Each MLB Team's Biggest 'What-If?' of the 2024 Season

In the final week of the 2024 MLB season, it's easy to play the "what if" game now that the majority of the season is in the rearview and most fan bases have dealt with some level of disappointment.

Whether it's a key injury, an offseason move that backfired, an underperforming star or a move that wasn't made, the dreaded "what if" can come in a variety of different shapes and sizes.

Every team has at least one thing to look back on and wonder what could have been if things had played out differently.

What if the Jordan Montgomery/Eduardo Rodriguez money had been spent elsewhere? After a surprise postseason run in which their lack of starting pitching depth led them to use an opener in Game 4 of the World Series, the Arizona Diamondbacks set to work bolstering their starting staff.

They signed veteran lefties Eduardo Rodriguez (4/$80 million) and Jordan Montgomery (1/$25 million) to join Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly and Brandon Pfaadt in what had the potential to be one of the best rotations in baseball.

Instead, both newcomers have struggled mightily: Imagine if that money had been spent on some of the other available arms like Sonny Gray, Jack Flaherty, Seth Lugo or Sean Manaea.

What if Ronald Acuna Jr.

and Spencer Strider had stayed healthy? Not many teams can stand losing their best offensive player and best pitcher and still contend for a postseason spot, so the fact that the Atlanta Braves are still in the thick of the wild-card race is a testament to the overall talent on their roster.

Spencer Strider made his first career Opening Day start this year, but he would make just one more start before he was lost for the season to Tommy John surgery.

That came a year after he went 20-5 with a 3.86 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 281 strikeouts in 186.2 innings to finish fourth in NL Cy Young voting.

Meanwhile, Ronald Acuna Jr.

took the field for just 49 games before he suffered the second torn ACL of his career on May 26, and the Braves have struggled to find a consistently productive replacement for him in the outfield all year.

It was a disappointing encore to his 2023 NL MVP performance when he became baseball's first 40/70 player and hit .337/.416/.596 for a 171 OPS+ with 217 hits, 35 doubles, 41 home runs, 106 RBI, 149 runs scored and 73 steals.

After logging a combined 11.3 WAR in 2023, they were worth minus-0.1 WAR total this season before they were lost to the injured list.

What if Felix Bautista was closing games? With 21 blown saves and a 68 percent save percentage, the Orioles have left a lot of potential wins on the table this year.

They are also just 5-6 in extra innings and 14-18 in one-run games, and it's fair to wonder if things might have been different with All-Star closer Felix Bautista available to take the ball in the ninth inning.

The 29-year-old converted 33 of 39 save opportunities with a 1.48 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 16.2 K/9 in 56 games last season, but he underwent Tommy John surgery that September and another elbow procedure in February which has sidelined him for the entire year.

In his absence, veteran Craig Kimbrel was signed to a one-year, $13 million deal, but he struggled to a 5.33 ERA with six blown saves in 29 chances before he was designated for assignment last week.

What if Lucas Giolito didn't get hurt? Despite some inconsistency the past few seasons, Lucas Giolito was still a sought-after starting pitching option in free agency last winter thanks to a strong track record of frontline production.

The Red Sox signed him to a two-year, $38.5 million deal, and he looked poised to serve as the ace of the staff after Chris Sale was traded to the Atlanta Braves.

Instead, he underwent an internal brace procedure on his right elbow before he ever made his Boston debut, sidelining him for the entire 2024 campaign.

For a Red Sox team that has gotten inconsistent production from everyone in the starting rotation, including breakout star Tanner Houck, Giolito could have been a real difference-maker in their push for a playoff berth.

What if Cody Bellinger had signed elsewhere? With rookies Michael Busch and Pete Crow-Armstrong both putting together strong rookie seasons, it's fair to ask if the Chicago Cubs really needed to bring back Cody Bellinger this past offseason.

Busch quickly established himself as the team's primary first baseman, while PCA has all the tools to be a perennial Gold Glove candidate in center field, and those just happen to be Bellinger's two primary defensive positions.

After posting a 138 OPS+ with 56 extra-base hits, 97 RBI, 20 steals and 4.4 WAR playing on a one-year deal in a resurgent 2023 campaign, Bellinger rejoined the Cubs on a three-year, $80 million deal.

He has been productive, but his 111 OPS+ and 2.1 WAR in 125 games still represents a significant downturn relative to his 2023 numbers.

Now he faces a decision on a $27.5 million player option for next season, and the Cubs might quietly be hoping he opts out so they can use that money to fill a more pressing need on the roster.

What if Garrett Crochet had not made those absurd extension demands? Bright spots for the Chicago White Sox have been few and far between in a historically awful season, but the emergence of Garrett Crochet during the first half had him looking like one of the most valuable trade chips on the market.

Two months later, he's still wearing a White Sox uniform.

"Crochet, 25, wants a contract extension if he's traded in order to pitch in the postseason this year, according to sources familiar with the situation.

Crochet also is making it known he has no desire to pitch out of the bullpen, citing health concerns for all of the above requests," wrote Jesse Rogers of ESPN on July 25.

Crochet made his first career MLB start on Opening Day this year and still has arbitration eligibility through 2026, so it's not surprising that teams were hesitant to make a long-term commitment to him given his lack of track record and injury history.

Since the trade deadline, he has a 5.53 ERA in 27.2 innings as the White Sox have limited him to four or fewer innings in each of his nine starts to protect against what is already a career-high inning total.

He might still end up being a solid trade chip, but it's starting to look like the White Sox missed their chance to sell at peak value.

What if Matt McLain had been healthy? A healthy Matt McLain would have had a trickle-down effect on the entire Cincinnati Reds infield.

The 25-year-old has spent the entire year recovering from the shoulder surgery he underwent in March.

If McLain was around to solidify his status as the everyday second baseman, it would have allowed the Reds to shift Jonathan India to third base, where Santiago Espinal, Noelvi Marte and Jeimer Candelario have combined to hit .236/.282/.378 for a .660 OPS that ranks 21st at the position.

The Reds also could have considered selling high on India during his strong first half, and now his stock has dipped once again with a .207/.318/.347 line in 254 plate appearances since the All-Star break.

Looking at the bigger picture, it was also a lost season of development for McLain, who hinted at future stardom with 3.7 WAR in 89 games as a rookie last season.

What if Shane Bieber had stayed healthy? There might not be a bigger "What If?" this year than the health of Shane Bieber for multiple reasons.

After working with diminished velocity in 2023, his stuff seemingly ticked back up during spring training, and he kicked off the 2024 season in dominant fashion with 12 scoreless innings and a 20-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio over his first two starts.

However, his season came to an abrupt end when it was revealed that he needed Tommy John surgery, and those two terrific starts ended up being the extent of his 2024 production.

Now he hits free agency needing to prove he is healthy rather than poised to cash in as one of the top starters on the market, and he might be a candidate to accept the qualifying offer this winter.

Meanwhile, the Guardians have navigated some ups and downs in the starting rotation to clinch the AL Central title, and a healthy Bieber would undoubtedly have improved an already promising outlook heading into October.

What if they had sold high on Ryan McMahon? Ryan McMahon has been a steady option at third base for the Colorado Rockies for several years now, providing consistent 20-homer power and Gold Glove-caliber defense at the hot corner.

The 29-year-old started the season on fire at the plate, and he hit .272/.350/.447 with 21 doubles, 14 home runs and 45 RBI in 95 games during the first half to earn his first All-Star selection.

However, the Rockies made it clear to teams as early as mid-May that he would not be available at the trade deadline, and they held to that despite another season in the NL West cellar.

He has hit just .195/.296/.319 in 213 plate appearances since the All-Star break, and he is still owed $44 million over the next three seasons to close out the six-year, $70 million extension he signed prior to the 2022 season.

What if they had kept Jack Flaherty at the trade deadline? With a 52-57 record, the Detroit Tigers were 7.5 games back with five teams to pass for the third AL wild-card spot, so it was not surprising when they sold high on rental starter Jack Flaherty in a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

However, with a 30-17 record since that point, they have stormed back into the postseason picture.

Entering play on Monday, they were tied with the Kansas City Royals for second in the wild-card standings, and FanGraphs gave them a 71.1 percent chance to make the playoffs.

The Tigers still have a bona fide ace in AL Cy Young front-runner Tarik Skubal to anchor the playoff rotation, but Flaherty would have slotted in as the No.

2 starter in October.

The 28-year-old has a 3.10 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 189 strikeouts in 157 innings over 27 starts on the year.

Instead, it will be some combination of Reese Olson, Casey Mize and rookie Keider Montero to round out their postseason staff if they can complete their torrid push for a wild-card berth.

What if the Jose Abreu money had gone to an outfielder? The Houston Astros signed Jose Abreu to a three-year, $58.5 million deal prior to the 2023 season following a terrific nine-year run with the Chicago White Sox.

His logged a career-low 87 OPS+ while hitting .237/.296/.383 with 18 home runs and 90 RBI last season, and things went from bad to worse this year when he hit .124/.167/.195 in 120 plate appearances before he was optioned to the minors and ultimately released.

Jon Singleton has been productive taking over as the team's primary first baseman, and now it's fair to wonder what else the Astros could have done with the $58.5 million they spent on 176 games and minus-1.7 WAR from Abreu.

Finding two productive outfielders to pair with Kyle Tucker has been a struggle all season, and Tucker himself missed time to injury, so the Astros lineup might look significantly different if they had splurged on an outfielder rather than Abreu.

What if signing a closer had been a priority? A year after signing Aroldis Chapman to a one-year deal and flipping him for Cole Ragans at the trade deadline, the Kansas City Royals decided to punt the closer's role heading into the 2024 season.

Incumbent James McArthur and veteran newcomers Will Smith, Chris Stratton and Nick Anderson started the year as the team's primary late-inning options, but no one from that group has an ERA under 4.00 on the year.

Anderson has since been released, while McArthur, Smith and Stratton are all currently on the injured list.

The front office went out and acquired Hunter Harvey and Lucas Erceg at the trade deadline, and Erceg has taken over as the team's primary ninth-inning guy, but the bullpen still looks like a glaring weakness heading into October.

The relief corps ranks 23rd in the majors with a 4.33 ERA, and they have 23 blown saves in 60 opportunities.

What if Mike Trout was traded during the offseason? With Shohei Ohtani poised to depart in free agency, there was some belief that the Los Angeles Angels might use this past offseason as an opportunity to fully reset by blowing up the roster.

The first step in that process would have been finding a taker for superstar Mike Trout.

However, there was never any real momentum toward a Trout deal, and they ended up standing pat in hopes of chasing down a postseason berth with Trout penciled into a spot in the middle of the lineup.

With a 40-homer season in 2022 and 2.9 WAR in 82 games in 2023, it was still possible to sell Trout as an impact player who had just dealt with some unfortunate injury luck.

Now that narrative has shifted after another injury-plagued campaign.

The 33-year-old has played just 29 games this year, and he will have suited up for only about 41 percent of the Angels games over the past four years when the 2024 season comes to a close.

He is still owed another $222.7 million over the next six years, and we may have officially reached the point where that is an immovable albatross of a contract.

What if Bobby Miller took a step forward instead of a step back? The Los Angeles Dodgers have used 17 different starting pitchers this year, and the only pitchers on the staff to throw more than 100 innings are Gavin Stone (140.1) and Tyler Glasnow (134.0) who are both expected to be unavailable in October.

Clayton Kershaw and Walker Buehler were both wild cards coming back from injuries, but big things were expected from Bobby Miller as a budding star coming off a terrific rookie season.

The 25-year-old went 11-4 with a 3.76 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 119 strikeouts in 124.1 innings as a rookie, getting the start in Game 2 of the NLDS, and he was a popular breakout pick heading into the season.

Instead, he has an 8.52 ERA and 1.77 WHIP in 56 innings over 13 starts, and he was demoted to Triple-A on July 10.

He returned on Aug.

17 trying to earn a spot on the postseason staff, but after struggling to a 9.00 ERA in 27 innings over six starts he was optioned back to Triple-A last week and he will likely be a non-factor in the postseason.

What if Jesus Luzardo had been traded during the offseason? The Miami Marlins blew things up at the trade deadline, shipping out young star Jazz Chisholm Jr.

and several other pieces after trading Luis Arraez to the San Diego Padres in a rare May deal.

However, they held onto Jesus Luzardo, who has been sidelined since mid-June with a lumbar stress reaction in his back.

The 26-year-old enjoyed a breakout 2023 season, posting a 3.58 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 208 strikeouts in 178.2 innings, and with club control through 2026 he was a popular name on the rumor mill during the offseason.

The Marlins opted against selling high, and he struggled to a 5.00 ERA in 66.2 innings before landing on the injured list.

Now with the team clearly in rebuilding mode and one less year of club control to inflate his value, Luzardo is nowhere near the trade chip he was at this time a year ago.

What if they kept Corbin Burnes for one final title push? The Milwaukee Brewers have already clinched the NL Central title, and their nine-game lead in the standings is the largest of any division leader heading into the season's final week.

However, it's hard to know what to expect from them in October with a projected playoff rotation of Freddy Peralta, Frankie Montas, Aaron Civale and either Tobias Myers or Colin Rea.

How much better would they look with Corbin Burnes penciled into the staff ace spot? The 2021 NL Cy Young winner was traded to the Baltimore Orioles during the offseason ahead of his final year of club control, and with a long-term extension in Milwaukee looking highly unlikely, there was solid logic to trading him while his value was still high.

What if they had kept the band together for one final playoff push? Could he have been the missing piece in a World Series run? What if re-signing Sonny Gray had been a priority? The Minnesota Twins finished second in the majors with a 3.82 ERA from their starting rotation last season, but the staff has a new look this year after Sonny Gray and Kenta Maeda both departed in free agency.

Despite a breakout season from Bailey Ober and solid production from rookies Simeon Woods Richardson and David Festa, the rotation has taken a clear step backward with a 4.26 ERA that ranks 20th leaguewide.

Things would look a lot different if they had prioritized re-signing Sonny Gray.

The 34-year-old signed a three-year, $75 million deal with the St.

Louis Cardinals, and he has gone 13-9 with a 3.84 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 203 strikeouts in 166.1 innings in 2024.

While he has been shut down for the rest of the year with forearm tendinitis, it was largely a precautionary decision for a team that had fallen out of playoff contention, so he could still have been an option in October for the Twins.

What if Francisco Alvarez had been healthy all season? Simply put, the New York Mets are a different team when Franciso Alvarez is in the lineup, and his impact stretches beyond just his surface-level stats.

The 22-year-old missed almost two months during the first half after suffering a torn ligament in his left thumb that required surgery, and the team's performance with him in the lineup compared to without him speaks volumes.

The Mets might be comfortably in the playoff picture instead of battling for a final wild-card spot if they had their rising star behind the plate available for the entire season.

With a .959 OPS, five home runs and 14 RBI in 55 plate appearances this month, he is swinging a hot bat down the stretch.

What if they had less faith in Clay Holmes? Sinkerballer Clay Holmes has been one of the best relievers in baseball the past few seasons, but the New York Yankees waited too long to pull the plug on him in the closer's role this season when he started to struggle.

The 31-year-old did not allow an earned run in his first 20 appearances this year, and he had a 1.23 ERA and 19 saves in 22 opportunities through June 9 when things went off the rails.

He struggled to a 7.45 ERA with three losses and three blown saves in his final 10 appearances of the first half, but still earned a spot on the AL All-Star team for his strong start to the year.

The rocky road to nailing down saves continued in the second half, but the team waited until he recorded his 11th blown save of the year on Sept.

3 to finally remove him from the closer's role.

Now they are left with starter-turned-reliever Luke Weaver as the primary ninth-inning option, while Tommy Kahnle and Ian Hamilton are also high-leverage options.

If they had acknowledged Holmes' struggles earlier, they could have done a better job bolstering the relief corps at the trade deadline.

What if Lawrence Butler had not exceeded rookie eligibility limits in 2023? Oakland Athletics outfielder Lawrence Butler hit .211/.240/.341 over 129 plate appearances during a forgettable rookie season in 2023, but he exceeded rookie eligibility limits with time spent on the active roster.

The 24-year-old has been a breakout star for the A's during the second half of the season, and he is hitting .265/.319/.503 for a 134 OPS+ with 23 doubles, 22 home runs, 57 RBI, 17 steals and 2.8 WAR in 120 games.

Would he be the AL Rookie of the Year front-runner if he had not exceeded rookie limits last year? New York Yankees teammates Luis Gil and Austin Wells, along with Baltimore Orioles outfielder Colton Cowser, are the front-runners in one of the thinner Rookie of the Year races in recent memory.

Butler might just have become the ninth Rookie of the Year winner in A's history if he still held rookie status.

What if they had kept Bailey Falter? There are not many holes on the Philadelphia Phillies roster, but the No.

5 starter spot has been a revolving door behind Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suarez and Cristopher Sanchez.

In the second season of a four-year, $72 million deal, Taijuan Walker has struggled to a 6.91 ERA in 82 innings, while Tyler Phillips, Kolby Allard, Michael Mercado and Seth Johnson have also failed to stabilize the back of the starting staff.

They had the answer in Bailey Falter.

The controllable left-hander was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates at the 2023 trade deadline in exchange for infielder Rodolfo Castro, who has been a non-factor this year.

Meanwhile, Falter has gone 8-8 with a 4.15 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 92 strikeouts in 134.1 innings pitching in the shadow of Paul Skenes, Jared Jones and the rest of the young Pittsburgh starting rotation.

What if Paul Skenes had been on the Opening Day roster? Paul Skenes is having one of the best rookie seasons by a pitcher in MLB history.

The No.

1 overall pick in the 2023 draft made just 12 starts in the minor leagues before he was called up for his MLB debut on May 11, and he earned the starting nod in the All-Star Game and is a neck-and-neck race with San Diego Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill for NL Rookie of the Year honors.

If he had been part of the Opening Day roster, he would likely be the clear pick for Rookie of the Year honors, and he might be in line to become just the second rookie pitcher in MLB history to win Cy Young honors, joining Fernando Valenzuela in 1981.

He will likely still appear on plenty of NL Cy Young ballots, and won't finish any lower than second in Rookie of the Year balloting, but an extra month in the majors could have made for a memorable award season.

What if they had re-signed Seth Lugo? The San Diego Padres signed Seth Lugo to a one-year, $15 million deal prior to the 2023 season and gave him a chance to be part of the starting rotation after he worked primarily as a reliever in his seven seasons with the New York Mets.

He finished with a 3.57 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 140 strikeouts in 146.1 innings before departing in free agency, signing a two-year, $30 million deal with the Kansas City Royals that includes a $15 million player option for 2026.

That has been one of the best signings of the offseason, as he has put together a career year, going 16-9 with a 3.03 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 178 strikeouts in 204.2 innings to anchor the Royals rotation alongside Cole Ragans.

To their credit, the Padres did make an effort to re-sign Lugo: If he had returned, San Diego's outlook heading into the postseason would have been even brighter.

What if Blake Snell had pitched like this all year? After joining the San Francisco Giants on a two-year, $62 million deal that includes an opt-out this winter, Blake Snell struggled to find the Cy Young form he showed in 2023 with the San Diego Padres.

Over the first three months of the season, he navigated injuries while getting shelled to the tune of a 9.51 ERA, 1.94 WHIP and a .308 opponents' batting average in 23.2 innings over six starts.

Since the start of July, he has a 1.23 ERA, 0.78 WHIP and 114 strikeouts in 80.1 innings, and if he had been pitching at that level all year the Giants might be in the thick of the NL wild-card race rather than needing to finish strong to avoid a losing record.

The left-hander will likely depart in free agency this winter in search of more guaranteed money on a long-term deal.

What if they had re-signed Teoscar Hernandez? A lack of consistent offensive production has been a glaring issue for the Seattle Mariners once again this season, undercutting arguably the best starting rotation in baseball.

The Mariners added Mitch Garver in free agency and traded for Luke Raley, Jorge Polanco and Mitch Haniger during the offseason, but that has not moved the needle much from an offensive standpoint.

They still rank 22nd in the majors with 4.13 runs scored per game, and spent the trade deadline trying to plug the holes by trading for Randy Arozarena and Justin Turner.

Bringing back slugger Teoscar Hernandez would have given the offense a proven middle-of-the-order slugger, and he has a 133 OPS+ with 31 doubles, 31 home runs and 93 RBI playing on a one-year, $23.5 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

What if Jordan Walker got more of an opportunity? From an outside perspective, it certainly seems like the St.

Louis Cardinals have badly mismanaged the development of former top prospect Jordan Walker.

He started his MLB career with a 12-game hitting streak last year after earning a spot on the Opening Day roster, and he was hitting .274 through 20 games, but the Cardinals decided to demote him back to the minors.

He returned 35 games later and was up for good, hitting .276/.342/.445 for a 113 OPS+ with 19 doubles, 16 home runs and 51 RBI in 117 games as a rookie.

The 22-year-old started the year as the team's primary right fielder, but he was demoted to the minors again in late April when he hit .155/.239/.259 in 67 plate appearances.

This time, he was not recalled from the minors until Aug.

12, having spent 94 games of the season back at the Triple-A level.

With an .820 OPS that includes five home runs and 14 RBI in September, he is once again showing flashes, and it's hard not to think this has been something of a lost year in his development.

What if they sold high during the offseason? Right-hander Zach Eflin and outfielder Randy Arozarena were two of the most productive players on the Tampa Bay Rays roster during their 99-win season in 2023.

They were expected to be key contributors to a contending team once again this year, but the Rays ended up selling at the deadline in an effort to cut payroll during a disappointing season, and Eflin and Arozarena were both sent packing.

Their numbers at the time of the trade left them with much less trade value than they had when the season started.

Neither player brought back an elite-level prospect as a result of their diminished production, and the Rays are left to wonder what could have been if they had sold during the offseason.

What if Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer and Tyler Mahle had returned at the All-Star break? When the season started, there was some hope that Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer and offseason addition Tyler Mahle might all be ready to return to action around the All-Star break.

If the Rangers could simply find a way to tread water and stay within striking distance of a playoff spot until those reinforcements arrived, they might be able to make a second-half push.

They were 46-50 at the break and 51-52 just a few days before the deadline, but the reinforcements never came, at least not at the level that was expected.

Scherzer made his season debut on June 23 and posted a 3.89 ERA in 39.1 innings before landing on the injured list again, and he made just one more start before he was shut down for the year.

Meanwhile, deGrom didn't return to action until Sept.

13, while Mahle was shut down with shoulder stiffness after just three starts in August.

All told, that trio has contributed a 3.88 ERA in 62.2 total innings while earning a combined $58 million in 2024.

What if Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

had been extended during the offseason? Slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

had a down year in 2023, hitting .264/.345/.444 with 30 doubles, 26 home runs and 94 RBI in a 2.0-WAR season, and that might have been the perfect opportunity for the Toronto Blue Jays to have some leverage in extension talks.

The two sides were unable to come to terms on an extension during the offseason, and they were still " not particularly close " amid ongoing discussions in July, and in the process his earning power continued to climb.

The 25-year-old is hitting .327/.399/.552 for a 169 OPS+ with 42 doubles, 30 home runs, 100 RBI and 6.3 WAR in 153 games this year, putting up the best numbers of his career since he finished runner-up in AL MVP voting in 2021.

This offseason will be the club's last chance to nail down an extension before he enters a contract year in 2025 and likely opts to test the open market.

What if Victor Robles had been given a full season? Once upon a time, Victor Robles was one of the top prospects in all of baseball and a potential franchise cornerstone for the Washington Nationals.

Following a 4.4-WAR rookie season in 2019 while helping the Nats win a World Series title, his career stalled and he tallied just 1.4 WAR in 341 games over the next five seasons before he was designated for assignment and eventually released on June 1.

Three days later, the Seattle Mariners plucked him from the scrapheap, and he has emerged as a diamond in the rough with a change of scenery.

In 72 games since joining the Mariners, he is hitting .333/.399/.469 for a 158 OPS+ with 20 extra-base hits, 28 steals and 2.9 WAR.

The M's signed him to a two-year, $9.75 million extension in August..

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