Who is the worst MLB player right now? While there’s a lot of talent in modern Major League Baseball, there are a few players out there who aren’t coming close to major league production. More than 50 games into the regular season, we’re highlighting the worst MLB players in 2024.
For our list, we are excluding MLB players who rotate between the majors and minor leagues and those who spend a majority of games on the bench. So we’re just focusing on those who are considered regular contributors during the 2024 season.
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Here are the worst MLB players in 2024, focusing on those who still have every-day roles.
Andrew Benintendi, outfielder, Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are one of the worst MLB teams this season so it should come as no surprise to find a few of their everyday hitters ranked among the worst MLB players in 2024. Andrew Benintendi, a Gold Glove Award winner in 2021 and an All-Star selection in 2022 with the New York Yankees, has fallen off. In his age-29 season, Benintendi has the third-lowest batting average among qualified players (.183) in 168 plate appearances with the lowest OPS (.476) among everyday players. Plus, he’s tied for the third-worst Defensive Runs Saved (-8).
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Spencer Torkelson, first baseman, Detroit Tigers
Selected by the Detroit Tigers with the first overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft, Spencer Torkelson was viewed as the surefire top prospect who could develop into an MVP-caliber hitter in the heart of the Tigers lineup. Fast forward to today and he’s undoubtedly one of the worst MLB players in 2024. The 24-year-old is bad defensively (-5 Defensive Runs Saved) and he’s in the bottom-20 for OPS+ (73) and carries an ugly sub-.285 OBP. Nearly 1,200 at-bats into his MLB career, that .299 OBP suggests Torkelson won’t even be an above-average regular in his prime.
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Randy Arozarena, outfielder, Tampa Bay Rays
Just a year ago, Randy Arozarena earned his first All-Star selection after slashing .279/.388/.467 with a .855 OPS and 16 home runs in the first half of the 2023 season. Wind the clock forward to today and Arozarena has the lowest batting average (.159) in MLB with the fifth-worst OBP (.250) and the sixth-worst OPS (.567). What solidifies him as one of the worst MLB players in 2024 is his negative impact defensively (-2 Defensive Runs Saved and 33rd percentile Outs Above Average). The Rays clearly missed the prime window to trade him.
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Javier Baez, shortstop, Detroit Tigers
Javier Baez has been one of the worst MLB players for some time now. Since the start of the 2023 season, the Detroit Tigers shortstop has the ninth-worst FanGraphs Wins Above Replacement (0.1) and the lowest OBP (.260) in the majors over that span by .018 points. It should also come as no surprise that he ranks bottom five in batting average in the last two seasons. Detroit never should’ve signed Baez in the first place and even keeping him in the daily lineup in 2024 is dumbfounding.
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Omar Narvaez, catcher, New York Mets
Many of the worst MLB players in 2024 were in the starting lineup on Opening Day and remain there even through months of struggles. That’s not the case with Omar Narvaez. The New York Mets knew he shouldn’t see significant playing time in 2024, but the Francisco Alvarez injury left the club with no other choice. The Narvaez experience has been painful. Even putting aside the fact that he’s essentially an automatic out in the Mets lineup – .155/.183/.190 – what makes it worse is that the 32-year-old catcher ranks in the 16th percentile for Pitch Framing and the 8th percentile for Pop Time.
Nick Castellanos, outfielder, Philadelphia Phillies
In the first half of the 2023 MLB season, Nick Castellanos was outstanding. The All-Star outfielder was responsible for 13 home runs with a .301/.344/.496 slash line and a 125 wRC+. The Philadelphia Phillies were getting everything they wanted and more. Since returning from the All-Star Break, Castellanos owns a .223/.273/.400 slash line with an 83 wRC+. He’s been even worse in 2024 (.206/.276/.325) and he’s one of the worst outfielders defensively (2nd percentile Outs Above Average). The Phillies, already the best team in baseball, will be even scarier if they replace Castellanos.
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Kyle Hendricks, pitcher, Chicago Cubs
Kyle Hendricks used to be an outstanding pitcher, helping lead the Chicago Cubs to a World Series title as the ERA leader in 2026. Unfortunately, Father Time and injuries come for everyone. The 34-year-old righty is responsible for allowing 66 base runners and 38 earned runs in his first 32.2 innings pitched this season. At least the Chicago Cubs finally pulled him from the rotation.
Andrew Vaughn, first baseman, Chicago White Sox
The stories are pretty similar for Andrew Vaughn and Spencer Torkelson. Elite prospects taken with top picks in the MLB Draft (Vaughn, 3rd overall in 2019), the early returns have been disastrous. Vaughn , who is in his fourth full season in the majors, is slashing .202/.265/.322 this season in his first 200 plate appearances. What’s really concerning is that Vaughn has gotten progressively worse from 2022 (.271/.321/.329) to 2023 (.258/.314/.429) and now this season. He was awful defensively in the corner outfield and even after being moved back to his natural position, Vaughn rates as one of the worst first basemen defensively this year.
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Austin Hays, outfielder, Baltimore Orioles
It’s been a season to forget for Austin Hays. After three consecutive seasons of quality production for the Baltimore Orioles, Hays has been one of the worst MLB players in 2024. Hays is in the very bad company of hitters with a sub-.180 batting average and an OBP under .240. He’s not hitting for any power whatsoever (.212 SLG) and he doesn’t steal bases. He just doesn’t provide any on-field value to Baltimore right now, but the club is trying to be patient after a strong start to his career.
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Patrick Corbin, starting pitcher, Washington Nationals
The good news for the Washington Nationals is that the Patrick Corbin contract finally ends after this season, though, he’ll still be owed $10 million deferred in 2025. There’s no denying Corbin’s $25 million salary is largely the only reason he’s still pitching for Washington. Nearing the end of May, Corbin has the worst ERA in MLB (6.29), the worst WHIP (1.77) among qualified starters and he’s the only qualified pitcher in baseball with an ERA over 5 (5.45) since the start of the 2023 season.
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