They can start by fixing glitches which have been around for a few years. Using Ohtani still breaks the lineup at some point and then forces your SP to always hit. The pinch runner glitch STILL happens after 5+ years.
Quick manage is the absolute worst attempt at a quick sim mode I have ever seen in sports gaming.
The fact it's 2022 and there is no jersey number selection screen is lazy.
Player progression, regression, and retirement is fundamentally broken. There's zero reason why players who reach mid to late 30's and are below a 65 OVR don't retire. This floods the minor leagues and FA pool with players who are unusable and way too costly to fill up a MiLB spot.
Scouting is horrendous. The system has needed an update for a few years.
Scheduling is done in the laziest way possible and doesn't rotate through the opposite league's divisions for interleague play (so, if in 2022 you play the NL Central, you play the NL Central EVERY year for your interleague games).
Coaches can't be extended at the end of the season before they hit the FA market (laziness).
CPU teams routinely go over budget (by millions) causing player movement to be restricted.
Generated players from the draft only use ONE type of glove webbing, a webbing that pitchers SPECIFICALLY don't use. Beyond that, player generation is incredibly dull. SDS puts in no effort to make players generated for the draft standout in appearance in anyway.
There are no league control options. I should be able to turn the DH on/off in between seasons at will, same with the extra inning runner.
For some reason, SDS insists on using "live action" players on the schedule screen and hitting "play game" causes the opposing player to cycle through their jerseys for anywhere from 2-10 seconds.
Franchise mode (just like RTTS) is incredibly lazy and SDS has continued down the path of following EA, so I don't have any hope for the title.