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5 MLB Comeback Stories Sadly Halted Due to Delayed Baseball Season

By Brendan Balsamo

JA Happ is just one of many candidates who looked like 2020 could have been a bounceback year.
JA Happ is just one of many candidates who looked like 2020 could have been a bounceback year. / Carmen Mandato/Getty Images

Spring Training records don't matter one bit when it comes to what a team is going to look like come the regular season, but the eye test can tell you something. Player performances in Spring Training can help guide the outlook on what's to come in the regular season, and even small steps of encouragement can help get the narrative going in the opposite direction.

After strange backslides in 2019, these five guys looked primed to have comeback campaigns in 2020, and the work they'd done in the spring only emphasized that further. Alas, we now have no idea what's in the cards for them, as the season remains indefinitely delayed.

5. Edwin Diaz

Edwin Diaz disappointed for the New York Mets in 2019.
Edwin Diaz disappointed for the New York Mets in 2019. / Paul Bereswill/Getty Images

The New York Mets were expecting big returns from Edwin Diaz after trading top prospect Jarred Kelenic for him. Instead, they got a 5.58 ERA and seven blown saves from their new closer. After finishing three games out of a Wild Card spot, that one hurts. Diaz even set the MLB record for most ninth inning home runs given up in a single season. That being said, 2019 was Diaz's only bad year in the bigs. Prior, he hadn't finished with an ERA over 3.27, and in 2018, he led the MLB in saves with 57 and finished eighth in Cy Young Award voting. He didn't have great stats to boast in Spring Training, but he only pitched three innings and was hardly warmed up for the season. 2020 could have been his return to form, but now we'll have to wait to see. The time off surely won't help his case.

4. J.A. Happ

J.A. Happ impressed in Spring Training, looking to be exactly what the New York Yankees needed in 2020.
J.A. Happ impressed in Spring Training, looking to be exactly what the New York Yankees needed in 2020. / Elsa/Getty Images

When the New York Yankees acquired J.A. Happ, they definitely expected better than a 4.91 ERA in 2019, especially following his steady-handed '18 campaign. However, with Luis Severino out for the year, and James Paxton once expected to be out for the start of the season, they needed Happ in 2020 more than ever. He showed he belonged in a starting role in Spring Training, pitching to a 1.38 ERA and a 0.615 WHIP in 13 innings, spinning the fastball in better than ever after a few weeks of tutelage from Matt Blake. Although those stats are unsustainable, they showed great promise that unfortunately might not be fulfilled due to the season's postponement.

3. Buster Posey

Buster Posey had an off-year in 2019 and will be looking to bounceback in 2020.
Buster Posey had an off-year in 2019 and will be looking to bounceback in 2020. / Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images

Already a San Francisco Giants legend, future Hall of Fame-catcher Buster Posey put up a disappointing 2019 campaign in which he compiled an 0.1 WAR, .257 batting average, only seven home runs, 38 RBI and missed the All Star Game for the first time since 2015. Posey has averaged a .302 average, 18 home runs, and 87 RBI per season throughout his 11-year career, so his 2019 was unexpected. However, he seemed to have picked back up to start this campaign, as in his 10 Spring Training games, he hit a whopping .455 with a home run and six RBI. Unfortunately, the pride and joy of the Giants won't get a chance to return to form until the MLB comes back. And this could be a huge year for his Hall of Fame trajectory, too.

2. Miguel Cabrera

Miguel Cabrera is encountering an incredible resurgence in 2020 Spring Training.
Miguel Cabrera is encountering an incredible resurgence in 2020 Spring Training. / Rich Schultz/Getty Images

The surprise of Spring Training in 2020 wasn't an incredible rookie, but actually a 17-year veteran on the Detroit Tigers. Miguel Cabrera could have retired after his third consecutive disappointing campaign and still been a first-ballot Hall of Famer, but he decided to keep at it, and hit .345 with three home runs and seven RBI in 12 Spring Training games, taking Gerrit Cole deep twice (and we mean DEEP). It'll be hard to expect his 37-year-old body to keep up this torrid pace, especially after an extended break from the pandemic, but if one of the best hitters ever can return to the form he once performed at, it'll be a special treat for all baseball fans.

1. Felix Hernandez

Felix Hernandez is the prototypical candidate for a comeback season in 2020.
Felix Hernandez is the prototypical candidate for a comeback season in 2020. / Joe Robbins/Getty Images

After a legendary career with the Seattle Mariners, Felix Hernandez saw his tenure there end with two straight seasons with over a 5.00 ERA. He hasn't been an All-Star since 2015, and it looked like any attempt to continue his career would be futile. The Atlanta Braves took a chance on him, and entering his age 34 season and 16th year in the league, Hernandez has impressed, to say the least. In four Spring Training starts, he amassed a 1.98 ERA, and has only allowed three runs to score. Hernandez could have ridden a hot start on his way to make an impact for a playoff-bound team, but now he'll have to wait to get his second shot at sustained success in the MLB.