The Biggest Red Flag for Each MLB Team

From the World Series contenders trying to avoid potential pitfalls to the non-contenders that are simply trying to identify some building blocks while jostling for draft lottery odds, every Major League Baseball team has a red flag worth worrying about.

In some cases, it's a star player who hasn't been cutting the mustard as of late.

For others, it's a position group that is a glaring possible Achilles' heel for October.

Or for the Brewers and the current best record in baseball, it's what recent postseason history tells us about teams who don't hit many home runs during the regular season.

We'll tackle them all, division by division, with statistics current through the start of play on Tuesday, August 25.

Baltimore Orioles : Top Prospects Aren't Panning Out

It's year No. 3 of Jackson Holliday's MLB career, but the former No. 1 overall pick has yet to look like a foundational piece for this franchise.

On top of that, Coby Mayo was arguably a top 25 prospect in all of baseball heading into last season, while both Dylan Beavers and Trey Gibson landed on our Joel Reuter's top 100 heading into the current season. However, none of those three has provided any serious value in their age-24 season.

The O's once again have one of the most highly rated farm systems after selling off Adley Rutschman and more at the trade deadline. But can they develop this batch of coveted minor leaguers into quality major leaguers?

Boston Red Sox : Catcher Spot Is Still Broken

Speaking of Rutschman, he hasn't been the answer at catcher that Boston was hoping for. The Red Sox gave up an absolute haul of prospects to try to address the fact that Carlos Narváez was triple-slashing .187/.260/.275 for them. But Rutschman has thus far given them an even worse line of .146/.255/.244. (His arm is at least more of a deterrent to would-be base-stealers, though.)

New York Yankees : Hot Corner Is a Hot Mess

The Yankees just lost Ryan McMahon (thumb) to the IL, which means it'll be up to José Caballero and Amed Rosario to hold down the fort at third base until he's back. However, each of those three Yankees has a sub-.700 OPS, and the team's overall defensive ratings at the hot corner have been considerably below average. Can they sufficiently hide that deficiency in October?

Tampa Bay Rays : Bullpen Is Starting to Crack

For most of the season, Tampa Bay has had a pretty reliable bullpen. Since August 2, though, they have a bullpen ERA of 5.06—while every other team currently in the projected postseason picture is below 4.00. The dynamic duo of closer Bryan Baker and primary set-up man Kevin Kelly has remained solid, but the bridge from the rotation to the eighth inning has become mighty shaky.

Toronto Blue Jays : Back of the Rotation Could Be Why They Fall Short

You've probably heard at this point that Toronto is going to end the regular season with 30 consecutive games against teams that currently have losing records. But the Blue Jays also have a losing record of their own and probably need to win two out of every three games the rest of the way to make it back to the postseason.

With Max Scherzer's 7.40 ERA in the No. 4 spot and either a bullpen game or Spencer Arrighetti (8.32 ERA since June 1) in the No. 5 spot, even the favorable schedule might not save them.

Chicago White Sox : Not Enough Starting Pitching

The White Sox keep holding steady atop this division and are extremely likely to make the postseason. But this simply is not an October-caliber starting rotation.

Sean Burke has been solid all year long, but Luis Castillo has given them one gem and three duds since coming over from Seattle.

They're also now hoping for the best with José Urquidy at No. 4 in the rotation, and he just made his first MLB start (and not a great one by any means) in nearly three years on Monday.

Cleveland Guardians : José Ramírez Has Not Been Himself

Jo Adell has thus far been a fantastic trade deadline acquisition. Steven Kwan has an .897 OPS since July 1 compared to a .575 mark up to that point. Both Chase DeLauter and Angel Martínez are batting nearly .350 thus far in August.

But it simply hasn't been enough, as José Ramírez batting .226 and slugging .247 (with no home runs) in 26 games played since returning from a broken hamate.

When he came back, Cleveland was tied with Chicago for first place in this division. They've gone 12-18 since. And if the Guardians star who has finished top 10 in the AL MVP vote in eight of the past nine years doesn't turn things around, they're probably going to miss the postseason.

Detroit Tigers : Most Blown Saves in American League

It was just two weeks ago that Detroit had the best run differential in the American League, but with a losing record to show for it. And, well, that'll happen when you have 27 blown saves and an 18-42 record in games decided by either one or two runs.

Four separate Tigers have blown at least five saves, "led" by Kyle Finnegan with eight.

Kansas City Royals : Seth Lugo Has Allowed the Most Runs Among AL Pitchers

The Royals could have gotten a nice haul of prospects for Seth Lugo at last year's trade deadline. Instead, a few days before the deadline, they extended him through at least 2027, betting that he would be able to anchor the rotation for years to come.

Since inking that deal, though, Lugo has made 33 starts with a 5.37 ERA while the Royals have bottomed out, already allowing more runs this season (651) than they did in the entire 2025 campaign (637).

Minnesota Twins : Byron Buxton Has Vanished

On June 22, Byron Buxton was tied with Yordan Alvarez for the AL lead in home runs with 25 of them. Now, it's almost September, and Buxton still has 25 home runs. He did miss about 30 games with hip injuries, but he has also played 24 straight homer-less games over the past two-plus months, triple-slashing .195/.283/.253.

By some miracle, the Twins have managed to tread water at 26-26 since Buxton last went deep. However, it's hard to imagine they'll survive the upcoming 15 consecutive games against Chicago, Cleveland and Detroit if he continues to give them nothing.

Athletics : Worst Pitching Staff in Baseball

Sutter Health Park has done this pitching staff no favors whatsoever, as the A's are allowing 1.95 home runs per game at home compared to 1.12 on the road. However, the fact remains that they have a team-wide ERA of 5.50 and precious little worth building around aside from J.T. Ginn and maybe Gage Jump. And we may be at the point where free agent pitchers would rather go to Colorado than to West Sacramento.

Even though Astros GM Dana Brown was already going to be out of a job this winter when his contract expired, back-to-back collapses at home against the A's this past weekend resulted in Houston owner Jim Crane firing mutually parting ways with Brown a bit ahead of schedule.

Per Bob Nightengale of USA Today , the Astros also already told manager Joe Espada that he won't be back next season and gave him the option to leave along with Brown, but he chose to stay.

You might expect this type of news out of Colorado or San Francisco as they languish 30-ish games back in the NL West, but the Astros were in first place in the AL West when the decision was made. It's a wild time for a Hail Mary type of move.

Los Angeles Angels : Mike Trout Has Come All the Way Back to Earth

It was a fun blast from the past when Mike Trout ended April with 10 home runs and a .999 OPS. But in 54 games played since June 1, he has six home runs and a .718 OPS, regressing from "possible MVP" to "replacement level" as the Angels try to avoid the first 100-loss season in franchise history. If this is just what Trout is now, goodness only knows when the Halos will have a winning season again.

Seattle Mariners : Left Half of the Infield Can't Hit/Stay Healthy

Considering Cal Raleigh mashed three home runs on Monday, we'll refrain from talking about how horribly his season had been going up until that point. Maybe the Big Dumper has finally awoken.

But with J.P. Crawford on the IL for a second time and Brendan Donovan on it for a third time, Seattle's shortstop and third base situation has been a season-long struggle. Those two spots in the lineup have combined for a .202/.295/.324 triple-slash, and the Mariners have now had nine different players start at least one game at the hot corner.

Texas Rangers : Offense Has Become "Corey Seager Or Bust"

Prior to exploding for 11 runs against the White Sox on Monday night, the Rangers had been mired in a 24-game stretch with just 67 runs scored (2.8 per game). Wyatt Langford had a .586 OPS during that stretch, while Evan Carter was all the way down at a .409 OPS. Both outfielders played in all 24 of those games.

Joc Pederson has also dropped off a cliff with a .494 OPS since the beginning of August. Brandon Nimmo has joined the ice-cold party with a .266 OPS over his last 12 games.

At least Corey Seager has a .976 OPS since his most recent trip to the IL, but he can't carry an offense alone.

Atlanta Braves : Too Many Holes in the Lineup

During their 45-21 start to the season, the Braves offense was relentless, averaging 5.2 runs per game. But since then, Drake Baldwin, Ronald Acuña Jr., Ozzie Albies and especially Dominic Smith have all regressed, while "Atlanta shortstop" has remained a season-long disaster. As a result, they've averaged 4.1 runs per game while going 31-34.

Miami Marlins : Max Meyer's Inability to Stay Healthy

For the 20 starts he was able to make this season, it was clear why the Marlins liked Max Meyer at No. 3 overall in the 2020 draft. He was a 2026 All-Star with a 2.68 ERA and a pretty devastating sweeper/slider combo.

But he might be done for the year, already out for more than a month with a neck strain and rib discomfort. He also missed most of last season with a hip injury, had his 2024 campaign cut short by a shoulder injury and missed all of 2023 and a good chunk of 2022 to Tommy John surgery. Will he ever be able to give the Marlins anything close to a full season?

New York Mets : David Stearns Can Do No Wrong (in Steve Cohen's Eyes)

In the past two months, three AL West teams have fired their general manager. But while every move the New York Mets made this past offseason continues to age like a fine milk, owner Steve Cohen keeps on reiterating that president of baseball operations David Stearns isn't going anywhere.

On a related note, if Bo Bichette doesn't opt out of his contract, the Mets are going to owe a combined $223.1M next season to eight players who have been worth a combined 1.5 bWAR this year.

Philadelphia Phillies : Zack Wheeler hasn't been Zack Wheeler Lately

At 16-6 thus far in August, it's hard to get overly concerned about anything related to the Phillies. But even before getting shelled for eight earned runs against the Mariners on Monday, Zack Wheeler had been struggling for a month.

Through his first 16 starts, he had a 2.16 ERA and was striking out 30.8 percent of batters faced. That he wasn't named an All-Star is still completely baffling.

Over his last six starts, however, he has an 8.51 ERA and a 26.0 percent strikeout rate. Six consecutive non-quality starts also marks just the second time in his career that he has had at least five in a row, the other one coming at the beginning of 2017, after he had missed the prior two seasons to Tommy John surgery.

He says he feels healthy . The velocity on his fastball hasn't plummeted or anything. He just seems to be slumping a bit and struggling with his command. But the Phillies need him to lock back in if they are to be taken seriously as a World Series candidate.

Washington Nationals : High-Octane Offense Has Vanished

At the end of play on July 28, the Nationals were two games above .500 and averaging 5.5 runs per game, leading the majors in scoring by a margin of 31 runs. But with James Wood on the shelf with an oblique strain, Luis Garcia Jr. now playing for the Yankees and CJ Abrams slumping, the Nats suddenly can't hit, going 6-18 and averaging 3.7 runs over their next 24 games—before lighting up the Rockies for 13 runs on Monday.

Even if they were never a serious threat to make the postseason, at least they were fun to watch for a few months. Now, it feels like their games are re-runs from 2021-25.

Chicago Cubs : Impending Regression in the Rotation

Since getting torched for 17 runs in a loss to the Cardinals on July 3, the Cubs pitching staff has looked solid. David Peterson started in that disaster, but he has a 2.20 ERA since.

Fellow trade acquisitions Kevin Gausman and Clay Holmes have been respectable thus far, the former going seven scoreless innings against the Diamondbacks on Monday. And Shota Imanaga and Matthew Boyd have combined for 18 starts with a 3.19 ERA.

Except for Gausman, each current member of the Cubs rotation has an xERA since July 4 that is at least 1.43 runs worse than his actual ERA. So, is this stretch of pitching competence fools' gold, or can they collectively keep the regression monster at bay?

Cincinnati Reds : Half of the Opening Day Lineup Has Become Almost Unplayable

TJ Friedl, Noelvi Marté, Matt McLain and Ke'Bryan Hayes each ranked top five (along with Elly De La Cruz) on the team in games played over the final two months of last season and are each under team control through at least 2028, supposed to be staples in the lineup for years to come.

Instead, they've each hit below the Mendoza Line and have been the primary reasons Cincinnati ranks dead last in the majors in batting average and on-base percentage.

Milwaukee Brewers : Fewest Home Runs in the Majors

The Brewers have done an incredible job—virtually unprecedented in the modern era—of scoring runs without relying much on the long ball.

But one thing we've noticed over the years is that while you don't have to lead your league in home runs to reach the World Series, you can't be the worst home run-hitting team in the postseason field—let alone in all of Major League Baseball, which is where the Brewers are.

Dating back to 2015 the postseason team with the fewest regular season home runs has consistently come nowhere close to winning it all. A few survived the wild-card round, but the only one to even make it out of the ALDS/NLDS was the 2019 St. Louis Cardinals, who then got swept by the Washington Nationals in the NLCS.

Pittsburgh Pirates : Wherefore Art Thou, Paul Skenes?

In games not started by Paul Skenes, the Pirates have gone 54-53. And in his 26 starts, they have given him 5.22 runs of support on average. Compare those figures with a 54-76 record and 3.41 runs of support in 2025, and they should be in fantastic shape right now. Except Skenes simply hasn't been himself, saddled with a 5.06 ERA over his last 17 starts, 13 of which the Pirates have lost.

It's almost certainly too late to salvage this season by reaching the playoffs, but will he at least pitch well enough down the stretch to instill hope of regaining his Cy Young form in 2027?

St. Louis Cardinals : Bullpen Still Needs a Lot of Work

Sixteen pitchers have logged more than five innings of relief for the Cardinals in 2026. Not one of them has done so with a sub-3.10 ERA, nor a sub-3.40 FIP.

Even the woebegone A's, Rockies and Nationals bullpens have at least had a couple of somewhat reliable arms, but Cardinals relievers have been mediocre or worse across the board. There should be some serious revamping this winter.

Arizona Diamondbacks : Starting Rotation Is in Shambles

Brandon Pfaadt incredibly has a 1.79 ERA since rejoining the rotation in late June and Eduardo Rodriguez is doing all that he can to hold down the fort as the ace of this staff.

However, Merrill Kelly has made just one quality start in his last 11 appearances, while having four starting pitchers on the IL has left the Diamondbacks with a gaping hole at Nos. 4 and 5 in the rotation.

Can they possibly chase down San Diego or Philadelphia in their current state?

Colorado Rockies : Breakout Players Are Fading

Mickey Moniak ended the first half with a .900 OPS. He has a .702 mark since then. Similarly, rookie TJ Rumfield went from an .855 OPS at the break to a .608 OPS over his last 30 games. And since bursting onto the scene with a .990 OPS in his first 26 games played, Cole Carrigg is down to a .691 OPS since July 8.

Are they building blocks for the future or simply guys who caught fire for a bit?

Los Angeles Dodgers : Outfield Is Looking Mighty Bleak These Days

With Andy Pages now recovering from a hand fracture and possibly unavailable until the end of the regular season, the Dodgers have called up former Diamondback Alek Thomas to man center field. And with a 0.1 bWAR in his first two games on the roster, he has already provided more WAR than primary right fielder Kyle Tucker (0.0 bWAR) and primary left fielder Teoscar Hernández (-0.1 bWAR) have this season.

San Diego Padres : Xander Bogaerts Still Isn't Hitting

As a whole, the Padres offense has been drastically better since the All-Star Break, led by Fernando Tatis Jr.'s 1.060 OPS. But Xander Bogaerts—in season No. 4 of that 11-year, $280M deal, no less—is still batting just .200 and slugging .309 since the intermission.

Throughout his career, though, Bogaerts' least productive month has been August and his best month has been September. Can he turn it around again?

San Francisco Giants : Reinforcements Haven't Shown Much Promise

Between trading away Luis Arraez, Heliot Ramos, Robbie Ray, Tyler Mahle, Caleb Kilian and Erik Miller and presently having 17 players on the IL, let's just say there has been plenty of opportunities for Giants not expected to receive much, if any, major league playing time.

Unfortunately, that open audition hasn't produced anything worth getting excited about for 2027 and beyond, aside from maybe Jonah Cox, who was triple-slashing .416/.468/.647 in the minors this year and has at least been playable in the majors.