Though various teams have tried to prove otherwise over the years, the perfect MLB organization doesn't exist. Every one of them has something working against it.

As such, it didn't take too much work to identify the biggest weakness for all 30 teams.

All sorts of disadvantages were in play for this discussion, including troubles that exist solely between the lines and other problems that are more big-picture in nature. Bad owners? Check. Difficult markets or stadiums? Also a check. Front-office shortcomings? That's a check as well.

We'll proceed in alphabetical order by city and check off three teams at a time.

See also: Pinpointing the Biggest Strength of Every MLB Organization

Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta, Baltimore Orioles

Arizona Diamondbacks: They Have a Pitching Problem

With 45 more runs than any other team in 2024, the Diamondbacks definitely have offense figured out. On the other side of the ball, though, they're trending toward finishing 10th or lower among NL teams in runs allowed for a fourth straight year.

It hasn't helped that free-agent signees Jordan Montgomery and Eduardo Rodriguez have been duds, nor that the bullpen has had frequent meltdowns. And looking ahead, Zac Gallen is only controlled through 2025 and the club isn't exactly awash with pitching prospects.

Atlanta: Right Now, It's the Long-Term Health of Core Stars

A poll of MLB executives by The Athletic found Atlanta to have one of the most respected front offices in the industry. It's safe to assume all those contract extensions have something to do with that, yet the ones belonging to Ronald Acuña Jr. and Spencer Strider face potentially difficult futures.

Acuña, 26, has torn his left ACL in two of the last four seasons, while 25-year-old Strider has already had two major elbow surgeries. Both were able to bounce back once, but can they do so twice? Atlanta must hope so.

Baltimore Orioles: All These Young Stars, Yet No Extensions

The Orioles' homegrown core of hitters is the envy of MLB, and they would certainly like to keep it in place for a long time. General manager Mike Elias spoke last October of "examining opportunities to possibly keep some of these guys longer."

Almost a year later, though, the O's still haven't extended Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson or anyone else. It doesn't mean deals won't ever materialize, but the passage of time doesn't figure to make anyone more amenable to forgoing a shot at free agency.

Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox

Boston Red Sox: They're in a Slump with Pitching Development

By WAR, the Red Sox's best pitchers for the last 10 seasons are Chris Sale, Eduardo Rodriguez and David Price. Not one of them was originally drafted or signed by the organization. Hence the narrative that pitching development is not Boston's forte.

A concerted effort to change that has begun under Craig Breslow, but the early returns are mixed. Though Tanner Houck has broken out in 2024, Brayan Bello has largely regressed. Meanwhile, the Red Sox's farm system is mostly known for its impact bats.

Chicago Cubs: Remember When They Were a Literal Powerhouse?

The Cubs kept the home runs coming in bunches for the better part of the 2010s, ranking within the top five of the NL in long balls six times between 2013 and 2019. And between Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber and Javier Báez, much of that power was homegrown.

This already feels like a long time ago, as they are now on track to rank in the bottom half of the NL in homers for the fourth time in five seasons. They haven't had a hitter reach 30 homers in this span, whereas that happened nine times between 2014 and 2019.

Chicago White Sox: Jerry Reinsdorf Is a Bad Owner

Reinsdorf has owned the White Sox since 1981, so it's fair to say he's had ample opportunities to leave a positive mark on the franchise. Instead, the team has more losses than wins and just seven playoff appearances under his ownership.

This is really all that's needed to underscore the failure of his reign, though such things as baffling managerial hires and a toxic culture don't hurt, either. The White Sox fielding the worst team in modern MLB history almost feels like a logical endpoint for this story.

Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Guardians, Colorado Rockies

Cincinnati Reds: The Castellinis Aren't Helping

Elsewhere on the topic of bad owners, Reds fans must be relieved that club president and CEO Phil Castellini hasn't made a fool of himself this year. He seemed incapable of doing otherwise in both 2022 and 2023.

There's still the payroll problem, though, and it's getting worse with the Reds regressing from 15th in payroll in 2019 to 28th this year. True, they're a small-market team. But the Milwaukee Brewers play in an even smaller market, yet they're consistent with spending and winning.

Cleveland Guardians: Their Offense Has a Patience Problem

The Guardians are another small-market team with consistently low payrolls, but nobody can say they don't make it work. The club has had only two losing seasons since 2013 and is on track to make the playoffs for the seventh time in this span.

The Guardians have even resolved their home run issue in 2024, which leaves just one thing to gripe about: Since only four teams have drawn fewer walks since 2021, a little more patience on the offensive side would be nice.

Colorado Rockies: Their Insularity Doesn't Seem to be Helping

The Rockies are now 32 years into their existence, and their lifespan has thus far seen them allow 1,513 more runs than any other team. We all know why, and it rhymes with "doors."

The franchise has pursued all sorts of solutions, including novel ones. But the fact that the Coors Field problem remains unsolved may not be a sign that it can't be solved. Rather, the problem may be that they keep only looking within for people to solve it.

Detroit Tigers, Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals

Detroit Tigers: Despite Progress, Offense Remains Elusive

Between Riley Greene, Kerry Carpenter, Colt Keith and a resurgent Spencer Torkelson, the Tigers can look at the core of their lineup and like what they see. At least, more than they liked what they've seen for the better part of the last decade.

No AL team has scored fewer runs than Detroit dating back to 2015. And there's still much work to be done, as even this year's improvement has only pushed the Tigers to ninth among their AL compatriots in scoring.

Houston Astros: How Long Before Their Prospect Well Runs Dry?

It's largely on homegrown talent that the Astros have built their dynasty, but it's also been a minute since they put down a new cornerstone superstar in the mold of Carlos Correa, Alex Bregman and Kyle Tucker.

The Astros' farm system hasn't ranked higher than 27th in MLB.com's rankings since 2020. This has yet to spell their doom, but that coupled with how they haven't picked higher than 15th in the last nine drafts doesn't bode well for the future of their prospect pipeline.

Kansas City Royals: Kauffman Stadium Is Rough on Offense

No AL team plays in a smaller market than the Royals, and that has been to their detriment for much of their 56-year existence. But whereas they can't change that, is it beyond the pale to wonder if they might change their ballpark?

Kauffman Stadium is a beauty, but it also has more fair territory than any park outside of Coors Field. All that space has put a damper on the club's power output, as the Royals have hit 153 fewer home runs than any other team since MLB expanded to 30 franchises in 1998.

Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, Miami Marlins

Los Angeles Angels: Arte Moreno Doesn't Get It

The Angels are going to miss out on the playoffs for the 10th year in a row and for the 14th time in the last 15 seasons. The specific explanations for this dearth of success are many, but the buck ultimately stops with the owner.

Moreno has taken big swings in his 21 years in charge, but he's skimped on the finer points of running an MLB franchise. And right now, his refusal to entertain trading Shohei Ohtani in 2023 looks catastrophic now that he's gone and the club's farm system is in disrepair.

Los Angeles Dodgers: They Sure Seem to Rack Up Injuries

The Dodgers are the closest thing MLB has to a perfect franchise right now. They're rich. They have an amazing front office. And though they only have one World Series championship to show for it, no team has been a more consistent winner since 2013.

It's therefore a bummer about the injuries. The Dodgers led MLB in IL days in 2023, and things haven't taken a turn for the better in 2024. The pitching injuries, especially, amount to a veritable bloodbath.

Miami Marlins: They Also Have a Longstanding Power Issue

It's sad that the Marlins have only ever been run by frugal and seemingly uninterested owners. Bruce Sherman is merely the latest, and why he even wanted to buy the team in 2017 is a fair question to ask just seven years later.

No matter the owner, though, the Marlins are another franchise that has struggled to hit the ball over the fence. They rank 28th in home runs since 1998, and last since 2018. The fences at LoanDepot Park have already come in once. Perhaps another alteration is in order.

Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, New York Mets

Milwaukee Brewers: They're MLB's Smallest-Market Team

Though vice versa also works, the Brewers are essentially the National League's answer to the Guardians. They consistently operate with low payrolls, yet a steady supply of brains in the front office has ensured that the wins keep coming.

Still, let's not kid ourselves about their market putting them at a disadvantage. It's the smallest in MLB, and it doesn't just show in the club's payrolls. It also shows in frequent cost-cutting moves, à la the Josh Hader and Corbin Burnes trades.

Minnesota Twins: They're Sitting Out the SB Revolution

The bigger bases that MLB introduced in 2023 have successfully brought the stolen base back from the dead. After not reaching the mark even once between 2000 and 2022, this will be the second year in a row that teams will steal 0.7 bases per game.

You wouldn't know this was happening if you only ever watched the Twins. Going back to 2018, they have 57 fewer steals than any other team. It wasn't a huge issue prior to 2023, but now it feels like a significant competitive disadvantage.

New York Mets: They Need to Fix Their Free-Pass Problem

Though there's been some chaos here and there and there again, times have mostly been good for the Mets since Steve Cohen bought the team in 2020. And between his riches and David Stearns' front-office bona fides, a foundation for success is very much in place.

All the same, the Mets need to solve their walk problem. They lead all NL teams in bases on balls across the last two seasons. And when they've walked three or more batters in a game this season, they're under .500 at 48-49.

New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Philadelphia Phillies

New York Yankees: They're Not the Best at Developing Hitters

Aaron Judge A) exists and B) has obviously done pretty well for himself since going to the Yankees with the 32nd pick in the 2013 draft. But in the grander scheme of first-round picks they have used on hitters this century, he's an outlier.

The Yankees have also seen Gary Sánchez, Miguel Andujar and Gleyber Torres achieve stardom only to quickly lose it, and the same is happening with Anthony Volpe. So when people rip (see here, here and here) the team's hitter development, they have a point.

Oakland Athletics: They're Not Exactly a Revenue Juggernaut

The sad state of the A's is one of their own making. Or rather, their owner's making. Based on how little enthusiasm there is for the team's upcoming move to Las Vegas, let's just say John Fisher may regret having left the Oakland faithful behind.

What's for sure is that there are lean times in store for the A's between now and the move to Sin City in 2028. According to Forbes, they are already at the bottom of MLB for revenue. Playing in a 14,000-seat stadium between 2025 and 2027 won't help that.

Philadelphia Phillies: Their Pitching Pipeline Has Hit a Snag

The Phillies don't make it easy to find nits to pick. They've mostly connected on their big swings on free agents, and they've likewise done well with cultivating young talent. Alec Bohm, Bryson Stott, Ranger Suárez and Cristopher Sánchez can attest to that.

Still, there is the matter of Andrew Painter and Mick Abel. They're the most notable pitching prospects the team has, yet Tommy John surgery has cost the former two seasons and the latter has been unable to shake his control issues amid a dismal year at a Triple-A.

Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants

Pittsburgh Pirates: They Basically Don't Do Free Agency

The Bucs are another small-market, low-revenue team whose owner prefers to keep his payrolls close to the bottom of MLB. But since he's only been in charge since 2007, Bob Nutting isn't solely to blame for the Pirates' longstanding disinterest in free agency.

According to Cot's Baseball Contracts, the Bucs have spent less in free agency than every other team in MLB since 1991. It's not the reason that their World Series drought goes all the way back to 1979, but it's definitely a reason.

San Diego Padres: A.J. Preller Is Good at His Job, But...

Preller is arguably the best thing to ever happen to the Padres' front office. More general managers should have his penchant for big swings. And even if all of those swings haven't connected, he still has the team on track for a third playoff berth in five seasons.

Still, discord has all too often been a theme during his 10-year tenure, particularly with his relationships with his managers. You have to wonder how many undue losses the team has incurred as a result.

San Francisco Giants: They Just Can't Find Sluggers

It's not that the Giants are incapable of hitting home runs collectively. It was only three years ago that they led the National League in homers, with 10 players getting into the double digits by the end of the season.

Yet it's also no secret that they haven't had anyone top 30 homers since Barry Bonds in 2004. J.D. Martinez can vouch that this is as much an Oracle Park problem as anything else, and it's not a great sign that it's still lingering even after the fences came in back in 2020.

Seattle Mariners, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays

Seattle Mariners: Somebody Get This Team an Offense

The Mariners definitely have run prevention down, and not just in the sense that their pitching staff is the best in the American League. Did you know they also have the most efficient defense in MLB? It's true.

The offense, however, is in a less-than-great place. For the last two seasons, Mariners hitters rank first in strikeouts and second-to-last in hits. Never mind Scott Servais in the manager's chair. It's a wonder that former hitting coach Jarret DeHart lasted as long as he did.

St. Louis Cardinals: They *Used* to Have a Good Front Office

Whereas its reputation for innovation and plain, ol' effectiveness used to precede it, it's telling that the Cardinals' front office didn't get a single vote in the poll that The Athletic ran earlier this year. It does seem to have fallen behind the times.

Nowhere is this more evident in the pitching staff's lack of swing-and-miss stuff. Only Rockies pitchers have fewer total whiffs since 2018. Even if the Cardinals don't have Coors Field to worry about, it's still not a model to emulate.

Tampa Bay Rays: They Really Need That New Stadium

How good is the Tampa Bay front office? So good that there's a meme in honor of it. It's clearly not where the fault lies for the club's consistently low payrolls. And contrary to what you might think, the Rays don't even play in that small of a market.

As far as what is holding the Rays back, frankly, they can't move into their new stadium fast enough. They've never been able to draw at Tropicana Field, where gate receipts ($48 million) don't even match what Yoshinobu Yamamoto ($55 million) is being paid this year.

Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays, Washington Nationals

Texas Rangers: They're Not Great at Developing Pitching Either

It was largely because of a deft hand with pitchers that the Rangers went to back-to-back World Series in 2010 and 2011. Yet they've mostly resorted to importing pitching from elsewhere since then, with mixed results.

High picks on Jack Leiter (No. 2 in 2021) and Kumar Rocker (No. 3 in 2022) were meant to turn the tide with the Rangers' pitcher development. That may still prove to be the case, but Leiter has been a disappointment and Rocker only just returned from Tommy John surgery.

Toronto Blue Jays: There's Just a Shortage of Hope Right Now

Arguably a better use for this space would be as a lament for what's happened to the Blue Jays offense. When they led MLB in home runs in 2021, nobody could have predicted they would only rank 12th in the AL in homers just three years later.

Yet this is only part of why things feel so bleak for Toronto. Missing out on Shohei Ohtani hurt pretty bad. Then you have Bo Bichette's injury issues and what's befallen top prospects Orelvis Martinez (suspension) and Ricky Tiedemann (Tommy John surgery).

Washington Nationals: A Big-Market Team with Small-Market TV Revenue

The Nationals were consistently among MLB's top spenders during the 2010s, and it's possible to think they could be again in the near future. They should certainly want to spend to augment the core they're building around CJ Abrams, James Wood and Dylan Crews.

Then again, this is a big-market franchise that technically splits MASN revenues with the smaller-market Orioles, who own the bigger share of the network at 67 percent. This doesn't mean the current owners can't spend, but it's reportedly a reason that the Nationals aren't under new ownership right now.

Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.