With MLB Spring Training set to start next week, starting with pitchers and catchers reporting, a lot is still going on during this offseason. As the rumor mill keeps churning out new connections between teams and players, let's not forget that a whole new cast of characters may be available just nine months from now.
As it sits, these players are heading into 2025 with something to prove. Let's look at three players on a potential contract year who need to save their market value in the 2025 season.
3. Luis Robert Jr.
In what started as a career brimming with superstardom, Luis Robert has lived up to his reputation once in his five-year career. In 2023, Robert finally stayed healthy, slashing .264/.315/.542 with 38 HRs and 80 RBIs. Robert's potential has never been questioned, but the more significant issue is his ability to stay on the field.
Often tied to trade rumors, Robert slashed an underwhelming .224/.278/.379 in 2024, appearing in 100 games for just the second time in his career. He has only been able to record 400 at-bats once in five seasons, and with an owner that isn't focused on big spending, his club option of $20 million is a price tag that Jerry Reinsdorf may not look to justify picking up the tab on.
If Robert has a good first half of the year, he will likely be traded at the deadline, but he will need to have a good year altogether for a club to pick up that option. If not, he won't be able to cash in on the monster free agency payday we initially envisioned several years ago.
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2. Jordan Montgomery
After posting a 3.48 ERA from 2021-23, Jordan Montgomery signed a deal with the Diamondbacks. That deal came with a player option if vested, which he was able to land. He opted into his contract for 2025 with a $22.5 million price tag after recording at least 18 starts and will face free agency in 2026. Unfortunately, 2024 was the worst season of his career, posting an abysmal 6.23 ERA in 117 innings.
Montgomery will need a significant bounce-back season in 2025; otherwise, he will likely be forced to sign a one-year contract at best, with an AAV lower than we imagined a couple of years ago. His ZiPS for 2025 indicates a positive surge, projecting him for a 3.93 ERA over 132 frames, carrying a 1.6 WAR. He allowed a .347 BABIP, which should decrease on its own. He must lower his 6.90 ERA (4.72 FIP) at Chase Field next season.
1. Walker Buehler
A one-time ace of the Los Angeles Dodgers' pitching staff, Walker Buehler missed all of 2023 with Tommy John Surgery and had a brutal 2024 campaign upon return. Posting a 5.28 ERA in 2024, Buehler looked back to form in the Postseason, recording the final out of the World Series, to go along with a 0.00 ERA in his last ten innings in the playoffs.
The sudden resurgence of Buehler prompted teams to seek him out in free agency, where he still needed to sign a one-year prove-it deal with the Boston Red Sox. He will have a $25 million mutual option heading into 2026. If Buehler can prove that his injuries are behind him and have a more customary solid season this year, he will be in line for a much more lucrative contract next winter. If he has a down season, however, Boston will decline that option, where contract projections won't be too friendly.