Will There Be An MLB Team Worse Than The Athletics In 2024?
Check Out Who We Believe Will Be The MLB Fewest Wins Team This Season
In sports, it’s always more fun to be optimistic. However, some teams in the MLB don’t have enough skill on their roster to compete with the other teams in the MLB.
While things will change before the regular season begins, the average payroll in the MLB is nearly 150 million.
However, some teams, like the Oakland Athletics, haven’t even reached $50 million in payroll this season. It’s hard to get behind Oakland’s ownership and a fanbase in shambles, knowing their beloved team is on its way out for Las Vegas in a few years.
Still, we’ve seen some teams in recent history find success with a low payroll. The Tampa Bay Rays are typically the best example. Via FanGraphs, the Rays have a projected payroll of $99 million, which is 25th in the MLB.
But almost every MLB season, the Rays put together massive seasons. The Rays could essentially pay $1 million per win this year. That seems pretty reasonable, knowing the Mets are paying $315 million and are projected to have a worse record than the Rays this year.
There are still some free agents out there for grabs. Blake Snell just won the National League Cy Young and hasn’t signed a contract yet. Cody Bellinger had a monster year last season but is also a free agent heading into Spring Training.
Even Jordan Montgomery and Matt Chapman are waiting to sign contracts for this upcoming season. Therefore, some teams will increase their payroll before the season begins. But it’s unlikely any of those players settle with mediocre teams with low-ball offers.
Therefore, the bad teams in the MLB are likely finished making their teams. Now it’s time to decide who will have the most wins in the MLB. You can bet this at BetUS in the MLB Season Specials.
Oakland Athletics (+100)
Here’s the obvious answer.
The Oakland Athletics won just 50 games last season and finished with a .309 winning percentage. The Athletics were also 40 games below the Astros and Rangers and 38 games below the Mariners.
The AL West is one of the most challenging divisions in baseball between those three teams. Meanwhile, last year, the Angels still had Shohei Ohtani, who dominated against the Athletics throughout the season, despite Los Angeles finishing with 73 wins last season.
The average fan can’t even name a single player on the Athletics. That’s ultimately because the team doesn’t have an All-Star.
Paul Blackburn will lead the starting rotation. They’ll also have veterans Alex Wood and Ross Stripling. Meanwhile, Ken Waldichuk will be a part of the rotation when healthy. He’s a younger player who has potential, along with JP Sears.
Meanwhile, the lineup has a few guys who can have good seasons. Zack Gelof is one of them. He hit .267 with the Athletics last year with 14 home runs and 32 RBIs. Gelof also had 14 stolen bases with a .337 OBP and a .841 OPS. He’s a former second-round pick.
They’ve also got Esteury Ruiz, who swiped 67 bags last season. However, his average was just .254, with an OBP of .309. He’ll need to find a way to get on base more. If he can, he’ll be huge for the Athletics this season.
Brent Rooker and Shea Langliers have some power, along with Seth Brown and JJ Bleday. But again, we’re not talking about Aaron Judge here. We’re talking about these guys hitting potentially 30 home runs in the best-case scenario this season.
Oakland is the clear candidate to lose the most games in the MLB this season.
Colorado Rockies (+250)
The Rockies are getting old and washed.
The two main pieces on the offense include Charlie Blackmon and Kris Bryant. Both are injury-prone. Blackmon is 37 years old, while Kris Bryant is 32. However, Bryant has barely produced since coming over to Colorado.
The Colorado Rockies made no moves to improve this year and will rely on Ryan McMahon to lead the offense again. The Rockies could get some solid power out of Nolan Jones, but the outfield most nights could be Jones, Brenton Doyle, and Sean Bouchard.
Nobody is scared of that.
FanGraphs has projected the Rockies to finish with the lowest number of wins this season, with 64. They have the Athletics earning 72 wins. This shows you how bad of a roster the Rockies have.
Los Angeles Angels (+4000)
The Los Angeles Angels are another Mike Trout injury away from being the worst team in the MLB.
Trout hasn’t been healthy recently. Some believed he was the best player in the MLB just a couple of years ago. Now, when you’re looking at MLB projections, Trout isn’t even a top-ten player heading into this season in some analysts’ eyes.
The starting rotation has a lot of potential. But potential won’t get the job done. None of the guys in the rotation have seen an entire season of consistent success recently.
They’ll have Patrick Sandoval, Tyler Anderson, Reid Detmers, Griffin Canning, and Chase Silseth. Zach Plesac will likely fight for a rotation spot over one of those guys.
Other than Sandoval and Anderson, plenty of guys in the back end of the rotation can have big years. However, all three of those guys have been inconsistent. Any bad performances will likely lead to losses.
The Angels’ third baseman is Anthony Rendon, who doesn’t even like the game of baseball. The second-best outfielder is Aaron Hicks, who was cut from the Yankees last season in the middle of the year.
If the Angels don’t sign Blake Snell or anyone else in free agency, this season could get ugly for them.
Boston Red Sox (+15000)
Here’s another fun long shot. The Boston Red Sox are already in sell mode, and the MLB betting lines continue to dip.
Boston could be in the running for the MLB fewest wins team. The starting rotation is really ugly, with Brayan Bello listed as the No. 1 pitcher and Lucas Giolito as the No. 2. The offense will have an interesting piece in Vaughn Grissom. Still, he struggled with the Braves last season in his rookie year. That’s not appealing.
The Red Sox brought in a lot of misfits like Giolito, Tyler O’Neil, and Vaughn Grissom, who didn’t perform very well last year. At +15000, why not take a chance on the Red Sox?
