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Biggest weakness of every MLB team going into 2017
Hunter Renfroe has started slow for the unsurprisingly struggling San Diego Padres. Brett Davis/USA TODAY Sports

Biggest weakness of every MLB team going into 2017

With one quarter of the MLB season in the books, the strengths and weaknesses of teams are becoming much clearer. Here, we lay out where each team in both leagues is lacking.

 
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Arizona Diamondbacks: Closer

Arizona Diamondbacks: Closer
Rick Scuteri / USA Today Sports Images

Arizona has had a relatively strong start, but closer remains a major issue. The 40-year-old Fernando Rodney has converted nine saves but has allowed 15 runs in only 13.2 innings.

 
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Atlanta Braves: Starting Rotation

Atlanta Braves: Starting Rotation
Jeff Hanisch / USA Today Sports Images

Atlanta revamped its rotation in the offseason by adding Bartolo Colon, R.A. Dickey and Jaime Garcia, but the additions haven't gone as planned. Colon, in particular, has struggled at age 43, and the team has the sixth worst rotation ERA in baseball.

 
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Baltimore Orioles: Rotation Depth

Baltimore Orioles: Rotation Depth
Greg M. Cooper / USA Today Sports Images

Dylan Bundy and Wade Miley have been extremely effective, but the Baltimore rotation has struggled from there. Kevin Gausman and Ubaldo Jimenez each have ERAs above 6.00. The team did get Chris Tillman back from a shoulder injury recently.

 
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Boston Red Sox: Fifth Starter

Boston Red Sox: Fifth Starter
Bob DeChiara / USA Today Sports Images

Boston lost David Price in spring training and has struggled to fill in at the end of the rotation as a result. The Red Sox also lost Steven Wright for the year after posting an 8.25 ERA in five starts, and Drew Pomeranz has also struggled.

 
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Chicago Cubs: Fifth Starter

Chicago Cubs: Fifth Starter
Charles LeClaire / USA Today Sports Images

The Cubs banked on Brett Anderson as their fifth starter after allowing Jason Hammel to walk in free agency. Anderson has an ERA above 8.00 and is on the DL, a familiar place for him. The good news is that Eddie Butler did fare well in his first start filling in.

 
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Chicago White Sox: Hitting vs. RHP

Chicago White Sox: Hitting vs. RHP
Aaron Doster / USA Today Sports Images

Chicago's hitting splits this season are odd to say the least. The White Sox rank eighth in OPS vs. lefties but second to last against right-handers. The result has been the third lowest run total in the AL, with top hitters Jose Abreu and Avisail Garcia batting from the right side.

 
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Cincinnati Reds: Starting Rotation

Cincinnati Reds: Starting Rotation
David Kohl / USA Today Sports Images

Cincinnati's rotation didn't look good on paper before Homer Bailey and Anthony DeSclafani suffered injuries. The team has relied on veteran Bronson Arroyo and a host of youngsters. Amir Garrett has been the lone bright spot for a rotation that ranks only ahead of the injury-ravaged Mets in NL ERA.

 
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Cleveland Indians: Starting Pitching

Cleveland Indians: Starting Pitching
Ken Blaze / USA Today Sports Images

Cleveland's rotation should get better if Corey Kluber's back can get healthy, but the Indians currently have the fifth worst starters ERA in baseball. Danny Salazar has also struggled this season.

 
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Colorado Rockies: Shortstop

Colorado Rockies: Shortstop
Mark J. Rebilas / USA Today Sports Images

Trevor Story was spectacular in his rookie season last year, but he's struggled so far this year. He's now on the DL with a shoulder injury after posting a .685 OPS. For the season, Rockies shortstops have a .676 OPS.

 
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Detroit Tigers: Bullpen

Detroit Tigers: Bullpen
Aaron Doster / USA Today Sports Images

Detroit's bullpen has the worst ERA in baseball (5.60) and has already removed Francisco Rodriguez from the closer role. They Tigers hope Justin Wilson can help fix some of the issues, but they go much deeper than the closer role.

 
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Houston Astros: Rotation Depth

Houston Astros: Rotation Depth
Kelvin Kuo / USA Today Sports Images

There are few issues to speak of for the first-place Astros, though the end of the rotation has been mediocre. Joe Musgrove has a 5.02 ERA in seven starts, while Mike Fiers has a 5.75 ERA and has allowed an incredible 16 home runs in 36 innings.

 
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Kansas City Royals: Hitting

Kansas City Royals: Hitting
Brad Rempel / USA Today Sports Images

Kansas City's offense has been historically bad through 37 games. They're scored only 119 runs with a .646 OPS. Sitting in last place in the AL Central, it's becoming clear that a fire sale is on the horizon.

 
13 of 30

Los Angeles Angels: Lineup Depth

Los Angeles Angels: Lineup Depth
Jim Cowsert / USA Today Sports Images

As usual, the Angels' lineup has struggled aside from Mike Trout and a few others. In particular, center fielder Cameron Maybin has been poor with a .185 batting average, and Danny Espinosa is hitting just .147.

 
14 of 30

Los Angeles Dodgers: Injuries

Los Angeles Dodgers: Injuries
Gary A. Vasquez / USA Today Sports Images

The Dodgers had an injury-prone roster coming into the season, so it's not surprising that they've had plenty of injury issues. They're currently without Adrian Gonzalez, Logan Forsythe and Andrew Toles in the lineup. The rotation has also lost Hyun-Jin Ryu, Scott Kazmir, Kenta Maeda and Rich Hill at various points in the year.

 
15 of 30

Miami Marlins: Starting Pitching

Miami Marlins: Starting Pitching
Steve Mitchell / USA Today Sports Images

Miami's rotation has the third worst ERA in baseball, which isn't surprising as it looked like a clear weakness coming into the year. Wei-Yin Chen is now on the DL, and Edinson Volquez has struggled with his control.

 
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Milwaukee Brewers: Closer

Milwaukee Brewers: Closer
David Kohl / USA Today Sports Images

Neftali Feliz has been temporarily removed from the closer role after struggling earlier this season. He has an ERA above 6.00 through 19 appearances.

 
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Minnesota Twins: Center Field

Minnesota Twins: Center Field
Jerome Miron / USA Today Sports Images

The Twins are rolling with former top prospect Byron Buxton through thick and thin. He's started to hit more but is still batting just an atrocious .173-1-4 with 38 strikeouts in 31 games.

 
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New York Mets: Starting Rotation

New York Mets: Starting Rotation
Geoff Burke / USA Today Sports Images

Who would have thought the Mets' rotation would be their downfall? It's now the worst in baseball due in large part to injuries for Steven Matz and Noah Syndergaard. Of course, Matt Harvey and Robert Gsellman have also pitched especially poorly.

 
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New York Yankees: Rotation Depth

New York Yankees: Rotation Depth
Brad Penner / USA Today Sports Images

New York has been one of the league's early surprised, getting great hitting and good pitching from the front end of the rotation. The back end of the rotation, in particular CC Sabathia, has really struggled. He has a 5.77 ERA through seven starts and could be at risk of losing his rotation spot soon.

 
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Oakland Athletics: Right Field

Oakland Athletics: Right Field
Kirby Lee / USA Today Sports Images

Oakland has received some pleasant surprises in the lineup and rotation. Right field has been a major issue, however, with Matt Joyce's struggles (.661 OPS) leading the way. The team has a .620 OPS at the position.

 
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Philadelphia Phillies: Pitching

Philadelphia Phillies: Pitching
Eric Hartline

While Jeremy Hellickson has been satisfactory, Aaron Nola has spent much of the first six weeks on the DL and Jerad Eickhoff has struggled. Also, the Phillies removed Jeanmar Gomez from the closer role early in the year, and the bullpen continues to struggle.

 
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Pittsburgh Pirates: Hitting

Pittsburgh Pirates: Hitting
Jake Roth / USA Today Sports Images

Pittsburgh has had incredibly bad luck this season, from Jung Ho Kang's visa issues to Starling Marte's PEDs suspension to Jameson Taillon's cancer surgery. The Pirates have scored the third fewest runs in baseball, but that's only one of their many issues.

 
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San Diego Padres: All Areas

San Diego Padres: All Areas
Jake Roth / USA Today Sports Images

Where do we start? The Padres rank fourth worst in runs scored and have the fifth worst ERA despite playing their home games in a pitcher's park. They clearly dumped this season, so the poor performance comes as no surprise.

 
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San Francisco Giants: Hitting

San Francisco Giants: Hitting
Denny Medley / USA Today Sports Images

San Francisco's hitting has been terrible, and the pitching has almost been just as bad without ace Madison Bumgarner. The Giants can at least expect to get Bumgarner back around the All-Star break, but the anemic offense could have bigger issues, especially with the performance of the outfield.

 
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Seattle Mariners: Starting Rotation

Seattle Mariners: Starting Rotation
Jennifer Buchanan / USA Today Sports Images

Seattle's 4.63 ERA (ranked 25th) isn't great, and the Mariners now have four starting pitchers on the DL. James Paxton and Felix Hernandez could return in short order, but it's been a bloodbath in the Seattle rotation.

 
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St. Louis Cardinals: Hitting vs. LHP

St. Louis Cardinals: Hitting vs. LHP
Adam Hunger / USA Today Sports Images

St. Louis ranks 20th in OPS vs. lefties, as usual staple Randal Grichuk has struggled to come through against them. Right-handed bat Jhonny Peralta has also been on the DL for much of the season.

 
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Tampa Bay Rays: Bullpen Depth

Tampa Bay Rays: Bullpen Depth
Kim Klement / USA Today Sports Images

Low-budget teams often have issues with depth, and that's been the case for Tampa Bay this season. The bullpen has struggled on the back end, with Jumbo Diaz and Austin Pruitt both posting ERAs above 5.00 at this point. Fortunately, the team has found reliable arms in Alex Colome, Tommy Hunter, Chase Whitley and Danny Farquhar.

 
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Texas Rangers: Hitting vs. LHP

Texas Rangers: Hitting vs. LHP
Jerome Miron / USA Today Sports Images

To say the Rangers have had issues against lefties would be an understatement. They have a league-worst .555 OPS against them. Six of the team's regulars are hitting below .200 against left-handed pitching. The bullpen has also been poor.

 
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Toronto Blue Jays: Injuries

Toronto Blue Jays: Injuries
Nick Turchiaro / USA Today Sports Images

Toronto's has been arguably the most disappointing team in baseball this year, and it's easy to see why when looking at the DL transactions. J.A. Happ, Aaron Sanchez, Josh Donaldson and Troy Tulowitzki are just a few of the key players who have missed time.

 
30 of 30

Washington Nationals: Bullpen

Washington Nationals: Bullpen
Bill Streicher / USA Today Sports Images

Washington's incredible offense has kept the team afloat despite an awful performance by the bullpen. Initial closer Blake Treinen lost the job early in the season, while replacements Shawn Kelley and Koda Glover have spent time on the DL.

Seth Trachtman is a fantasy sports expert and diehard Kansas City Chiefs fan. He doesn't often Tweet, but when he does, you can find him on Twitter @sethroto.

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