9 players who need to step up in wake of key departures

When a star exits, his former team might look to free agency or the trade market to find his replacement. Often, though, the answer must come from within.

The nine players below are set to take on increased importance in 2025 after each of their teams lost a pivotal player this offseason. Their clubs are counting on them to rise to the challenge to fill the voids left behind.

Jasson Domínguez, OF, Yankees
Acquiring outfielder Cody Bellinger from the Cubs may have been the Yankees¡¯ direct answer to losing Juan Soto¡¯s bat from their lineup. But even if Bellinger improves upon his 2024 production (18 homers, 109 wRC+), he alone is likely not going to be able to compensate for Soto¡¯s departure to join the crosstown Mets on a record-setting 15-year, $765 million deal. To further bridge the gap, the Yankees are counting on Dom¨ªnguez (MLB Pipeline¡¯s No. 21 overall prospect) to finally deliver on the hype that has followed him since his teenage years.

Dom¨ªnguez showed glimpses of his potential with the Bronx Bombers in September 2023, homering four times in his first seven games, but his promising debut was cut short when he had to undergo Tommy John surgery to repair a torn UCL in his right elbow. He ended up logging just 67 plate appearances in the Majors a year ago and posted a .179/.313/.304 slash. How quickly the youngster can put those struggles behind him will be crucial for the Yankees¡¯ offensive ceiling in 2025.

Jackson Holliday, 2B, Orioles
Selected first overall in the 2022 MLB Draft, Holliday made his big league debut amid significant fanfare last April but lasted just 10 games before being sent back to the Minors, having gone 2-for-34 (.059) with 18 strikeouts. While he showed improvement in his second stint after being recalled in late July, his .218/.285/.365 slash still left much to be desired.

The Orioles are going to need more from Holliday this year to offset the left-handed power deficit created by Anthony Santander¡¯s departure as a free agent, with the switch-hitting Santander having crushed 32 homers from the left side of the plate in 2024. The O¡¯s did sign Tyler O'Neill to replace Santander in their outfield, but O¡¯Neill bats from the right side.

Trevor Megill, RP, Brewers
Megill is set to take over as the Brewers¡¯ closer after the team traded Devin Williams to the Yankees in December. One of the premier relievers in baseball, Williams ranks second in ERA (1.70), third in FIP (2.24) and strikeout rate (40.8%) and first in opponents¡¯ batting average (.144) among pitchers with at least 200 innings dating back to 2020, when he won the National League Rookie of the Year Award.

Losing a pitcher of Williams' caliber is obviously a big blow to Milwaukee¡¯s bullpen. That said, the Brewers were able to get by without Williams for an extended period of time in 2024, when he missed the first four months of the season due to stress fractures in his back. Megill excelled as the team¡¯s fill-in closer during that time, posting a 2.41 ERA with 40 K¡¯s and 20 saves over 35 games. Now, he¡¯ll get a chance to do the job on a full-time basis.

Jose Miranda, 1B, Twins
Carlos Santana was a key player for the Twins in 2024, ranking sixth on the team with 3.0 WAR while playing Gold Glove defense at first base and producing 23 homers with a .749 OPS (109 OPS+) at the plate. But after Santana joined Cleveland as a free agent, first-base duties in Minnesota will now fall to Miranda, who has bounced between both corner-infield spots during his three years in the big leagues.

From the Twins¡¯ perspective, replacing Santana¡¯s offensive production shouldn¡¯t be as much of a concern, especially if they can get more out of Carlos Correa, Royce Lewis and Matt Wallner -- a trio that combined for a stellar 139 wRC+ but amassed just 953 plate appearances last season. Miranda himself posted a 115 wRC+ over 429 PAs in 2024, so he¡¯s a perfectly capable bat. Where the 26-year-old still needs to prove himself is on defense. Miranda has recorded -16 Outs Above Average in his career, including -4 as a first baseman. Santana, meanwhile, had +14 OAA in 2024.

Joey Ortiz, SS, Brewers
Ortiz fared well as the Brewers¡¯ regular third baseman in 2024, producing 3.1 WAR (per FanGraphs) with 11 homers, 60 RBIs and a .726 OPS (101 OPS+) over 142 games. However, the 26-year-old will face heightened expectations as Milwaukee adjusts to life without star shortstop Willy Adames, who signed a seven-year, $182 million deal with the Giants in free agency.

Having recorded 32 homers, 112 RBIs, 21 steals and .794 OPS (118 OPS+) in 2024, Adames is no small loss for the Brewers¡¯ lineup. While expecting Ortiz to replicate Adames¡¯ production is unrealistic, Milwaukee will be counting on him to increase his offensive output as he assumes the starting shortstop job.

Grayson Rodriguez, SP, Orioles
The Corbin Burnes trade was a big win for the Orioles in 2024, giving the club the ace it was missing. He delivered a 2.92 ERA with 181 strikeouts over 32 starts, finishing fifth in the American League Cy Young Award voting as a result. Burnes, though, departed Baltimore after one season to sign a six-year, $210 million deal with the D-backs in free agency, leaving the O¡¯s with a significant void atop their rotation once again.

To fill Burnes¡¯ shoes, Baltimore could look to Rodriguez, a former top prospect who has shown flashes of brilliance amid inconsistency and injury woes in his two MLB seasons. Entering his age-25 campaign, Rodriguez easily has the highest ceiling on a staff that also includes holdovers Zach Eflin and Dean Kremer and newcomers Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano. While he was limited to 20 starts in 2024, Rodriguez made notable strides, posting a 3.86 ERA with a 3.66 FIP and a 3.61 K/BB ratio, portending a potential breakout this year.

Spencer Schwellenbach, SP, Braves
The loss of Max Fried (and, to a lesser extent, Charlie Morton) has left Atlanta¡¯s rotation in a precarious position. Even if Chris Sale can avoid the injury problems that plagued him prior to last year¡¯s NL Cy Young Award-winning season and Reynaldo López doesn¡¯t regress too much following his out-of-nowhere breakout (1.99 ERA), the Braves¡¯ starting staff still has a number of question marks.

With Spencer Strider coming off right elbow surgery, both Grant Holmes and Ian Anderson could find themselves in the Braves¡¯ rotation to start the year. Holmes has all of seven career starts to his name, and Anderson hasn¡¯t appeared in a Major League game since 2022. Schwellenbach, though, could help mitigate those concerns if he can build on his excellent rookie season, which saw him post a 3.35 ERA with 127 strikeouts and 23 walks (5.52 K/BB) over 123 2/3 innings.

Robbie Ray, SP, Giants
With Blake Snell leaving the Giants to join the rival Dodgers on a five-year, $182 million deal, San Francisco will turn to another Cy Young-winning southpaw, Ray, to help pick up the slack behind ace Logan Webb. Acquired from the Mariners last offseason for Mitch Haniger and Anthony DeSclafani in a swap of undesirable contracts, Ray returned from Tommy John surgery to post a lackluster 4.70 ERA over seven starts in 2024. However, his underlying metrics paint a much more positive picture of his performance, with Ray notching outstading marks in whiff rate (36.0%), strikeout rate (33.3%) and expected batting average allowed (.180).

Given the uncertainty surrounding Justin Verlander, Jordan Hicks and Kyle Harrison, who are expected to round out the Giants¡¯ rotation, Ray¡¯s ability to rebound could be pivotal to San Francisco¡¯s playoff hopes.

Trevor Story, SS, Red Sox
With Tyler O¡¯Neill joining Baltimore after belting 32 homers for the Red Sox in 2024, Boston¡¯s lineup has been left with a severe lack of right-handed power. In terms of projected plate appearances (per FanGraphs Depth Charts), seven of the Red Sox¡¯s top nine hitters entering 2025 bat from the left side, with Story and Ceddanne Rafaela as the exceptions.

As a result, the Red Sox are going to be depending on Story to stay healthy and recapture the form he showed during his six seasons with the Rockies, over which he produced 158 homers and an .863 OPS (112 OPS+) in 745 games. Plagued by persistent injury issues, the 32-year-old has recorded just 21 homers with a .693 OPS (89 OPS+) in 163 games over three seasons since he signed a six-year, $140 million deal with Boston.