He only has a 7-6 record to show for it, but Rogers has a 2.31 ERA and has held the opposition to three or fewer runs in each of his 18 starts. Fully recovered from Stage 3 colon cancer, Mancini aims to be back on the field by Opening Day 2021. Mancini is among many players poised to make a run at Comeback Player of the Year honors in 2021. 9 overall prospect in baseball per MLB Pipeline and he figures to be a big part of the Mariners youthful makeover. He has a $3.01-million salary. . He had a 5.19 ERA in seven starts in 2019 before undergoing Tommy John surgery, and he had an unsightly 8.22 ERA in his limited 7.2 innings of work last season. Even if he misses that deadline, he's a heavy favorite for Comeback Player of the Year honors after sitting out all of '20 to undergo chemotherapy treatment. Can Byron Buxton deliver value on both sides of the ball? His OBP dropped more than 60 points from his 2020 season (and 50 from his 2019 season), and his walk rate plummeted while his strikeout rate skyrocketed. The award was created for a player who was once a star, but had to come back from either injury or ineffectiveness to reclaim his status. Coming off of an Achilles tear in 2021, Graham recorded a career-high 11.0 sacks in 2022. But if the Padres are going to overcome the loss of Fernando Tatis Jr., it may just have to start with that starting pitcher. Betts surprised manager Dave Roberts with the power generated by an undersized body. Right now we're going to be talking awards, though, specifically Comeback Player of the Year. Reds: Mike Moustakas, INFThe Reds were moving all sorts of pieces this offseason, but one of the reasons Moustakas is still there was just how bad he was in 2021. His stats took a step back in '20, but that was for reasons largely out of his control: A coronavirus outbreak in the organization paused the Cardinals season and caused Flaherty to go more than three weeks without pitching. Here is a look at four other major leaguers looking to bounce back in 2021: Tampa, Fla.: New York Yankees starting pitcher right-hander Corey Kluber throwing against the [+] Toronto Blue Jays in the top of the second inning of a spring training game at the George M Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Fla., on March 3, 2021. From 2010-17, Posey was a regular recipient of NL MVP votes. Bleacher Report's panel of MLB scribesAbbey Mastracco, Joel Reuter, Zachary Rymer and myselfoffered up picks for Manager, Comeback Player, Rookie, Cy Young and MVP in each league from the first half of the season. It may feel a little early to bet on NFL Comeback Player of the Year. Yankees: Gleyber Torres, 2BIts now mostly apparent that Gleyber is unlikely to become the superstar the Yankees thought they had when he was hitting 38 homers at the age of 22 back in 2019. Trey Mancini wins MLB Comeback Player of the Year Nick Shepkowski November 22, 2021 6:42 pm ET In a year that saw some incredible performances there was no easier Major League Baseball. But that was merely his second-most noteworthy contribution to baseball. He barely saw the field in 2019. Martinez, AL Comeback Player of Year. The Yankees brought him to New York to be the best pitcher in baseball. Throw in the fact that their third-highest paid player (James Paxton) lasted just 1.1 innings before undergoing Tommy John Surgery and their second-highest paid player (Kyle Seager) is batting .213, and it sure feels like Servais is some sort of wizard. And he did all that despite the pressure of being the focal point of a blockbuster trade and then signing a jaw-dropping contract extension. But that begs the question -- has he already returned, and can he still win? He's five home runs behind Shohei Ohtani and four stolen bases behind Whit Merrifield, so he probably won't wind up leading the majors in both categories. 2021 MLB Manager Odds: Buying & Selling Manager of the Year Futures But its Tatis who seems like the best bet. The Ravens won 14 games with a second-year quarterback under center. Then, his pride surfaced as he said pointedly: "I felt like my defense was better than it's ever been. But it seems his accelerated career path and 2020 trial by fire did the flame-throwing lefty quite a bit of good. TIGERS: Tarik Skubal, AL Rookie of the Year. He won four games in a row with a 1.26 ERA before dropping his final regular-season outing. Luis Patio, MacKenzie Gore, Luis Campusano and Ryan Weathers all still have rookie eligibility. That didnt happen (.689 OPS), but hes still got talent vibrating off him. Astros: Alex Bregman, 3BLook, Bregman is still a terrific player: Who wouldnt want Alex Bregman on their team? The awardees, in collaboration with the MLB Players Trust, will have an opportunity to donate $70,000 to their choice of charity. Per Baseball Reference, no qualified MLB pitcher has ever finished a season with an H/9 rate below 5.0. The award debuted in 2005. Heck, sometimes it feels, looking back at the last couple of years, that everybody has had the same pair of bad years. Bieber showed just how lethal his repertoire can be after adding a cutter to create more separation between his fastball and breaking pitches. In the second year of a seven-year, $245-million contract, Strasburg has felt no ill effects from the surgery this spring. We all knew the Miami Marlins had one of the most intriguing pitching prospects in all of baseball. 2022 NFL Comeback Player of the Year Odds Tracker: Henry Favored MLB Rookie of the Year: Where things stand at halfway point - Sports But you certainly expect at least an above-average offensive season from him. Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott was arguably the best player to be sidelined, with New York Giants RB Saquon Barkley, Carolina . Like many of his Astros teammates, Bregman tailed off in the shortened '20 season and he wound up slashing .242/.350/.451 with six homers and 22 RBIs in 153 at-bats. In the case of the Seattle Mariners and Scott Servais, the team is actually 48-43 and has a reasonable shot at making the postseason, while its Pythagorean recordotherwise known as the expected record based solely on the numbers of runs scored and allowedis 40-51. He later became the first position player to record his first career hit in the postseason, and that ability came as no surprise considering the heralded hitting skills that some evaluators believe make him one of the best pure hitters in the Minor Leagues. Could that be an offseason adjustment that assures he retains his title? Since the day Jameson Taillon had his second Tommy John surgery in August 2019, teammates have been touting him as a lock for NL Comeback Player of the Year in '21. Hell be a Gold Glove Award candidate at the hot corner, and the surprising power he displayed at the plate during his debut makes him a much more interesting all-around player to watch. But Im really thankful and feeling a lot of gratitude., after a year away battling -- and beating -- Stage 3 colon cancer. Last year's postseason hero hasn't quite set the world on fire in 2021 like he did last October. Posey will be back in '21 and he should be poised for a bounceback season now that hes further removed from August 2018 hip surgery that sapped his power and hampered his production in each of his previous two seasons. Odds for the 2022 NFL Comeback Player of the Year - Gambling Sites The whole time I just wanted to be healthy long-term and live a long life. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip), Hickey looks on, before the team's spring training baseball game against the Houston Astros, Tuesday, March 9, 2021, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky), solo home run against the Houston Astros in the third inning of a baseball game in Seattle, in this Tuesday, June 4, 2019, file photo. The American League features a trio of new managers in 2021, although none are first-time skippers. Considering his five-tool skill set, theres no reason to believe Tatis wont be in the forefront of the MVP discussion next year -- and in the future. NL MVP Future Odds: Juan Soto Tops a Wide-Open Field teammate and person could make him . 10 MLB Stars Looking for Bounce-Back Seasons in 2022 The Giants have played 89 games, but not a single player has appeared in 80 of them. Barkley played in 13 games in the 2021 season, but at a level well below what we were used to seeing from him. Also Considered: Mitch Haniger, Seattle; Yordan Alvarez, Houston; Carlos Rodon, Chicago. Take your pick as to who has the better chance of a breakout season in 2021. At that point, he was batting .288 and slugging .619, albeit in relative obscurity for a team which has been in dead last in the AL West since the day he hit that 16th homer. He's nearly three years removed from being an All-Star, but the Mariners believe that with Haniger now full healthy he can once again be that caliber of player. Giants' Buster Posey Honored by MLB Players for Comeback Season MLB Awards: 2020 results, all-time winners. But it should be noted that he has never had an OPS+ above 98, so when you adjust for Coors Field, he has been a below-average hitter. (Photo by J. Conrad Williams Jr./Newsday RM via Getty Images), three-run home run against the Seattle Mariners during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 14, 2020, in Houston. More importantly, it denied Burnes an opportunity to pitch Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series against the Dodgers, and sent him into the offseason with a bitter taste in his mouth. In his first start, he went five scoreless innings with nine strikeouts against Seattle. He's also batting .270 and slugging .527, which are both the highest marks among Rangers who have made at least 25 plate appearances. Can Kenta Maeda repeat his career-best, Cy Young caliber season? Even with Manny Pia here, hes still the primary catcher. Bleacher Report's 2021 Midseason MLB Awards It could be an award-worthy sort of combination. He did that in just 89 games in 2019 and 50 in 2020, but stretched out to 145 in 2021, his slugging dropped a shocking 253 points. Since it's never too early to start thinking about next season, MLB.com asked its beat reporters to pick the one player from each team who has the best chance to take home an award in 2021. Then consider how he finished: .225/.386/.442. Major League Baseball on Tuesday night announced the two winners of the Comeback Player of the Year award for 2022: Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League and Justin . FILE - Seattle Mariners' Mitch Haniger is congratulated and showered with sunflower seeds after his [+] solo home run against the Houston Astros in the third inning of a baseball game in Seattle, in this Tuesday, June 4, 2019, file photo. Theres simply no way that his regular-season debut can match the stage and pressure of his first big league at-bat, when he not only became the first player to start in the postseason as his MLB debut since the World Series began in 1903, but he also stepped to the plate for the first time with two outs and the bases loaded in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series against Houston. Thats not what the Yankees got in 2021. After winning the 2019 AL Rookie of the Year award, Alvarez played in just two games with the Houston Astros last season. Only four guys (Brandon Crawford, Wilmer Flores, Austin Slater and Mike Yastrzemski) have played in at least 75 percent of the team's games (67 games). He looks a lot different this spring, from all accounts, and he might be ready to unlock what got everybody so excited about him in the first place. He usually gets one of those goals: He had an ERA under 2.70 every year from 2018-20. Well, Hendricks had his worst season last year (4.77 ERA), proving just how thin a margin for error he, and pitchers like him, have. Behind Dak is a list of very talented players at +1500 that . Haniger appeared in just 63 games in 2019 then missed the entire 2020 season. Dak Prescott (DAL) +170. The A's sent a split-squad of players to Las Vegas for two games against Cincinnati as . If he does manage to pull it off, though, he would become just the second player to do so. Every MLB team's rebound player for 2022 - MLB.com Alvarez played a big hand in the Astros reaching the World Series in 2019 for the second time in three years. The naysayers love to complain about his errors in the field, but if Tatis is able to do something that hasn't been done in more than a century, it's going to be mighty hard to argue against him for NL MVP. Sixto Sanchez was supposed to be Miami's NL ROY candidate, but he has not pitched this season and has already undergone season-ending shoulder surgery. That crunch-time success wouldn't be all that noteworthy if the Mariners had one of the best closers in the big leagues, but they don't even have a closer. The final treatment came on Sept. 21, 2020. Mets: Dominic Smith, 1B/OF In 2019 and 2020, Smith finally turned into the player of Mets fans dreams, getting on base regularly and showing considerable pop. Mariners: Jarred Kelenic, OFHe finally came on toward the end of the year, showing Mariners fans why they thought he could carry them back to the playoffs by himself. 2 prospect in the organization and No. MLB Players Vote Trey Mancini 2021 AL Comeback Player, Ryan Mountcastle He was the first pitcher to come to Toronto to try to turn around this staff, but he has more help, and theoretically less pressure, this year. On Opening Day, Mancini knocked a single down the third-base line at Fenway Park for his first hit since returning to baseball. Laurent Duvernay-Tardif (+1400) 8. Brewers: Christian Yelich, OFAgain: Yelich isnt bad by any stretch of the imagination. In just 87 games, he had 27 homers and 78 RBIs while hitting .313/.412/.655. Visit: DraftKings >> Claim a $50 free bet and a 20% deposit match bonus up to $1,000. While San Francisco managed to exceed expectations and fall only one win short of the playoffs, there was no question the club missed its undisputed leader in the clubhouse and on the field. But you certainly would expect more than a .203 average with two homers. deGrom may not have won a third consecutive NL Cy Young Award in 2020, but hes still arguably the favorite to take home that award when he returns to the field in 21. RED SOX: J.D. The Comeback Player of the Year Award was awarded by The Sporting News every season from 1965 to 2006, with one award given in each league every season. ORIOLES: Trey Mancini, AL Comeback Player of the Year. Hell be entering his age-26 season in '21. Twins: Gio Urshela, 3BAs bizarre as it is to see an Urshela-Carlos Correa infield in Minnesota rather than The Bronx, its worth remembering that Urshela did take a step back offensively last year. RB Christian McCaffrey, 49ers. Christian McCaffrey (+700) 3. Below is a look at how all of the beat reporters responded, as well as a brief explanation for each pick. Dak Prescott (+200) 2. That impressive performance after a major injury led him to finish fourth in Comeback Player of the Year voting. Because he's so darn efficient, though, he still managed to go at least five innings in nine of those starts. Between testing positive for COVID-19 at the beginning of the season and subsequently having season-ending surgery on both of his knees, he missed all but two games last year. Skubal and Casey Mize retain their rookie eligibility for next season, having been called up Aug. 18 and 19, respectively. The Yankees are banking on Kluber to be a key part of their rebuilt rotation behind ace Gerrit Cole and fellow newcomer Jameson Taillon, who is making his own comeback after missing last season with the Pirates while recovering from Tommy John reconstructive elbow surgery. Mancini missed the entire pandemic-shortened 2020 season after undergoing surgery for colon cancer. He has slashed .259/.315/.436 while hitting 12 home runs and driving in 53 RBIs. Outside of FanDuel Sportsbook, the next best odds can be found at Caesars Sportsbook. 2021-22 - QB Joe Burrow (Cincinnati) 2020-21 - QB Alex Smith (Washington) 2019-20 - QB Ryan Tannehill (Tennessee) 2018-19 - QB Andrew Luck (Indianapolis) 2017-18 - WR Keenan Allen (L.A. Chargers) 2016-17 - WR Jordy Nelson (Green Bay) But I would rather bet on him for Comeback Player of the Year than MVP. Alcantaras slider, a big pitch for him, has improved, as well. Until he takes a step back -- and hes shown no indications of doing so to date -- he will remain a perennial Cy Young favorite. Baltimore Orioles' Trey Mancini runs to first base in a spring training exhibition baseball game [+] against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Bradenton, Fla., Monday, March 22, 2021. It was only the seasons first weekend when Red Sox manager Alex Cora took them public, with a proclamation about Orioles slugger Trey Mancini that few disputed neither at the time nor in the months to come. BALTIMORE -- Even before the 2021 season began, murmurs projecting one of Major League Baseballs more prestigious offseason awards had already begun to circulate. Lets not forget the Aug. 25 no-hitter he threw against the Pirates and the perfect game bid that Giolito carried into the seventh inning in the opener of the AL Wild Card Series against the As. He barely saw the field in 2019. Bumgarner is still, somehow, only 32 years old. The rebuilding Mariners believe they are posed to take a step forward this season and are hopeful the 29-year-old Haniger can spark their offense from the leadoff spot in the batting order. against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Bradenton, Fla., Monday, March 22, 2021.