MLB Teams Need To Retire Jersey Number From A Rebuilding Year

     I recently thought of a hot take that NEEDS to happen. The MLB now has an issue of teams that purposely rebuild in order to be really good later. To me, it doesn't matter whether this is good for baseball or not. What really matters is usually the first good player that comes out of a rebuild never really gets recognized. That player usually just misses the playoff window. It might be the most unfair thing in sports history. Because of this, I think teams should retire the jersey of that player. Here is my list of players that should have their jersey number retired for that teams most recent rebuild.

Yankees

For the Yankees, the answer here is the power hitting catcher Gary Sanchez. He was called up around the same time as Aaron Judge but was moved before they got really good.

Blue Jays

Jose Reyes is the guy for the Blue Jays. They brought him in for the first big push to go along with Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion. Unfortunately, he was injured and got moved before Josh Donaldson got there and the Blue Jays really took off.

Rays

The problem with the Rays is that they don't have a player for this. The Rays are cheap and don't really get the chance to FULLY complete the rebuild. I guess I would say Charlie Morton?

Red Sox

The Red sox are currently in a rebuild, so I'm going to have to go back to just before they won there most recent world series (around 2017 or 2018 I don't remember). The Red Sox needs to retire the 2 jerseys of Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval. They were both brought in but kept getting injured.

Orioles

This is also a tie between Nelson Cruz and Mark Trumbo. They were both big power hitters that the Orioles signed to 1 year deals for cheap. They just didn't stick around long enough to ever make a splash.

Tigers

The Tigers are still trying to work there way out of a rebuild ever since the Prince Fielder days. I think the answer here is Ian Kinsler. He was a star when he got there the team just never made a splash.

Twins

The Twins seem to be always stuck in a rebuild or getting knocked out of the wildcard. I think the answer is Trevor Plouffe. He was a pretty good third baseman back in the day.

Guardians

I'm not going to lie, I don't think I can name a single player on this team when they were rebuilding. I guess maybe Yasiel Puig?

Royals

The Royals have finally reached out of their rebuild, and they did it without one of the fan favorites. Whit Merrifield was done dirty by the Royals in my opinion. He would have been a star if they kept him around.

White Sox

The issue with the White Sox ownership is they don't let the team get good enough to really ever get out of a rebuild. I guess Chris Sale would be the answer to this one.

Astros

The answer to this one is easy and he is a forgotten player. Chris Carter was one of the first power hitters to come out of that rebuild before they won the world series. Do you know how many home runs he would have hit if he was still on the Astros when they were cheating?

Mariners

The Mariners have the same issue that plagues a lot of MLB teams. They never seem to get better. Since king Felix is too easy, I'm going to go with Kyle Seager.

Angels

The Angels owner simply refuses to get out of a rebuild. I guess I'm going to go back to 2013 because they last made the playoffs in 2014. I'm going to pick Mark Trumbo here. His jersey is now retired by 2 different teams.

Rangers

This one is easy because it was a tragic one. Prince Fielder should have been apart of that world series team if it wasn't for his neck injury. He was robbed.

Athletics

There is not an answer for the Athletics. The owner needs to sell the team. It's ridiculous that this is allowed to happen.

Mets

The answer for the Mets is an easy one too. David Wright. He was pretty injured towards the end of his career and never really got to be apart of those good Mets teams.

Phillies

The Phillies is definitely Freddy Galvis. He was a good shortstop for all of those terrible Phillies teams.

Nationals

The Nationals answer is Ian Desmond. He was the power hitting shortstop right before the Nats won the world series.

Braves

I don't think the Braves have one. They did so good at rebuilding that they kept almost all of their guys. I guess the answer is either Nick Markakis or Ender Inciarte.

Marlins

The Marlins don't have an answer because they never actually make the playoffs. Choose your pick between, Stanton, Yelich, Ozuna, and Jose Reyes.

Cubs

The Cubs have one of the most obvious answers. Starlin Castro was robbed of the years that were good for the cubs. He was the only person on those bad Cubs teams that you can remember.

Cardinals

This Cardinals have been in limbo because they refuse to ever rebuild, so the answer is more difficult than you would think. I guess you would have to go back to the teams before the 2011 world series. I would say it's a tie between Ryan Ludwick and Rick Ankiel.

Brewers

The Brewers answer is probably Ryan Braun. The Brewers haven't been good in forever though.

Reds

The Reds is definitely Nick Castellanos. Votto was around for too long Castellanos left right before the rebuild starting to end.

Pirates

The Pirates are another team that should sell because they refuse to leave a rebuild. I'm going to go ahead and say Paul Skenes and get ahead of this early.

Dodgers

You have a lot to pick from with the Dodgers because they choke so often. I would say take your pick between Matt Kemp, Puig, Adrian Gonzalez, Hanley Ramirez, and Joc Pederson.

Giants

The Giants don't really have one. They haven't been good since their "even year dynasty". Screw it, lets just give it to Barry Bonds.

Padres

The Padres is either Wil Meyes or Eric Hosmer. Both were brought in to turn the team around and then got booted as soon as they got really good.

Diamondbacks

Because the Diamondbacks were good enough to squeak into the world series for just one year, it's hard to pinpoint a specific player. I guess the answer is Paul Goldschmidt? If you want to pull a deeper name out of the hat I guess you could say David Peralta.

Rockies

The Rockies will never have a true answer to this because the owner refuses to make them good at all. I am going to say Troy Tulowitzki because he seems to be a forgotten player that was really good.