Most indispensable players: 10 stars whose teams need them the most
Will Leitch
@williamfleitchLast season, Mookie Betts played only 116 games. Ronald Acu?a Jr. played only 49. And you know what? The Dodgers and Braves both made the playoffs. (You may vaguely remember that the Dodgers ended up winning the World Series.)
Those are two great players, obviously, two of the best players in baseball, likely future Hall of Famers. But their teams were able to survive without them. Betts and Acu?a are incredible. But in 2024, at least, they were not indispensable.
Today, we look at the 10 most indispensable players in baseball, the 10 guys whose teams, if they were to lose them, would be most likely to implode. These teams have high hopes for this season, but if, heaven forbid, a season-ending injury were to befall these stars, those hopes would be in grave danger.
These are the players their teams can¡¯t live without.
1. Bobby Witt Jr., SS, Royals
Witt is perhaps the platonic ideal of the five-tool player, a guy who does everything you could possibly do on a baseball diamond about as well as you could possibly do it. The Royals have other good hitters, from Vinnie Pasquantino to Salvador Perez to the newly acquired Jonathan India, but suffice it to say, if something were to happen to Witt, this entire lineup would stop working. There were times in 2024 when it barely worked with Witt.
He¡¯s also the heart and soul of this team, the fan favorite, the guy who, when the Royals inked him to a long-term contract extension, became the public face of a franchise that almost immediately turned its fortunes around. The Royals would be a shell of themselves without him.
2. Aaron Judge, RF, Yankees
The Yankees were a two-man offense in 2024, and, as you might have heard, half of that two-man offense now plays in Queens. That puts even more burden on Judge, but then again, he¡¯s used to it; Juan Soto was only in The Bronx one season, after all. But don¡¯t forget: Judge is a little older than you think he is, turning 33 in April, and you may have noticed he¡¯s a huge guy, one who has had a tendency to break down in the past.
After losing Soto, the Yankees did bring in some lineup reinforcements in Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt. But those guys aren¡¯t Soto. And now that it looks like Giancarlo Stanton may not be ready to start the season either, well, the entire Yankees offense, once again, appears to be made out of Aaron Judge. If he can stay in the lineup, that can work. (See 2022.) But if he can¡¯t, it¡¯s a potential disaster. (See 2023.)
3. Jos¨¦ Ram¨ªrez, 3B, Guardians
Ram¨ªrez has been carrying the Guardians offense for so long that you almost take him for granted. That certainly won¡¯t change in 2025. The only offseason addition to the Guardians¡¯ lineup was bringing back Carlos Santana, who is heading into his age-39 campaign. So the heavy lifting will once again be done by Ram¨ªrez, who ended up in the top 10 in AL MVP Award voting (fifth, actually) for the seventh time in his career.
The only real issue for Ram¨ªrez has been his postseason hitting: He has a .239/.309/.377 slash line, far below his career totals, which may help explain why the Guardians have yet to make that long-awaited title run. They always need Ram¨ªrez to be Ram¨ªrez.
4. Tarik Skubal, LHP, Tigers
The Tigers did not, in fact, pitch Skubal every single inning last September and throughout the postseason, though you can be forgiven if you thought they had. The Tigers certainly squeezed every inning they could out of Skubal, and for good reason. He was, after all, easily the best pitcher in baseball last year. Without him, the Tigers had to resort to ¡°pitching chaos,¡± as manager A.J. Hinch put it.
The 2025 Tigers have a little more fortification this year than they did in September and October. Jack Flaherty is back in Detroit after his World Series-winning sojourn in Los Angeles, and top prospect Jackson Jobe will be fascinating to watch all year, too. But in many ways, it¡¯s still Skubal or bust in Detroit. He may not win the pitching Triple Crown again in 2025. But the Tigers might need him to.
5. Julio Rodríguez, CF, Mariners
Remember August 2023, when Rodr¨ªguez ascended to heights we haven¡¯t seen him, or hardly anyone else, reach? He put up a .429/.474/.724 line that month, and, not surprisingly, the Mariners went 21-6 to essentially punch their ticket for their first postseason in more than 20 years.
There just aren¡¯t many players in baseball who can carry a team the way that he can. But if he¡¯s not a transcendent superstar -- and this is when we awkwardly point out that Rodr¨ªguez¡¯s offensive rate stats have declined for two straight years -- the entire Mariners lineup grinds to a halt. Seattle has the pitching to win the AL West, but it needs that offense to hold up its end of the bargain. It struggles to do so with Rodr¨ªguez. Imagine how lost the Mariners would be without him.
6. Carlos Correa, SS, Twins
It is tempting fate to even consider putting a Twins player on this list. These are forever the Emergency Room Twins, a team stacked with talent that just can¡¯t stay on the field, from Byron Buxton to Royce Lewis to Correa. Remember, Correa is only in Minnesota because worries about his physical scuttled deals with the Giants, and then the Mets, earlier in the 2022-23 offseason. Last year, Correa actually put up the best numbers of his career on a rate basis -- a .310/.388/.517 slash line at shortstop is MVP-type stuff -- but he was only able to do it over 86 games. That was largely due to a case of plantar fasciitis that shelved him for most of the second half.
The Twins have learned to live with players like Buxton and Lewis missing a lot of games. But they nose-dived once Correa was out. If Correa is able to stay healthy all year and put up the numbers he did in 2024, he could carry this team to an AL Central title. But if they can¡¯t count on him, there may be nobody else to turn to.
7. Paul Skenes, RHP, Pirates
Despite Skenes¡¯ brilliant rookie season, the 2024 Pirates still finished last in the NL Central. That certainly could happen again in ¡¯25. But if the Bucs have any hopes of climbing into serious contention -- and there¡¯s plenty of reason to think that¡¯s possible for them -- they absolutely must have Skenes taking his start every fifth day.
Skenes was dominant last year, even with the Pirates putting the parking brake on a little bit, and he very well may be even better in 2025. The Pirates have a solid rotation around him as well, albeit with an offense that looks roughly like it did last year. Having Skenes atop that rotation gives them a fighting chance in the NL Central this year. That chance will evaporate if they don¡¯t.
8. Mike Trout, RF, Angels
You don¡¯t need a lot of evidence on this one, do you? Since the shortened 2020 season, Trout has played 36, 119, 82 and 29 games, respectively, over the past four years. The Angels have not won more than 77 games in any of those and posted a franchise-low .389 winning percentage in 2024.
This team obviously has a lot of issues even if Trout is healthy -- though they were more aggressive in the offseason than you might have expected -- but, as we¡¯ve seen time and time again, there¡¯s no real chance for them if he isn¡¯t. The Angels obviously know this, too, and it¡¯s a good sign that they finally have committed to moving him out of center field to help preserve his body for the long haul. Everyone in baseball wants to see a full, healthy, vintage Trout season. The Angels need one.
9. Kyle Tucker, RF, Cubs
It¡¯s highly unlikely Tucker is going to pass up the opportunity to hit free agency next winter, meaning this is the only season the Cubs are guaranteed to have him on the roster. In other words, they had better make the most of it while they can.
The Cubs traded away Cody Bellinger after bringing in Tucker, which means he doesn¡¯t have quite as much lineup protection as he might have otherwise. Unlike in Houston, where Tucker typically was surrounded by the likes of Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez and Alex Bregman, the Cubs offer less support. Michael Busch, Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki are nice hitters, sure, but Tucker is the clear centerpiece. The Cubs are now the favorites in the NL Central this year largely because they have him. They need him healthy to make this golden opportunity count.
10. Shane McClanahan, LHP, Rays
There¡¯s obviously all sorts of risk here. After all, McClanahan has not thrown a pitch in an MLB game since Aug. 2, 2023, and now is trying to return from Tommy John surgery. That makes him a tough guy to count on, but the Rays are doing exactly that. Tampa Bay does have a lot of talented rotation options, yet none of them should be counted on for a heavy workload, and none of them has anything close to the track record of McClanahan.
If the Rays are going to be competitive at all in the AL East, they need McClanahan to be available, and they need him to somewhat resemble the two-time All-Star who finished sixth in the 2022 AL Cy Young Award voting. His fastball is currently tracking at 98 mph, and he¡¯s already slated to be the Rays¡¯ Opening Day starter. This really could work out.