Down years happen. For as good as any player can be, he’s bound to have a year where his numbers fall and he fails to live up to lofty expectations. It’s part of the game, and usually fans are accepting of them to a point.
But some down years are definitely worse than others, like when a team has high hopes of contending for a championship and needs its superstars to perform like they’re capable of performing. When down years happen then, they’re a little harder to take. And there were plenty of those this year.
With that in mind, here’s a look at ten of the most disappointing players of 2015:
Jeff Samardzija
The White Sox added the big right-hander hoping to slot him behind Chris Sale and form the AL’s version of Kershaw and Greinke. Instead, Samardzija has been fairly terrible: he boasts an ERA over 5, leads the league in hits allowed and earned runs allowed, and is posting his lowest K/9 rate since he became a full time starter. Not the year he wanted heading into free agency, and certainly not the year the White Sox were expecting.
Doug Fister
Fister was heading into his walk year with the expectation that he’d be one of the first pitchers teams called with multi-year offers after the high-priced arms came off the board. After the season he had, he’ll likely be settling for a short, make-good deal instead. Fister struggled for the Nats before losing his rotation spot in late summer, and has been used sparingly as a reliever ever since. It was a disastrous season for a guy who was a top 10 finisher in the Cy Young award voting just a year earlier.
Devin Mesoraco
A breakout star last year, Mesoraco looked to be on track to putting his name up there with Posey and Molina as one of the best catchers in the National League. Instead, his season was wrecked by injury. He was limited to just 23 games this year before undergoing surgery on his hip, and he now faces the possibility of having to change positions. Injuries happen, but that doesn’t make them any less disappointing. The Reds never fully recovered from losing such an important bat in the middle of their lineup.
DETROIT, MI – SEPTEMBER 21: Victor Martinez #41 of the Detroit Tigers walks off the field after striking out as Rob Brantly #36 of the Chicago White Sox and pitcher David Robertson #30 of the Chicago White Sox celebrate a 3-2 win in game two of a double-header at Comerica Park on September 21, 2015 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images)
Victor Martinez
Age may have finally caught up to V-Mart. Just a year removed from a second place MVP finish, Martinez saw his stats free fall across the board: his batting average dropped nearly 100 points, his OBP by over 100 points, and his slugging by over 200 points. He spent some time on the DL but hasn’t hit when healthy, and looks nothing like the hitter he’s been over the course of his career. And to make matters worse, Detroit still owes him $54 million over the next three seasons. He’s a huge reason the Tigers’ season went down in flames.
Chris Carter
He mashed 37 home runs last year, and with power like that it’s easy for a team to look the other way when it comes to a terrible triple slash line. But Carter’s homers have dropped way off this year (20) along with the slash: he’s currently hitting .189/.300/.395, all down from 2014. The Astros may have expected a slight drop off in home runs, but they also had every right to expect a reasonably similar amount of production elsewhere from Carter. Instead, he became a one-trick pony this season whose presence in the lineup hinders more than it helps.
Adam LaRoche
This looked like one of the better signings last winter. LaRoche was the model of consistency, usually providing a .260 average to go along with around 25 homers and 90 RBI. Instead, his numbers fell off a cliff: LaRoche has managed to hit .211/.298/.347 with just 12 homers and 44 driven in. He never adjusted to being a DH, hitting just .188/.283/.286 while starting there. Far from one of the best signings, LaRoche turned into a disaster. And he’s owed $13 million next year.
WASHINGTON, DC – AUGUST 05: Anthony Rendon #6 of the Washington Nationals tosses his bat after striking out in the seventh inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Nationals Park on August 5, 2015 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
Anthony Rendon
Injuries wrecked what was supposed to be Rendon’s breakout season. A year after he established himself as one of the up-and-coming third basemen in the game, Rendon started the year on the DL and never fully recovered. When he came back, the Nationals used him in a platoon at second base with the intent of moving him back to third in 2016. While his lost year isn’t the only reason the Nationals underwhelmed, losing Rendon for so long (and then waiting for him to get back to form) severely hampered their offense.
Pablo Sandoval
What a disaster. First, he came to spring training overweight and caused an uproar in the Boston media. Then he brought more negative attention on himself by bad-mouthing his former team, the Giants. To top it off, Sandoval was terrible on the field. He hit just .245/.292/.366, all career lows, while posting more career lows in homers and RBI. He looked awful on defense, and the conditioning issues that plagued him in San Francisco followed him across the country. His numbers had been in decline since 2012, but nobody thought he’d be this bad.
Carlos Gomez
Gomez was fresh off three of the best all-around seasons in baseball and was expected to have another one. He fell victim to injury early on and never seemed to get back on track afterwards, with big drop offs in homers, RBI, stolen bases, and OPS. And he’s been just okay since his trade to the Astros, putting up a .234/.282/.379 line while struggling to stay healthy as Houston sinks in the standings. His final numbers will be decent, but nowhere near what we’ve come to expect from him.
Yasiel Puig
This was supposed to be the year that vaulted Puig into the superstar stratosphere; instead, he’s played in less than 100 games due to injury and didn’t look all that great when he was healthy, either. He lost nearly 100 points on his OPS, the third straight year it’s declined. And while his arm in right field remains the best in the game, he simply wasn’t out there enough to make much of a difference. He’s still young and talented enough to take the next step, but this will go down as a lost year.
