The 2025 season was one of many ups and downs: surprising contenders, disappointing seasons despite big expectations, and frequent injuries to many of the top talents in the sport. These ebbs and flows are present in just about any season, but 2025 stood out, as the exciting Toronto Blue Jays surpassed all expectations to take the juggernaut Los Angeles Dodgers to a seven-game World Series decided in extra innings.

Throughout the course of the season, some players fell below expectations. Whether that be due to injury, poor luck in small samples, or simply underperformance, these players likely have reason to return to form in 2026. This article, along with my next five articles released throughout Spring Training, will follow each division and highlight 30 players, one from each team, looking to bounce back in 2026.

 

Blue Jays: Jeff Hoffman

Jeff Hoffman, closing games for the AL-champion Toronto Blue Jays, had a down 2025 in terms of run prevention. Hoffman also went from generating an elite 2.30 WPA for the Phillies in 2024 to a dismal -0.29 in his first year with the Blue Jays.

These runs were a result of more frequent hard contact, with lefties slugging .492 and batters totaling 15 home runs in just 68.0 IP. Hitters still chased and whiffed at high rates, but an increase in walks and loud contact was an unwelcome change.

This likely derived from a combination of small sample variance and a few approach changes. Hoffman deployed an improved splitter more often than in the past and halved his slider usage against lefties. Hoffman also lost a couple of inches of depth on his slider without a significant velocity gain.

To get back to 2024 form, Hoffman could use some better luck, but also some changes to better balance out R/L matchups. Look for Hoffman to better establish his four-seam as an option for whiffs while continuing to employ his slider effectively as the projected closer for the 2026 Blue Jays.

 

Orioles: Shane Baz

In his first full MLB season, Shane Baz started 31 games with plus strikeout and ground ball rates. Other than that, Baz struggled, allowing too many home runs (26 in 166.1 IP) while primarily struggling to induce whiffs against righties.

A lot looked good under the hood for Baz, with sustained fastball velocity (97.0 mph on average) and a plus curveball remaining strengths over a full season’s workload. Outside of those two pitches, a solid changeup helped tackle lefties, yet a cutter/slider pairing failed to serve as an effective bridge to his curveball.

Baz switched to the cutter shape after using the slider through May, and while the cutter was slightly better, batters still hit .337 against the pitch. Early reports in Spring Training indicate Baz is throwing both the cutter and slider, and a year of experience throwing both pitches will certainly be helpful.

Entering 2026, there is still a lot to like from Baz. Some changes, such as commanding the cutter better, further pushing the changeup, and retaining his plus velocity from 2025, will be key to Baz breaking out in 2026.

 

Rays: Cedric Mullins

Cedric Mullins, now the projected starting center fielder of the Tampa Bay Rays, has been a staple of consistency throughout the 2020’s, appearing in at least 116 games each season with no wRC+ below 98 until 2025. Mullins missed some time in late May/early June with a hamstring injury and struggled the rest of the way following a hot start through April.

Despite the down year overall, Mullins showed a lot of promise under the hood of the below-average output. Mullins was hitting the ball harder and better, with an elite 29.6% pulled-air rate easily a career-best. Still, Mullins struck out at a nearly career-worst clip, and his OBP fell below .300 for the first time since 2019.

Mullins, for the first time in his career, posted reverse splits, an even weirder note considering Mullins used to switch-hit before becoming an everyday outfielder. The Rays, who are capable of employing a platoon at just about every position, would probably like to figure out why Mullins’ strikeout rate doubled against righties.

Entering 2026, Mullins will probably start the majority of games for the Rays, but will need to hit to retain this spot. Mullins had a down year defensively in 2025, but following a healthy offseason, I would be surprised if this trend remained in 2026. A season with Steinbrenner Field as their home stadium would’ve likely helped as well, but the Rays’ return to the Trop isn’t a bad fit either.

 

Red Sox: Justin Slaten

Justin Slaten broke onto the Majors level with the Red Sox in 2024, almost immediately seeing high-leverage while generating a 0.85 WPA over 55.1 innings. After dealing with elbow inflammation in late 2024, Slaten missed a few months in 2025 with shoulder inflammation, returning in September with a 5.91 ERA/4.73 FIP over his last 10.2 innings.

Before the injury, Slaten played well but struggled to see the same elite strikeout numbers he posted in 2024. While his stuff remained sharp, his command was a little more spotty, and some pitch shapes changed. Each of his pitches added some cut while his breaking balls lost some consistency. His formerly rare yet nasty curveball leaked over the zone too often, his sweeper was chased slightly less, and his elite fastball failed to generate the same called strikes and was hit far harder in the air.

Most of these problems are nitpicking, however, and are common for pitchers returning from a shoulder injury. Slaten still has nasty stuff and has tools to generate weak contact against lefties and enough whiffs against righties. A healthy offseason could be just what Slaten needs to regain his form and return to dominance in 2026.

 

Yankees: Ryan McMahon

Following a mid-season trade to the Yankees in 2025, Ryan McMahon struggled to acclimate in the Bronx, striking out 33.5% of the time while sharing time with José Caballero and Amed Rosario at the hot corner.

After eight seasons in Coors with the Rockies, some difficulty adjusting to the altitude is to be expected. Entering 2026, McMahon will look to regain his low-to-mid .400s SLG of the last half-decade with the Rockies while continuing to play an elite third base.

Some help will come from platoon advantage, as the Yankees have a variety of options to complement McMahon at third base against lefties. McMahon has a career 95 wRC+ against righties versus just a 72 against lefties, and showed some promising batted ball tendencies that would work well, in theory, at Yankee Stadium. McMahon has flexed power to all fields throughout his career, yet would now be more frequently rewarded by pull-side power.

I would expect McMahon to be a high-floor, consistent third-base option for the Yankees as a guy who hasn’t missed significant time to injury in over half a decade. A career-best average exit velocity, hard-hit rate, and walk rate were all welcome changes in 2025, but a bit more consistent contact would be key to finding McMahon’s potential outside of Coors.