With just 68 games of MLB experience under his belt, Dalton Rushing, somehow, is becoming one of MLB’s biggest villains. He doesn’t even play every day for the Los Angeles Dodgers, yet he seems to continuously find himself in the news for all sorts of frustrating reasons. Where does Rushing rank among MLB’s current villains, though? Let’s dive in.
8. Jurickson Profar, Atlanta Braves
MLB fans were excited when Jurickson Profar, once MLB’s No. 1 overall prospect, broke out and became an All-Star in 2024, but things have only gone downhill since. Not only was he suspended for PEDs in 2025, missing half of that season as a result, but he was suspended again ahead of the 2026 campaign, leading to a season-long suspension.
Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice, and it’s hard to envision MLB fans forgiving Profar at all. If (and it’s a big if) he plays again, Profar will be seen as a major villain by just about every fan base, and for good reason.
7. Kyle Tucker, Los Angeles Dodgers
Kyle Tucker is a bona fide superstar, so it came as no surprise that there was a multi-team bidding war featuring big market giants for his services. Rather than signing with a team that could dethrone the two-time defending champions, Tucker wound up joining the Dodgers on a four-year, $240 million deal.
It’s understandable why Tucker would choose to sign that deal, but the last thing MLB fans wanted to see was for the rich to get even richer. Tucker undeniably makes the Dodgers even tougher to beat, and for 29 of the 30 fan bases, that’s really frustrating, especially when teams like the Mets and Blue Jays were pushing hard for his services.
6. Manny Machado, San Diego Padres
It’s one thing for Manny Machado to not give his all on the field. Time and time again, Machado is seen lollygagging at the plate and in the field, and it’s cost him on numerous occasions. This is something that doesn’t sit well with many MLB fans. As annoying as that is, though, Machado finds himself on this list because he’s a dirty player.
Machado’s list of dirty plays is too long for me to go over, but there are a couple of memorable ones worth highlighting. In the 2018 NLCS, Machado sparked a benches-clearing brawl and was later fined for kicking Jesus Aguilar at first base for no apparent reason. A year prior, Machado essentially ended Dustin Pedroia’s career by spiking him in the knee. Great talent, but his dirty plays make him easy to dislike.
5. John Fisher, Athletics
There are several bad MLB owners, but none of them are quite as villainous as John Fisher, who owns the Athletics. Fisher, for reasons that would only benefit his wallet, was hellbent on taking the A’s out of Oakland, a city in which they had resided for over 50 years, and moving them to Las Vegas. He went as far as to spend virtually nothing on really anything, gutting the team’s roster and ruining the fan experience in Oakland.
Making matters worse, the A’s are homeless, playing their home games in Sacramento until a stadium in Vegas is ready for them. There’s a reason diehard A’s fans packed the Coliseum in a last-ditch effort to get Fisher to sell the team. In a league full of bad owners, he is the worst of the worst for what he did to what was once a very passionate baseball city.
4. Dalton Rushing, Los Angeles Dodgers
As annoying as it is to see Tucker sign with the Dodgers of all teams, he hasn’t done anything on the field to make anyone dislike him. The same thing cannot be said about Rushing. MLB fans want to feel happy for Rushing, a former top prospect who is thriving at the big league level, but he’s making it hard for anyone to like him, and honestly, it has nothing to do with the team he plays for.
From accusing the Colorado Rockies, of all teams, of cheating, to not caring that Jung Hoo Lee appeared to be injured, to obnoxiously calling timeout to an umpire after not being granted one the game prior, to calling Miguel Amaya a “fat f***,” his rap sheet is lengthy and seemingly growing by the day.
3. Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers
Oftentimes, the best player on the best team is a villain in the eyes of the rest of the league. Shohei Ohtani is not only the best player on the best team, but he’s the reason the Dodgers have been able to build a superteam. Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700 million deal with Los Angeles but had $680 million of that deferred, meaning the Dodgers are paying him a total of $2 million annually. Their CBT hit is higher, but still well below the $70 million it should be, and the Dodgers’ savings have led to them signing a slew of high-end free agents.
Ohtani has done nothing wrong on the field. He’s the best and most fun player to watch right now. Still, the fact that he took the deal he did with the team he did makes him a villain. The Dodgers are the team to hate right now, and Ohtani is right in the middle of it.
2. Marcell Ozuna, Pittsburgh Pirates
On the field, Marcell Ozuna is a villain because of how imposing he can be. At 6-foot-1 and 251 pounds, Ozuna is a big man who hits for a ton of power. He finds his way on this list, though, because of the things he’s done off the field.
Not only was Ozuna arrested for driving under the influence, but he was also arrested for domestic violence. He was suspended for 20 games for assaulting his wife back in 2022. His talent allows him to stay in the league, but it’s fair to question whether that should be the case.
1. Jose Altuve, Houston Astros
You knew he’d be here. It’s been a while, but Jose Altuve remains the biggest MLB villain, and I’m not sure that’ll change anytime soon. What Altuve and his Houston Astros teammates remains hard to forgive.
The Astros cheated their way to the 2017 World Series title, famously banging on trash cans to relay stolen signs. Altuve won the AL MVP award that year. Whether Altuve actually participated in the cheating is for you to decide, but he’s been the player who has taken the most heat from MLB fans over the years, and nothing has changed in that regard. Altuve will always be the face of this scandal, even over guys like George Springer, Carlos Correa and Alex Bregman.
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