MLB franchise rankings, Part 2: Taking stock halfway through the decade
We've somehow already reached the midway point of the 2020s. theScore's MLB editors look back at the previous five seasons and rank each club on how they've done over that span. We continue with teams 20-11.
Teams 30-21 I 10-1 (Friday)
The Cubs' lone playoff berth this decade was a division title in the shortened 2020 campaign, and they promptly got swept by the Marlins - a result that plunged them into a mini-rebuild. While they sold off many stars in 2021, the Cubs kept spending during their brief downturn and have run a top-11 payroll for the entire decade. However, Chicago posted identical 83-79 records in each of the last two seasons - a disappointing result for a team with higher aspirations in a very winnable division. Trading for Kyle Tucker this winter makes the Cubs better - and it also increases the already intense pressure on them to return to the playoffs. With their solid MLB team and strong farm system, the second half of the 2020s could be very kind to this franchise.
The Red Sox kicked off the decade by trading Mookie Betts and then endured arguably their toughest stretch in the 20-plus years of John Henry's ownership. Boston missed the playoffs in four of the five seasons, finishing last in the AL East three times, and only produced one winning season. The club did win 92 games and made a surprise run to the ALCS in 2021, but it's been a turbulent half decade otherwise. Manager Alex Cora resigned prior to the 2020 season, only to be brought back 11 months later after serving a suspension for his role in the Astros' sign-stealing scandal. The Red Sox fired chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom in 2023 after back-to-back 84-loss seasons and replaced him with Craig Breslow. Boston didn't finish closer than eight games off the AL East lead during the five-year stretch and hasn't won the division since 2018, when the team last claimed the World Series.
The Diamondbacks looked like a disaster to begin the decade, losing 110 games in 2021 after posting a .417 winning percentage during the shortened campaign a year prior. Then the franchise turned a corner, making a surprising appearance in the 2023 World Series thanks to savvy moves by the front office - trades for Gabriel Moreno, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., and Eugenio Suárez - plus the emergence of Ketel Marte and Zac Gallen and contributions from 2023 Rookie of the Year Corbin Carroll. Owner Ken Kendrick's shown a willingness to open his wallet to make the club better: Arizona's payroll increased every season since 2020, with its most notable signing coming this winter when ace Corbin Burnes inked a six-year, $210-million contract.
Seattle's arguably been one of the more unlucky teams in MLB, having reached the postseason just once in the 2020s despite two 90-win seasons and four years with at least 85 wins. The Mariners did it with a modest payroll too. They did at least snap their record 20-year playoff drought in 2022, but they haven't returned to the postseason since, finishing one game back of the final AL wild-card spot two years in a row. What Seattle has done, however, is establish itself as a starting pitching factory. Its homegrown quartet of Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryan Woo, and Bryce Miller is arguably the best in baseball. The problem is on the position player side, where the Mariners have failed to get consistent production out of anyone not named Julio Rodríguez or Cal Raleigh. Outfielder Kyle Lewis won Rookie of the Year in 2020 before completely falling off a cliff while Mitch Garver, the only marquee hitter they've signed, flopped hard in 2024.
The Twins won a playoff series for the first time in two decades by sweeping the Blue Jays in a 2023 wild-card matchup. They've also managed a pair of AL Central titles, but it's still been a rather underwhelming five seasons in Minnesota. Although the club surprised everyone by signing Carlos Correa to a six-year, $200-million deal ahead of the 2023 season, the organization's been plagued by financial problems since. Issues surrounding the Twins' long-term TV market and the potential sale of the franchise have hindered spending and prevented the front office from building around a really nice core of players. Durability issues with Correa, Byron Buxton, and Royce Lewis have also stalled the team's upward trajectory.
Almost everything came together for the Giants in 2021: They won a franchise-record 107 games and narrowly held off the rival Dodgers for a division title. However, that magical season is the only reason the Giants have a winning record this decade; excluding it, San Francisco sports a .493 winning percentage in the 2020s. Brandon Crawford, the Giants' offensive fWAR leader this decade, holds that spot almost solely because of his 2021 season. On the pitching side, San Francisco ranks ninth in team ERA (3.87) and fWAR (73.3), mostly thanks to reliable ace Logan Webb, the one constant in their rotation. The Giants revived Kevin Gausman's career only to see him walk away in free agency; Carlos Rodón and Blake Snell were also one-and-done at Oracle Park. A lower-tier farm system forced the Giants to spend to prop up the big-league team, and the results have been mixed.
The Orioles started the decade in the throes of a rebuild, and it's paid off in a big way. Two years after a 110-loss 2021 season, Baltimore's bright young core led the O's to 101 wins and a division title. General manager Mike Elias has done a fantastic job building a winner from the ground up. All of the Orioles' top five position players and pitchers in fWAR this decade were developed in the team's farm system and are poised to lead the team for years to come. But despite all that great talent, the Orioles have yet to win a playoff game this decade. Baltimore also hasn't spent like a winner - it hasn't really spent at all - while handing out just one multi-year contract (Tyler O'Neill this winter). Some of that can be attributed to ownership uncertainty earlier in the decade, but that's all been settled, so now there's no excuse.
The Cardinals opened the decade with three consecutive wild-card losses before posting their worst winning percentage in 28 years in 2023. There were several bright spots along the way despite the early playoff exits, including Paul Goldschmidt winning NL MVP the same year Nolan Arenado finished third. There were also plenty of tears as the careers of Yadier Molina, Adam Wainwright, and Albert Pujols ended. The Cardinals' problem is that they haven't been able to transition from old to new. St. Louis is set to embark on another era in 2026 with John Mozeliak passing the torch to Chaim Bloom as the Cardinals prepare for a rebuild.
The Blue Jays started the decade with plenty of momentum, making the postseason in the truncated 2020 campaign. They followed that up with two more trips to the playoffs in a three-year span but failed to win a single game. The momentum's vanished following a disappointing 2024 season, and homegrown stars Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette are entering their final year under contract before free agency. Toronto hasn't won its division since 2015 and hasn't finished closer than seven games from first place this decade. The Blue Jays have been more aggressive in trades and free agency, but they've had a difficult time drafting and developing talent. It's left the club in a precarious position, staring down an uncertain future in the second half of the 2020s.
The vision everyone foresaw for the Mets when billionaire Steve Cohen bought the team in 2020 has taken shape in recent years. After two subpar seasons to start the decade, New York made the playoffs twice with an underwhelming campaign sandwiched in between. Acquiring superstar shortstop Francisco Lindor and immediately signing him to a mega-extension was a stroke of genius that likely paved the way for landing Juan Soto on a 15-year, $765-million deal this offseason. However, with great spending comes great expectations. Losing in the wild-card round in 2022 after a 101-win season still stings, as does missing the playoffs altogether in 2023 with the league's highest payroll. This group will be judged by what it accomplishes in October.