Which Losing Team From Last Year Has The Most Upside In 2022?

Image credit: Jacob DeGrom (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)

This is one of nine burning questions comprising Baseball America’s 2022 MLB Season Preview. To see the full preview, click here.

Kyle Glaser—Padres. Fernando Tatis’ wrist injury is a blow, but the Padres have enough talent to stay afloat until he returns. With a new, improved coaching staff led by manager Bob Melvin, pitching coach Ruben Niebla and hitting coach Michael Brdar, the Padres should get more out of underperforming players like Wil Myers, Eric Hosmer and Blake Snell and contend for a postseason spot. —KG

Ben Badler—Mets. Add Max Scherzer to a rotation that already has Jacob deGrom, throw Starling Marte in the outfield and you have a 77-win team from a year ago that is more in line with a 90-win club in terms of their true talent level.

Josh Norris—Rangers. Adding Marcus Semien, Corey Seager and Jon Gray should go a long way toward improving a club that won 60 games in 2021.

Carlos Collazo—Mets. The pairing of Max Scherzer with Jacob deGrom should be terrifying to an NL East division that is a bit suspect beyond the Braves. The lineup is older, sure, but a bounceback year from Francisco Lindor could help in that regard, as well as a few nice additions in Starling Marte, Mark Canha and Eduardo Escobar. Chris Bassitt might be one of the more underrated pitchers in baseball as well and is a very strong No. 3.

Geoff Pontes—Mets. They added Max Scherzer and Starling Marte, the rotation and lineup are deep, and owner Steven Cohen has shown a willingness to invest in winning. The additions of Chris Bassitt, Mark Canha, and Eduardo Escobar helped fill some of the gaps of the 2021 roster.

Chris Hilburn-Trenkle—Padres. The 2021 season was a nightmare for the Padres, but they have too much star power to not bounce back in 2022. They won’t win the division, but they’ll make the playoffs, thanks in part to a bounceback year from Blake Snell.

Matt Eddy—Mets. The Mets chased the high end of the free agent pool, which is something they hadn’t really done since signing Carlos Beltran in 2005. New York added Max Scherzer and Starling Marte on shorter-term deals, and without sacrificing draft picks, while making smaller deals with Mark Canha and Eduardo Escobar to improve versatility. A post-lockout trade imported Chris Bassitt to give the club a strong front three headed by Jacob deGrom and Scherzer.