5 Biggest Busts from 2022-23 MLB Free Agency

The 2023 MLB season is winding down, and the playoff field is beginning to come together. Many teams came into the season with lofty expectations, mainly due to moves they made this past offseason, but these five players gave their teams the worst return on investment. 

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The Texas Rangers were believed to have hit the home run of the offseason, signing Jacob deGrom, despite the injury concerns around him, to a long-term contract. The Rangers appeared ready to contend and needed an ace to lead the charge on the mound. When deGrom was on the mound, there was no better ace in the sport. Well, after just 30.1 innings in a Rangers uniform, those injury concerns came back around, resulting in deGrom needing Tommy John surgery. Now, deGrom is hoping to return by next August, but still, a disappointing turn of events for all parties involved.

What an offseason Carlos Correa had. He was a San Francisco Giant, then a New York Met, just to become a member of the Minnesota Twins again. Injury concerns derailed his original plans, but his play derailed his 2022 season. By no means has Correa been bad, but after signing for $200 million over six years, more is expected than a .229 batting average, 18 home runs, and a 1.2 WAR. It was an ugly year and an even uglier contract for the Twins.

After deGrom, Carlos Rodon was the next-best starting pitcher on the market. The New York Yankees came in and swooped him up, eager to add an ace alongside Gerrit Cole to get them over the hump. It could not have gone worse for both sides. Rodon got hurt in Spring Training and didn’t make his Yankee debut until early July, and it’s been forgettable since. Boasting an ERA north of 6.00, Rodon has become a liability, with the only hope being that he can figure himself out this offseason.

Xander Bogaerts becoming the San Diego Padres’ shortstop was a bit unexpected, but given the Padres of recent years, they are committed to spending until it all comes together. After a ten-year career with the Boston Red Sox, Bogaerts and his $280 million were expected to get the Padres over the hump to the World Series. Well, thanks in part to a strong September, Bogaerts now is hitting north of .270, but looking at his entire body of work alongside the Padres record, it’s been underwhelming. Hopefully, Year 2 will bring better things to San Diego.

Oh, the New York Mets. Look what you did this time. Credit has to be given where it’s due, but I respect the crap out of Steve Cohen. Every team in sports should want an owner like Cohen, who will do anything possible to win ball games where money is no object. He went for it big time, but it didn’t work out. Edwin Diaz got hurt, Justin Verlander didn’t have it, and nothing meshed. Good on him for not trying to fit a square block into a round hole and getting out in front of the disaster by selling Verlander and Max Scherzer at the trade deadline. With new President of Baseball Operations David Stearns and a boatload of prospects and money, the Mets can get another crack at it. Still, what a bust of an offseason they had.

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