It’s only natural that teams exceed or fail to live up to expectations. Just a few years ago, the Phillies looked to be a superteam built around the core of Cole Hamels, Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, and Jimmy Rollins – but the aging process didn’t treat Philly favorably, and they’re now a shell of their former team. With this year’s offseason acquisitions, it’s expected that baseball will see historic levels of parity – in that multiple divisions have several teams capable of winning the division title. While many teams improved this offseason, several did not do enough to keep up with the additions of their competitors. Here are four teams trending downward in 2015.

Cincinnati Reds

In what looks to be the toughest division in baseball, the Reds failed to make any significant upgrades this offseason. While the Cubs and Cardinals made various improvements, the Reds are relying on their stars to get healthy. A full season from Joey Votto and Jay Bruce should provide a solid source of offense – but with the decline of Brandon Phillips, it’s hard to see the Reds making significant strides in 2015.

On the other hand, if the pitching rotation – led by free agent to be Johnny Cueto – holds up, the Reds have a shot at making a run. Middle of the rotation guys like Homer Bailey and Mike Leake should once again prove to be steady contributors capable of eating innings. The Aroldis Chapman show should once again be fun to watch, and when a team has a dominant closer, there’s always a shot at winning games.

Unfortunately, it’s hard to see the Reds stars completely returning to their glory days – and it’ll be a long shot for the Reds to finish higher than third in a division featuring the always dangerous Cardinals, Pirates, and much improved Cubs.

Baltimore Orioles

In the much improved AL East, the Orioles – given their lack of offseason moves – seem the most likely to regress. The loss of Nick Markakis, the rock atop the Orioles lineup leaves the team without a bonafide leadoff hitter. After striking out on Justin Upton, the outfield situation is bleak. Aside from star center fielder Adam Jones, left and right field are currently occupied by Alejandro De Aza and Travis Snider. Both players have a fair amount of pop, and with the right coaching, either could have a breakout season.

The returns of Matt Wieters and Manny Machado will provide balance to the lineup, but it remains to be seen if Chris Davis can return to his alter ego, “Crush”. Davis had a monster 2013 season where he hit 53 homers, but came tumbling back down to Earth last season as he managed a slash line of .196/.300/.404. A bounce back season for Davis would give the Orioles much needed run support, but with his high strikeout rate – it’s unlikely.

The O’s pitching rotation remains largely intact, but will be nothing more than steady. That’s not necessarily a bad thing – led by emerging star Chris Tillman, the Orioles should expect consistency 1-5. With a full season from top prospect Kevin Gausman, the Orioles rotation has the potential to be dangerous.

Winning 96 games is a difficult task to accomplish, and with the improvements made by Boston and Toronto, the Orioles could falter in 2015 – but hey, you never knOw.

Los Angeles Angels

The Angels won’t be a bad team in 2015. Odds are, they’ll probably compete for the best record in the American League. When you have the best player in the sport on your team, it’s tough to not compete for championships. It’s kind of like whatever team LeBron James plays for; they’ll always be in the playoff hunt. Okay, maybe not exactly like basketball because hitters and pitchers can’t single-handedly carry teams, but you get the point. Mike Trout has established himself as the best player in the game at the ripe age of 22, and is only getting better.

The question, as it is for all teams with superstars, is if the supporting pieces can play to up to expectations. The Angels will rely on another productive season from future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols, but are left with questions regarding Josh Hamilton. Emerging youngsters Kole Calhoun and C.J. Cron can provide decent production, but the lineup isn’t without question marks.

The Angels’ pitching rotation has its issues too. C.J. Wilson struggled last season, ace Garrett Richards is returning from injury, Tyler Skaggs will miss the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, and Andrew Heaney (assuming he makes the team on Opening Day) will get his first full taste of major league action after a short period with the Marlins last season. Jered Weaver will anchor the rotation yet again and Matt Shoemaker will look to build on a breakout season, but the pieces behind them remain question marks.

The Mariners offseason improvements have catapulted them into the discussion for the best team in the American League. The Athletics figure to be somewhat worse this year with the fire sale by GM Billy Beane, but their lineup has several intriguing options that could give the Angels a run for their money.

Detroit Tigers

The AL Central won’t let the NL Central take all of the spotlight. The White Sox, Indians, Royals, Tigers, and even the Twins all made improvements of varying significance. The White Sox look poised to make a playoff run after adding star right-hander Jeff Samardzija, Melky Cabrera, and Adam LaRoche.

The Tigers acquisitions were less significant, and may prove to not be enough to keep up with the White Sox. Former top prospect Anthony Gose will most likely take over every day duties in center field, and has impressed in Spring Training, but to this point in his career, he’s done nothing at the major league level worthy of behind handed the job. Slugger Yoenis Cespedes will man left field, and continue with his high-power, low on-base ways. The Tigers will once again be an offensive force led by Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez, but the pitching rotation leaves a lot of questions.

After moving on from Max Scherzer and trading Rick Porcello this offseason, the Tigers went after Reds veteran Alfredo Simon to round out the rotation. Ace David Price and Anibal Sanchez will once again be solid, but questions about Justin Verlander are very concerning.

Verlander had the worst season of his career in 2014, posting a 4.54 ERA and failing to ever find consistency. With a dip in velocity, Verlander has to adapt to a new pitching style – but with a 3.74 FIP in 2014, a lot of Verlander’s struggles last season can be contributed to bad luck, and he looks poised for a bounceback season.

The Tigers have a lot of question marks, and competing with the improved White Sox, “good but not great” Indians, and the reigning AL Champion Royals may prove to be too much.

While the Reds are the most obvious candidates to regress this season, each team possesses new weaknesses that may bring them back down to reality – furthering the new-found parity across Major League Baseball.

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