Can a team succeed with players at the power positions, first and third base, ranked 31st (out of 31) and 20th in wRC+ at those positions, respectively? You’d normally think that a team with players like that in those positions was in rebuilding mode. And think of the impact when these two players are batting 2nd and 4th in the lineup.
Yes, I’m talking about Alex Bregman and Jose Abreu, normally considered superstars. We’ve been waiting a long time now for them to become themselves, often consoling ourselves that they are just “slow starters.”
Normally they are, sort of, although their idea of a slow start has usually been an average player’s idea of a good season.