lineup, not only giving it some more pop in the bottom half of the order but offering good protection in that No. 5 spot behind Perez. Watching hit a go-ahead three-run homer on Tuesday night in Seattle might signal good things to come for him, and the Royals could use consistent slug from him in the outfield, too. -- Anne Rogers

Tigers: More slug
The Tigers aren’t built to be a big-time slugging team, but they need their main power sources to heat up as the weather does. , despite leading the league in doubles, went homerless for his first 37 games before homering in consecutive games earlier this week. was searching for power before his two-homer game last Saturday. Rookie remains homerless this year after hitting 27 home runs last year in the Minors. has one home run this year amidst his early-season slump. has become the main power source and offensive catalyst, but he needs help. Detroit has tried to manufacture offense on the basepaths, but it can’t run the bases aggressively enough to make up that large of a gap. -- Jason Beck

Twins: Get back in the bullpen
Let’s be frank here: It’s been a pretty darn good two and a half weeks in the Twin Cities, featuring 17 wins and only four losses. And still, that might be 19 wins and two losses if the bullpen had been just a touch deeper -- and that’s where Stewart comes in as one of the club’s primary setup men. Sidelined by shoulder tendinitis for now, Stewart recently received a PRP injection and should be throwing soon, which should lessen the club’s reliance on a shakier depth group of relievers, with , , and looking less sharp of late. -- Do-Hyoung Park

White Sox: Get healthy
Let’s be honest: There’s no quick fix for a team sitting 16 games under .500 entering Thursday. They are in a rebuild, and developing their young players and adding to the young core once again should be their biggest focus. But getting primary players healthy will help the White Sox the most in the present. Center fielder (right hip flexor strain) could be back by the end of May while third baseman (left adductor strain) is making progress but is being targeted more for after the All-Star break. So even the quick fix isn’t all that quick. -- Scott Merkin

AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST

Angels: Get going
There’s no quick fix that will get the Angels back on track this season as they’ve struggled in all facets and have dealt with an overwhelming amount of injuries. But their rotation has been better recently outside of Detmers. The lefty has some of the best stuff in baseball and had a 1.19 ERA through his first four starts, but he has an 8.46 ERA over his past five outings. The Angels need him to develop into a consistent starter, but it’s been a work in progress. -- Rhett Bollinger

Astros: Get starting pitching whole
The Astros began the season with four starting pitchers on the injured list -- , , and -- and and have since spent time on the IL, too. Verlander is back, Urquidy could soon follow, and the Astros currently have six healthy starters, including rookie . Ronel Blanco's suspension means a brief hit to their depth, but Urquidy could be back by the end of the month with Garcia and McCullers following later in the summer. -- Brian McTaggart

Athletics: Rotation help
The A’s entered Wednesday having dropped eight of their past 10 games, a stretch that comes on the heels of a six-game win streak. Their starters have tossed five innings or fewer in eight of those 10 games and compiled a 6.87 ERA. With Opening Day rotation members , and currently sidelined, the A’s will have to rely on their depth from the Minors to step up. -- Martín Gallegos

Mariners: Get Julio going
The Mariners go as their best player does, and when is at his best, their offense looks completely different. Take Sunday for example, when he crushed his first homer at home in 2024 -- the delay itself saying it all -- as part of an 8-4 win over Oakland. For his career, he has a .942 OPS in Seattle's wins and a .637 OPS in its losses. His 160-point drop in slugging percentage -- from .485 last year to .325 this season, is MLB’s 19th-largest. -- Daniel Kramer

Rangers: Wake up the bats
With 13 players on the injured list, the Rangers need to heal up above all else. But that's not exactly a quick fix. What they need immediately is more production out of those on the field. Manager Bruce Bochy said it after they were swept by the Rockies on Sunday: This offense is in a funk. Not much changed through the first two games this week as Texas scored four combined runs against the Guardians and has plated 10 runs during its five-game losing skid. If there is a silver lining, it’s that has shown a few signs of snapping out of his prolonged slump. He owns a .512 slugging percentage and an .859 OPS through his previous 11 games. -- Brian Murphy

NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST

Braves: Get back to being himself
The reigning NL MVP has been plagued by baserunning errors, a higher strikeout rate and a decline in power. Concentration could be an issue on the bases. If so, that’s an easy fix. He also seems to be swinging through pitches he consistently barreled last year. This could be just a timing issue that when fixed will reduce his strikeout rate and increase his barrel percentage. -- Mark Bowman

Marlins: Get on track
The returns of Jesús Luzardo and Braxton Garrett provide much-needed rotation stability after injuries decimated the unit at the beginning of the season. Now it's the lineup's turn to pitch in with some run support. Look no further than Burger, who entered Wednesday 2-for-30 (.067) since coming off the injured list on May 6. The middle-of-the-order bat was a big reason for the 2023 club's success. -- Christina De Nicola

Mets: Reduce the walk rate
Much has been made about Mets starters struggling to provide length, their pitchers failing to corral opposing base stealers, and other such problems. To some extent, these are all symptoms of a core issue: The Mets are walking far too many batters. For nearly this entire season, the Mets have ranked at or near the bottom of the league in walk rate. Their ratio is significantly higher than last year and has increased by about 70 percent since 2022. Until that walk rate settles, the Mets will find it difficult to make other improvements. -- Anthony DiComo

Nationals: Consistent offense
On Friday, the Nationals moved above .500 for the first time since July 2021, showing improvement early this season. In order to continue in that direction, the Nats are looking for offensive consistency. Washington scored 23 runs during a three-game series against Toronto earlier this month. They also scored three runs or fewer in seven other May contests. The Nationals have had success doing damage once on base, ranking second among all teams in stolen bases. But they have also hit the fourth-fewest home runs. The Nats have done well with offense by committee, making consistency at the plate from game to game key. -- Jessica Camerato

Phillies: Get on track
It’s hard to come up with anything that needs to be “fixed” for a Phillies team that entered Wednesday night having gone 22-5 over the past month, except maybe ’s ailing hamstring. But even without Turner, the Phillies’ potent lineup continues putting up big numbers, and their starting rotation is as deep as any in baseball (they just sent and his 1.53 ERA to the bullpen). Even the bullpen is ripe with high-leverage options in , , and . But in a league where you can never have too much pitching, Domínguez rediscovering his form could elevate the Phils to yet another level. -- Todd Zolecki

NATIONAL LEAGUE CENTRAL

Brewers: Get some arms back
won’t pitch this season, but a handful of the Brewers’ other injured pitchers have been making good progress in recent days. Lefty (knee) expects to make his first rehab start on Sunday and very much wants to prove he can be a Major League starter. If he doesn’t, he would be a great option for a bullpen also expecting to add All-Star closer (back), who is pegging a return around the All-Star break, and , who played catch again Wednesday as he works back from an early-season shoulder issue. All three enjoyed huge moments in relief last year -- Hall for the Orioles, Williams for the Brewers and Junis for the Giants. -- Adam McCalvy

Cardinals: Move back to the bullpen
At this point in his career, the 24-year-old Liberatore isn’t a starting pitcher -- and that’s not an indictment of him. The Cardinals have repeatedly inserted Liberatore into the starting rotation over the last two-plus seasons, and the results have been less than inspiring. Now, with out again, the Cards turned to the 6-foot-4 lefty as a spot starter once more. They did so even though he had seemingly found a role where he could thrive in the bullpen. As a starter, Liberatore just doesn’t have the stuff to face lineups multiple times or combat right-handed heavy groupings. This season, Liberatore has limited lefties to a .161 batting average. However, righties are hitting .314 with a .929 OPS and two home runs. Also, there’s this: From pitches 26-50, the opposition is hitting .348 off Liberatore. His greatest value to the Cardinals -- because of his success against lefties -- is in short-burst settings as a reliever. The Cardinals would be wise to call up a starter and put Liberatore back into the role where he has been the most effective. -- John Denton

Cubs: Find some bullpen upgrades
With five relievers currently on the injured list -- including , who grabbed the closer job last season -- the Cubs are doing what they can to piece the innings puzzle together right now. With the Trade Deadline still months away, the external options are limited. The Cubs did swing a trade this week to acquire righty from the Mariners to help. Chicago has two possible in-house solutions in and , who are also depth for the rotation. If they can offer reliable relief innings and the Cubs can get some relievers back healthy, that would be big for the North Siders. And then, the front office can target impact bullpen help closer to the Deadline. -- Jordan Bastian

Pirates: Get some outfield production
With the exception of and (who is splitting time at first base), the Pirates have gotten very little offensive production from their outfielders. and combined for 47 home runs last year, but Suwinski has just three home runs this year and Taylor only one, with both posting sub-.600 OPS marks. has hit the ball hard, but it has not translated to results. Pirates outfielders entered Wednesday with a combined .626 OPS, the fifth-lowest in baseball. Several infielders have not lived up to expectations, namely and , but the team was counting on pop from the outfield. For the most part, that hasn’t happened. -- Alex Stumpf

Reds: Wake up the offense
Although Cincinnati’s lineup is missing key contributors due to injury or suspension, the club being ranked 29th in batting average and 25th in OPS is stunning considering the expectations to contend. Tuesday’s 6-4 win over the Diamondbacks was the Reds’ first six-run output since April 27, a span of 15 games. There was a recent stretch where the team lost 10 of 11 and 14 of 17 games mostly because of a lack of offense. Although appears to be emerging from his early funk, , , and others need to come around to support what’s been mostly strong starting pitching in order for the Reds to even think about getting back to a .500 record and beyond. -- Mark Sheldon

NATIONAL LEAGUE WEST

D-backs: Get injured players back
After being relatively free of injuries last year, the D-backs have been beset by them in 2024. Two key pieces of the rotation -- and -- are on the shelf, and center fielder and shortstop are also both out. All four are significant parts of the equation that could make Arizona a contender, and the D-backs desperately need to get them back. -- Steve Gilbert

Dodgers: More consistency from the bottom of the order
Not many things have gone wrong for the Dodgers as they’ve established themselves as one of the best teams in the Majors by winning 17 of their past 21 entering Wednesday. But for the Dodgers to take an even bigger jump, they could benefit from more consistent production from the bottom of the order. and have struggled for most of the season, though Lux has been trending up for weeks. has missed extended time but is getting closer to returning. has also given the team a boost. What hasn’t happened yet, however, is a couple of those guys getting hot at the right time. Once that happens, , , and will get even more run-scoring opportunities. -- Juan Toribio

Giants: Get healthier
The Giants have seen seven position players go down this month, with center fielder looming as the biggest loss after dislocating his left shoulder on a collision with the center-field fence on Sunday. Lee isn’t expected back anytime soon, but the Giants could still get a near-term boost from the return of designated hitter and left-hander , both of whom are on track to begin rehab assignments with Triple-A Sacramento this week. -- Maria Guardado

Padres: Get and hitting like the Silver Slugger winners they are
and have been All-Star caliber. is off to an impressive start. has come as advertised. On the mound, the Padres’ starting pitching has been solid, and they’ve gotten everything they could’ve asked for from closer . But all of that will only carry them so far if Machado and Bogaerts continue to struggle. Both superstar infielders have posted a sub-.650 OPS this season. The glass-half-full view: If (when?) those two start hitting, this San Diego roster looks awfully formidable. -- AJ Cassavell

Rockies: Restoring OFs and to the lineup
The Rockies went from historic struggles to an unlikely streak over the past week. While they admit to, as manager Bud Black has said often recently, being “under construction,” they thought they were better than their early-season struggles. Veterans and have been consistent performers, has regained his swing, and younger players such as and are looking like true keepers. But the Rockies need health and production from the veteran Bryant and youthful impact player Jones -- two players who were expected to be mainstays -- to see how far along their project has come. -- Thomas Harding