10 players looking for rebound performances in '25

With Spring Training underway and the dawn of a new season on the horizon, it¡¯s a good time to consider which players are looking for a rebound performance after an underwhelming campaign the prior year.

Each season presents several players who find themselves in this category -- those who have a proven track record that creates an expectation of a certain level of production, but for one reason or another didn¡¯t reach that bar -- and this year is no exception.

We asked a group of MLB.com writers to each select one pitcher and one position player they think will have a bounce-back season in 2025.

HITTERS

1. Bo Bichette, SS, Blue Jays
Key Stat: 126 OPS+ from 2019-23

Bichette experienced a perplexing decline in 2024, slashing .225/.277/.322 (71 OPS+) with four homers over 336 plate appearances. While the shortstop missed significant time due to injuries, his struggles predated those issues: He had a .629 OPS in 66 games before making his first trip to the IL on June 18.

With free agency looming, Bichette could use a strong rebound to solidify his value. His relative youth and consistent track record before 2024 offer reasons to believe he can get back on track as he enters his age-27 campaign. Bichette ranked fourth among qualifiers in batting average (.298) across 2021-23 and was one of 15 hitters -- and the only shortstop -- to record at least 20 homers and an OPS+ of 120 or better in all three of those seasons.

¨C Thomas Harrigan

2. Austin Riley, 3B, Braves
Key Stat: 93.3 mph average exit velocity; .361 xwOBA

Coming off three straight top-10 National League MVP finishes featuring 30-plus doubles, 30-plus homers and an OPS+ of 130 or better, Riley never got on track in 2024. He had three homers and a .707 OPS through May 12, at which point he tweaked his left oblique/side but somehow never went on the injured list despite not returning until May 25 as the injury-ravaged Braves kept hoping he would recover.

The slugging third baseman¡¯s production picked up from there -- he hit 18 doubles and 16 homers with an .824 OPS in 73 games thereafter -- but Riley wound up missing the final month and a half (plus the postseason) after his right hand was fractured on a hit-by-pitch on Aug. 18. Although the counting stats would have been better had Riley played more than 110 games, his OPS+ dropped to 115.

Yet amid all the issues, Riley recorded a 93.3 mph average exit velo that ranked No. 10 in MLB, while his .361 xwOBA placed among the 25 best. Entering his age-28 season, Riley should return to his 2021-23 form and could again earn some MVP votes.

¨C Jason Catania

3. Paul Goldschmidt, 1B, Yankees
Key Stat: .590 expected slugging percentage over final 30 games in 2024

Two seasons after he was named NL MVP and flirted with a Triple Crown, Goldschmidt experienced the least productive season of his 14-year career in 2024. He came into the season with a .293/.388/.519 career slash line and then put together a .245/.302/.414 line over 654 plate appearances with St. Louis. He was a below-league-average hitter (98 OPS+) for the first time as a Major Leaguer.

But there were signs last year that Goldschmidt can still be an impact player. His barrel rate (10.7%) and hard-hit rate (49.6%) remained stellar, and those rates were at 16.3% and 55.8%, respectively, over his final 30 games of the year. Each of those percentages ranked inside the top 15 among hitters with at least 100 plate appearances during that span, and Goldschmidt¡¯s .590 xSLG was seventh best. There seems to be plenty of life in his bat as he enters his age-37 season.

Going from Busch Stadium to Yankee Stadium should also help Goldschmidt. His new home park is much more friendly to hitters when it comes to home runs, and he is 12-for-26 during his career in the Bronx.

¨C Brian Murphy

4. Luis Robert Jr., CF, White Sox
Key Stat: One of seven players with 50+ HR and 40+ SB over last 2 seasons

Robert had a bad season for a bad team last year. He was hurt (limited to 100 games by a hip flexor strain), the White Sox were miserable, and his numbers suffered. But he¡¯s 27 and only one year removed from a 38-homer, 20-steal season in which he was one of the best defensive center fielders in the game (+13 Outs Above Average, tied for second-best among outfielders in 2023). All that talent doesn¡¯t disappear in one year.

Even with his struggles in 2024, Robert still finished with 14 home runs and 23 stolen bases, which brings him up to 52 homers and 43 steals over the last two seasons. The only other players in the 50-40 group over that time are Shohei Ohtani, Francisco Lindor, Jos¨¦ Ram¨ªrez, Bobby Witt Jr., Julio Rodr¨ªguez and Kyle Tucker -- all superstars. Robert is one of the few players who can be a true power-speed-defense triple threat.

-- David Adler

5. Gleyber Torres, 2B, Tigers
Key Stat: .306/.375/.417 in 232 PA over final two months of regular season

A change of scenery. New facial hair (though he just missed being able to make that happen in his former club¡¯s uniform). And a fresh start. All of that, combined with a strong finish to the 2024 season could lead to a bounce-back performance for Torres, who was an All-Star in each of his first two Major League seasons but has been unable to replicate that level of success since then.

While he hasn¡¯t approached the 38-homer, .872-OPS campaign he had in 2019, Torres has certainly been a 20-plus homer hitter despite inconsistency at the plate. Last year, however, he hit just 15 homers with a .708 OPS in his final season with the Yankees. Most of his quality of contact metrics were down significantly -- particularly his hard-hit rate (35.4%, down almost 5%), his expected batting average (.240, a 42-point decline) and his expected slugging percentage (.368, a 110-point drop). Another concerning stat was his strikeout rate, which jumped from a career-best 14.6% in 2023 to 20.5% last season.

But there is nevertheless cause for some optimism as he nears his debut with Detroit. Torres¡¯ sweet-spot rate of 38.2% was his highest in five seasons, he squared up the ball at an above-average clip (26.8%) and his chase rate was excellent (21.4%, 92nd percentile). Torres will test the ¡°change of scenery¡± narrative, and the Tigers hope he¡¯ll prove the adage to be true. Consistency is the key for him, and he hopes he finds it in the Motor City.

¨C Manny Randhawa

PITCHERS

1. Walker Buehler, RHP, Red Sox
Key Stat: 43.7% whiff rate over final three postseason outings

After missing part of 2022 and all of ¡¯23 while recovering from his second Tommy John surgery, Buehler returned to the mound last May but looked nothing like the elite starter he was during his peak with the Dodgers from 2018-21 -- a span in which he recorded a 2.82 ERA, a 3.16 FIP and a 27.7% strikeout rate. Over 16 starts for Los Angeles in 2024, Buehler posted a 5.38 ERA, a 5.54 FIP and an 18.6% K-rate.

However, Buehler started to show glimpses of his old self during the playoffs, flashing a more explosive four-seam fastball and a sharper knuckle curve than he did during the regular season. He closed out the postseason with 10 scoreless innings over his final three appearances, striking out 13 of the 39 batters he faced in that time (33.3% K rate) with a whiff rate north of 43%. Although it was a small sample size, Buehler¡¯s strong finish suggests he still possesses the stuff to be a top-notch starter. Having signed a one-year, $21.05 million deal with the Red Sox in free agency, the 30-year-old will look to improve his value as a member of Boston¡¯s rotation before hitting the open market again in search of a multiyear deal next offseason.

¨C Thomas Harrigan

2. Luis Castillo, RHP, Mariners
Key Stat: 1,140 2/3 IP since 2018 (sixth most in MLB)

Castillo¡¯s second full season in Seattle brought dips in many key statistics, including WAR, innings, ERA, WHIP and strikeout rate. What followed was an offseason in which trade rumors swirled around the hard-throwing righty as it seemed possible the Mariners could move one of their stalwart starters to bolster their bats.

Castillo¡¯s stats still were solid enough: 3.64 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 9.0 K/9 in 175 1/3 IP. Excluding the shortened 2020, it was the fifth time in six seasons in which he made 30-plus starts and threw at least 169 innings -- and in the year Castillo fell shy of those marks, he notched 25 starts and 150 1/3 frames in ¡¯22. No wonder he¡¯s nicknamed ¡°La Piedra¡± -- ¡°The Rock.¡±

At 32, Castillo might be nearing the end of his prime, and his fastball has lost a tick from its heyday. He still chucks the four-seamer at 95.6 mph on average, though, and it remains one of baseball¡¯s best pitches by run value, year after year. As long as that continues, expect Castillo to show that ¡¯24 was more of a pothole on a highway and less of a ¡°Danger: Cliff ahead¡± sign.

-- Jason Catania

3. Justin Verlander, RHP, Giants
Key Stat: +22 pitching run value in 2023

Verlander, a likely first-ballot Hall of Famer, turned 42 years old on Feb. 20. At that age, neck and shoulder pain is just a fact of life, even if you aren¡¯t a Major League starting pitcher. But last year, neck and shoulder injuries contributed greatly to Verlander having the worst season of his 19-year career. He recorded minus-0.3 bWAR and a 72 ERA+ (100 is league average). His 18.7% strikeout rate was his lowest since 2014.

But Verlander is feeling fit and motivated as he enters season No. 20, his first with the Giants. He is only one year removed from registering a 3.22 ERA over 162 1/3 innings between the Mets and Astros and ranking as a top 20 pitcher by run value. Expecting a pitcher of Verlander¡¯s age to remain healthy over a full season is a risky proposition, but if his body does hold up, Verlander will probably contribute an ERA+ of 120 or better -- something he did every year from 2016-23.

-- Brian Murphy

4. Kevin Gausman, RHP, Blue Jays
Key Stat: 475 splitter Ks since 2021

Gausman¡¯s 2024 numbers would look pretty good for a lot of pitchers -- he threw 181 innings with a 3.83 ERA and 162 strikeouts. But by his standards, it was a big drop-off. The Blue Jays ace had established himself as one of MLB¡¯s top strikeout artists over the previous three seasons, pitching to a 3.10 ERA, averaging 223 strikeouts a year with three top-10 Cy Young finishes and an AL strikeout crown in 2023.

The good news is Gausman still has one of the nastiest pitches in all of baseball -- his splitter, which has generated 475 strikeouts since his breakout 2021 season. That's the third-most by any pitcher on a single pitch type over that time and more than double the Ks of any other splitter. Now, there are some stuff questions Gausman will have to answer in 2025, even with the splitter, which had slightly less drop than usual last season. But he¡¯s a smart pitcher who should be able to make the adjustments to rack up the strikeouts again this year.

-- David Adler

5. Chris Bassitt, RHP, Blue Jays
Key Stat: From April 9-June 29/Aug. 28-Sept. 23 -- 19 GS, 114 IP, 2.76 ERA

There are a host of reasons to wonder if Bassitt¡¯s best days are behind him. He just turned 36, and he¡¯s coming off the worst full season of his career -- in 2024, he posted a 4.16 ERA over 31 starts for Toronto. He also saw his ground ball rate (40.1%) decline for the third consecutive year. But don¡¯t count out a rebound performance in 2025, the walk year on his current contract.

Bassitt had an up-and-down campaign last year, but over a period of 15 starts from April 9-June 29, his ERA was 2.76. He continued to produce relatively soft contact in ¡¯24 -- while the hard-hit rate (37.1%) against him was up over the prior year, it still placed him in the 65th percentile among qualified pitchers, and the 87.8 mph average exit velocity against him ranked in the 76th percentile.

You also have to wonder whether a 101.6 mph line drive off the bat of Aaron Judge on June 29, which struck Bassitt on the right forearm, impacted the veteran right-hander¡¯s performance thereafter. Over the following nine starts, he struggled to a 6.80 ERA. But he turned things around and finished the season stronger, with a 2.77 ERA over his final five outings.

-- Manny Randhawa