Grading Every MLB Team's Offseason Thus Far
After a very slow November, Major League Baseball's 2022-23 offseason has been cooking with gas for seemingly the entirety of December.
There already have been nine free agents signed to nine-figure contracts, and more than 20 others who signed deals worth at least $20 million. In total, well over $3 billion has been spent, most of it in the past two weeks.
We're nowhere near done yet, either.
The big names have all signed at this point, but there are still a bunch of free agents likely destined for an eight-figure salary or a multiyear deal. And while the spending spree on free agents is starting to taper off, the trade negotiations are just beginning to heat up.
Plenty can and will still change between now and Opening Day.
But how would you grade each team's offseason so far?
Who has knocked it out of the park, who struck out swinging and who forgot to even bring a bat to the plate?
We've compiled each team's noteworthy additions and subtractions to produce a single letter grade for their offseason.
Of note: For each team, we have "Free-Agency Adds" and "Free-Agency Losses." Not all of the Losses have necessarily signed with other teams, but it no longer makes any sense to consider, say, Nathan Eovaldi a starting pitcher for Boston, nor Trey Mancini a first baseman/outfielder for Houston. They could still re-sign those guys, but they're effectively gone at this point.
Arizona Diamondbacks
Free-Agency Adds: RHP Miguel Castro, RHP Scott McGough
Free-Agency Losses: RHP Ian Kennedy, RHP Zach Davies
Noteworthy Trade: Cooper Hummel to Seattle for CF Kyle Lewis
Re-Signings/Extensions: n/a
Grade: C-
With just about everyone returning for a team that improved by 22 wins from 2021 to 2022, the Diamondbacks didn't need to do a whole lot this offseason in order to enter 2023 with realistic postseason aspirations.
But they needed to do something more than just signing an inexpensive middle reliever with a career ERA north of 4.00 and a wild-card reliever from Japan, particularly considering they are stuck in a division where both the Giants and Padres have made several major splashes to get better.
The good news is there's still plenty of time to continue addressing their biggest need, which is the bullpen.
Though signing 37-year-old relievers Mark Melancon and Ian Kennedy last year went quite poorly for the D-backs, they could take a flier on nearing-the-end-of-their-career closers like Aroldis Chapman or Craig Kimbrel. There's also a lot of middle-relief help still on the market in the forms of Andrew Chafin, Michael Fulmer, Mychal Givens, Adam Ottavino, Seth Lugo and Matt Moore.
Because Arizona hasn't yet missed the boat on improving its 'pen, we won't grade their early inactivity too harshly, though it does seem like the Diamondbacks forgot to even go to the winter meetings.
Atlanta Braves
Free-Agency Add: RHP Nick Anderson
Free-Agency Losses: RHP Kenley Jansen, SS Dansby Swanson, OF Adam Duvall, OF Robbie Grossman, RHP Darren O'Day
Noteworthy Trades: Dylan Spain to Colorado Rockies for OF Sam Hilliard; Jake Odorozzi and $10 million to Texas Rangers for LHP Kolby Allard; Jake Higginbotham and Justyn-Henry Malloy to Detroit Tigers for RHP Joe Jiménez; William Contreras and Justin Yeager to Milwaukee Brewers and Manny Piña, Kyle Muller, Freddy Tarnok and Royber Salinas to Oakland A's for C Sean Murphy
Re-Signings/Extensions: Re-signed relievers Jesse Chavez and Brooks Wilson to minor league deals
Grade: B+
In typical Alex Anthopoulos fashion, Atlanta has spent as little as possible on free agents, instead focusing on trades in its offseason efforts to improve the team.
The Sean Murphy deal was the blockbuster, though it was also a bit of a head-scratcher.
Yes, the Braves got the best player in the deal, so just about everyone declared that they won the trade. But William Contreras is a darn fine hitting catcher in his own right, clubbing 20 home runs with an .860 OPS last season, both of which are better than the marks Murphy posted in either of the past two years.
Contreras also has two more years of team control remaining than Murphy does, so that certainly wasn't a motivating factor in the deal.
Basically, Atlanta gave up three of its top prospects to turn a power-hitting catcher who is a defensive liability into a power-hitting catcher who won a Gold Glove in 2021. It might be worth it, though.
Atlanta also traded a pair of prospects for Joe Jiménez, who figures to factor into the setup role alongside A.J. Minter, Collin McHugh and Kirby Yates. Despite losing Kenley Jansen, this should remain one of the best bullpens in the majors.
Baltimore Orioles
Free-Agency Adds: RHP Kyle Gibson, 2B/OF Adam Frazier
Free-Agency Losses: RHP Jordan Lyles, 2B Rougned Odor
Noteworthy Trades: n/a
Re-Signings/Extensions: n/a
Grade: D+
After stunning the baseball world with 83 wins in 2022, Baltimore Orioles general manager Mike Elias teased the possibility of this franchise opening its purse strings for a change. Per MLB.com's Jake Rill, Elias said in early October: "We are going to have the flexibility to invest in the major league payroll in a different way than I have done since I've been here."
What have they actually spent or done?
Basically nothing.
Jordan Lyles had an $11 million club option for 2023. The O's declined that, paid Lyles a $1 million buyout and then flipped the other $10 million to, well, a marginally better version of Lyles.
From 2019-22, Lyles logged 557.2 IP with a 4.86 ERA. During that same time, Kyle Gibson logged 577.0 IP with a 4.60 ERA. Among the 69 pitchers to log at least 400 innings since the start of 2019, those are the fifth-worst and ninth-worst ERAs.
Getting Adam Frazier on a one-year, $8 million deal isn't anything worth writing home about, either, as he triple-slashed .238/.301/.311 last year in Seattle.
It's been kind of a standard offseason thus far for the small-market O's, but it just comes as a bit of a slap in the face after getting fans excited about the possibility of signing a legitimate ace like Carlos Rodón or maybe making a splash in the loaded shortstop market.
Boston Red Sox
Free-Agency Adds: RHP Kenley Jansen, OF Masataka Yoshida, RHP Chris Martin, LHP Joely Rodriguez, 3B/DH Justin Turner
Free-Agency Losses: SS Xander Bogaerts, RHP Nathan Eovaldi, LHP Matt Strahm, DH J.D. Martinez, OF Tommy Pham, RHP Michael Wacha, LHP Rich Hill
Noteworthy Trades: n/a
Re-Signings/Extensions: n/a
Grade: C-
Getting Masataka Yoshida on a five-year, $90 million deal (plus the $15.4 million posting fee to the Orix Buffaloes) was pretty huge for the Red Sox.
Over the past five seasons in Japan, Yoshida batted .332 with 111 home runs and 396 RBI. Aside from Aaron Judge and the four big shortstops, he was arguably the most intriguing hitter available in this year's free-agency cycle. And even if you include the posting fee, it averages out to $21 million per season—way less than what Judge and the four shortstops got.
But that move doesn't make this postseason a success for Boston.
It merely keeps them from getting an F.
The Xander Bogaerts negotiations were a yearlong failure by Chaim Bloom and Co., culminating in the shortstop's relocation to San Diego. The Red Sox still haven't re-signed Rafael Devers—who hits free agency next offseason—to a long-term deal. And while they did patch up what had been a terrible bullpen in 2022, nothing has been done to address the fact that three of the team leaders in innings pitched from their rotation are gone.
Aside from Nick Pivetta—who has yet to post a 4.50 ERA or better in his six-year career—Boston's rotation is a great big question mark. Even if they ultimately manage to re-sign Nathan Eovaldi, there's quite a bit of work to be done to climb out of the AL East basement.
Signing Justin Turner on Sunday bumped the Red Sox up from a D to a C-minus, though it is weird that they let 35-year-old J.D. Martinez sign elsewhere on a one-year, $10 million deal before giving 38-year-old Turner a reported two-year deal worth $8.3 million in 2023 with a player option for $11.4 million in 2024.
At least Turner can play the field, though, and he will likely spend some time at both first base and third base.
Chicago Cubs
Free-Agency Adds: SS Dansby Swanson, CF Cody Bellinger, RHP Jameson Taillon, RHP Brad Boxberger
Free-Agency Losses: C Willson Contreras, LHP Wade Miley, OF Jason Heyward
Noteworthy Trades: n/a
Re-Signings/Extensions: LHP Drew Smyly
Grade: B
Prior to landing Dansby Swanson on Saturday, the Cubs were headed for a big, fat F.
Not only did they lose Willson Contreras (after stubbornly refusing to trade him ahead of the Aug. 2 deadline), but they lost him to St. Louis. Though not quite as big as, say, Bryce Harper going straight from the Washington Nationals to a 13-year contract with the Philadelphia Phillies, it's never fun when one of your best players becomes a division rival.
Then there were the reports during winter meetings that Chicago was trying to sign not one but two of the marquee shortstops, only to have Trea Turner, Xander Bogaerts and Carlos Correa land elsewhere in the National League.
But at least they got Swanson, and now the previous acquisitions of Cody Bellinger, Jameson Taillon and Brad Boxberger look the part of a team legitimately trying to contend in 2023.
However, they still need to do more to improve a pitching staff that ranked 26th in FanGraphs WAR last season. The bullpen was particularly rough, and while Boxberger could be a solid addition, that's nowhere near enough.
Chicago White Sox
Free-Agency Adds: RHP Mike Clevinger, OF Andrew Benintendi
Free-Agency Losses: 1B José Abreu, RHP Johnny Cueto, RHP Vince Velasquez, OF AJ Pollock, SS Elvis Andrus, 2B Josh Harrison
Noteworthy Trades: n/a
Re-Signings/Extensions: n/a
Grade: B
By Friday afternoon, the White Sox were, at best, a D-plus. They at least hadn't done anything drastic like trading away Lucas Giolito or Liam Hendriks in the name of shedding payroll, but all they had done was add Mike Clevinger—who missed all of 2021 and was nowhere near as effective in 2022 as he had been from 2017-20—as a replacement for Johnny Cueto in the rotation.
But then they got one of the best outfielders available in this year's cycle in Andrew Benintendi, inking the former Red Sox/Royal/Yankee to a five-year, $75 million deal.
The White Sox didn't necessarily need an outfielder, but they needed a reliable bat after bidding adieu to José Abreu and his .292 career batting average. And while Benintendi is nowhere near the slugger that Abreu used to be, he did at least hit .304 last season, has been a solid hitter throughout his career (outside of his disastrous 14-game campaign in 2020) and will provide a strong glove in left field.
It's a major step in a positive direction, but they've still done nothing to address what has been a gaping hole at second base for the past two years.
Options for doing so are few and far between, and one of those options (Adam Frazier) signed with the Orioles on Thursday. If the ChiSox don't get Jean Segura or Brandon Drury, it could be a huge mistake.
Still, it's hard to be too upset with the White Sox's limited number of moves so far, considering they are still the way-too-early favorite to win the AL Central.
Cincinnati Reds
Free-Agency Add: C Luke Maile
Free-Agency Losses: 2B Donovan Solano, LHP Mike Minor
Noteworthy Trades: Kyle Farmer to Minnesota Twins for RHP Casey Legumina; Dauri Moreta to Pittsburgh Pirates for SS Kevin Newman; cash considerations to Texas Rangers for UTIL Nick Solak
Re-Signings/Extensions: n/a
Grade: C-
The Reds are knee-deep in a rebuild and nowhere near the point when it would make sense to start spending on free agents. Thus, merely investing $1.75 million for one year of a backup catcher sounds about right.
Trading a shortstop with two years remaining until free agency for a mediocre right-handed pitching prospect on the same day that they traded a mediocre right-handed pitching prospect for a shortstop with two years remaining until free agency was...a strange sequence of events, especially for a team that is practically drowning in middle-infield prospects.
But, whatever. That didn't really change anything.
The only reason the Reds get a C-minus is because of something that was completely out of their control: getting the No. 7 pick in the 2023 draft despite entering the draft lottery with the fourth-best odds. Losing those three spots after losing 100 games was just a kick in the teeth.
Cleveland Guardians
Free-Agency Adds: 1B Josh Bell, C Mike Zunino
Free-Agency Losses: C Austin Hedges, C Luke Maile, RHP Bryan Shaw
Noteworthy Trades: Nolan Jones to Colorado Rockies for IF Juan Brito; Carlos Vargas to Arizona Diamondbacks for RHP Ross Carver
Re-Signings/Extensions: n/a
Grade: A-
The Guardians won 92 games last season, and all they had hitting free agency was a pair of replacement-level catchers and a 34-year-old reliever who has posted an ERA north of 5.00 in four of the past five years.
As such, adding a catcher and perhaps upgrading at first base to allow Josh Naylor to become the full-time DH was pretty much the entire offseason wish list for the Guardians, which they pretty well knocked out of the park.
On the first base front, they got a good one in Josh Bell. He had a rough stretch with the Padres over the second half of last season, but he has a good bat and a good enough glove to hold down the fort. And at $16.5 million with a player option for the same amount in 2024, they didn't need to break the bank to get him.
On the catcher front, signing Willson Contreras or trading for Sean Murphy would have been the preferred route, but maybe they'll get the 2021 version of Mike Zunino who got MVP votes as opposed to the 2022 version who couldn't hit anything or stay healthy. He's an intriguing buy-low candidate for just $6 million.
Colorado Rockies
Free-Agency Add: RHP Pierce Johnson
Free-Agency Losses: SS Jose Iglesias, RHP Chad Kuhl, RHP Carlos Estévez, RHP Alex Colomé
Noteworthy Trades: Juan Brito to Cleveland Guardians for OF Nolan Jones; Sam Hilliard to Atlanta Braves for RHP Dylan Spain
Re-Signings/Extensions: RHP José Ureña, RHP Tyler Kinley
Grade: B+
Re-signing Tyler Kinley to a three-year, $6.25 million deal after his breakout 31-year-old season was a good move. Also hard to argue with re-signing José Ureña to a one-year, $3.5 million contract when he logged a quality start in seven of his 17 appearances for Colorado. (There were a few huge duds, too, but he was mostly respectable.)
The most intriguing move, though, was getting Nolan Jones from Cleveland.
He wasn't anything special in his 28-game stint with the Guardians last season, but Jones triple-slashed .273/.394/.447 in six seasons in the minors, drawing walks in more than 16 percent of trips to the plate. He should immediately factor into Colorado's outfield mix, and all they had to give up for him was a Single-A middle infielder who isn't even top-30 in Cleveland's farm system.
It won't do anything to help get the Rockies out of the NL West basement in 2023, but those are sound, logical moves for a team in rebuilding mode. And, frankly, "sound" and "logical" are not adjectives we've been able to use with Colorado in recent years. Baby steps.
Detroit Tigers
Free-Agency Adds: LHP Matt Boyd, RHP Michael Lorenzen
Free-Agency Losses: 3B Jeimer Candelario, LHP Andrew Chafin, C Tucker Barnhart
Noteworthy Trade: Joe Jiménez to Atlanta Braves for 3B/OF Justyn-Henry Malloy and LHP Jake Higginbotham
Re-Signings/Extensions: n/a
Grade: D+
The Tigers signed two starting pitchers to one-year deals in the combined amount of $18.5 million. But they also traded away arguably their best relief pitcher for a pair of prospects rather than just riding out his final season before hitting free agency.
The Matt Boyd and Michael Lorenzen signings suggested Detroit thinks it can compete for a postseason spot in 2023. But dumping Joe Jiménez seemed to suggest they don't intend to be relevant this season.
And you know what?
We get it.
They're in a tough, confusing spot. They're still paying Miguel Cabrera $32 million for one more season of what has been below-replacement-level production for quite some time. They also need to be cognizant of the player options in the contracts of both Javier Báez and Eduardo Rodriguez after the 2023 campaign. If both those guys opt out, Detroit wouldn't have a single player under contract for 2024 and beyond. Thus, getting a couple of starting pitchers on one-year deals in preparation for a possible full reset of the books next offseason kind of makes sense.
Here's why they get a below-average grade, though: Where are the Atlanta-style long-term deals with the young players? Detroit should be focused on locking up guys like Tarik Skubal, Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson while they would still be relatively inexpensive.
Houston Astros
Free-Agency Add: 1B José Abreu
Free-Agency Losses: RHP Justin Verlander, C Christian Vázquez, 1B Yuli Gurriel, 1B/OF Trey Mancini, LHP Will Smith, IF Aledmys Díaz
Noteworthy Trades: n/a
Re-Signings/Extensions: RHP Rafael Montero, LF Michael Brantley
Grade: A+
Signing José Abreu to a three-year, $58.5 million contract was quite the strong move by the reigning World Series champions. Abreu turns 36 in January, but he just hit .304 while earning AL MVP votes for the fourth consecutive year. Though his slugging was lower than usual in 2022, there's no good reason to assume that his production is going to drop off a cliff anytime soon.
It was a great first step for Houston, and bringing back Michael Brantley on a one-year deal was a great second step.
When Brantley went down with a season-ending injury in late June, left field became a major issue for the Astros. (One that definitely was not solved by trading for Trey Mancini.) And figuring out a plan in left field for 2023 was arguably the most important thing on their offseason to-do list.
Now that they can check off that box, maybe they could try to bring in another starting pitcher, considering three-time Cy Young winner Justin Verlander relocated to Queens. However, they are in surprisingly good shape on starters despite a loss of that magnitude.
Even if Houston does nothing else this offseason, it should enter Opening Day as the favorite to win the World Series.
Kansas City Royals
Free-Agency Add: LHP Ryan Yarbrough
Free-Agency Loss: RHP Zack Greinke
Noteworthy Trades: n/a
Re-Signings/Extensions: n/a
Grade: D
If there was an award given to the most inactive franchise through the first six weeks of the offseason, it would definitely go to Kansas City. The Royals haven't been involved in a single trade and hadn't signed a single free agent until getting Ryan Yarbrough on a one-year, $3 million deal last week.
But what choice do they have?
Even if the tiny-market Royals could find the space in the budget to sign a big-name free agent, they would need to sign at least four or five just to get into the conversation for a postseason berth.
They could trade away Michael A. Taylor, Brad Keller, Adalberto Mondesi and Amir Garrett, who each have one year remaining until free agency. But no team aside from Oakland wants to admit—to itself or to its fans—in December 2022 that it's hopeless in 2023.
That said, it wouldn't be a surprise if they move Taylor before Opening Day, either shortly after the last noteworthy free-agent outfielder signs somewhere or during spring training to a team that's desperate to address an injury.
For the time being, though, it's been an uneventful offseason in Kansas City.
Los Angeles Angels
Free-Agency Adds: LHP Tyler Anderson, RHP Carlos Estévez
Free-Agency Losses: RHP Michael Lorenzen, RHP Archie Bradley, C Kurt Suzuki
Noteworthy Trades: Alejandro Hidalgo to Minnesota Twins for 3B Gio Urshela; Adam Seminaris, Janson Junk and Elvis Peguero to Milwaukee Brewers for OF Hunter Renfroe
Re-Signings/Extensions: n/a
Grade: A-
Say this much for the Angels: They're trying to build a contender in what figures to be Shohei Ohtani's final year in Anaheim.
They have a dreadful farm system but managed to trade four prospects from it for a pair of impending free agents (Hunter Renfroe and Gio Urshela) who should contribute nicely on offense in 2023. Put those bats in the lineup alongside Ohtani, Mike Trout, Anthony Rendon, Taylor Ward, Luis Rengifo and hopefully a bounce-back year from Jared Walsh and, on paper at least, you've got a formidable force.
They also added a 2022 All-Star (Tyler Anderson) to their starting rotation and an occasional closer (Carlos Estévez) to their bullpen, both on multiyear, reasonably priced contracts.
None of the moves was individually jaw-dropping, but that's a nice quartet of transactions that definitely improved the team's outlook for next season.
Unfortunately, with all that Seattle and Texas have also done this offseason, the Angels are still likely to be projected for a fourth-place finish in the AL West unless they have at least one more big move up their sleeve.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Free-Agency Adds: RHP Noah Syndergaard, DH J.D. Martinez
Free-Agency Losses: SS Trea Turner, CF Cody Bellinger, 3B Justin Turner, OF Joey Gallo, LHP Tyler Anderson, LHP Andrew Heaney, RHP Craig Kimbrel, LHP David Price, RHP Tommy Kahnle, RHP Chris Martin
Noteworthy Trade: Jeff Belge to Tampa Bay Rays for RHP J.P. Feyereisen
Re-Signing/Extension: LHP Clayton Kershaw
Grade: C-
Without question, the departures outweigh the arrivals for the Dodgers.
Getting Noah Syndergaard on a one-year, $13 million deal was a nice pickup. Bringing Clayton Kershaw back for one more year was also a solid move. Pair those veterans with Julio Urías, Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May along with Ryan Pepiot and Bobby Miller waiting in the wings—plus Walker Buehler an outside possibility to return from Tommy John surgery before the end of 2023—and that's going to be one heck of a starting rotation once again.
But aside from picking up J.D. Martinez on a one-year $10 million deal, the Dodgers have done nothing to address the departures of Trea Turner, Cody Bellinger and Joey Gallo, nor the potential departure of Justin Turner. (Unless you count signing Jason Heyward to a minor league deal as something.)
They aren't exactly hurting for bats, though. They still have a strong nucleus in Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Will Smith, Gavin Lux, Chris Taylor and Max Muncy.
But is Trayce Thompson an everyday outfielder? Is Jacob Amaya the answer at shortstop? Are highly touted prospects Miguel Vargas, Michael Busch and Andy Pages ready to step into the spotlight?
These aren't questions we're accustomed to asking of a team that can typically just spend whatever it takes to try to fix a problem, but it seems like the Dodgers are laying low this offseason in preparation to throw an outrageous amount of money at Shohei Ohtani in November.
Meanwhile, the Giants and Padres have made huge moves this offseason to close the gap in the NL West.
Miami Marlins
Free-Agency Adds: n/a
Free-Agency Loss: 3B Brian Anderson
Noteworthy Trades: Payton Henry to Milwaukee Brewers for OF Reminton Batista; Marcus Johnson and Santiago Suarez to Tampa Bay Rays for RHP JT Chargois and IF Xavier Edwards; Elieser Hernandez and Jeff Brigham to New York Mets for OF Jake Mangum and RHP Franklin Sanchez
Re-Signings/Extensions: n/a
Grade: D+
The Marlins made a trio of trades in mid-November, mostly involving swaps of prospects. But they have yet to sign a single free agent to an MLB deal, nor have they extended any players already on the roster.
The former is understandable. Not only do the Marlins have a lot of needs, but their biggest need is outfield help. And as far as supply and demand goes, it's a brutal year to be a small-market team trying to add an outfielder.
But not yet signing second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. or any of their young starting pitchers to a long-term deal feels like a mistake. They signed Sandy Alcantara to a five-year deal before he reached arbitration, and that now looks like one of the most team-friendly contracts in all of baseball. They should do the same with Chisholm before he becomes unaffordable for them.
In other Miami news, now that Chris Bassitt, Carlos Rodón and other starting pitchers have signed with new teams, look for the Pablo López trade buzz to heat up again soon.
Milwaukee Brewers
Free-Agency Adds: n/a
Free-Agency Losses: LHP Taylor Rogers, RHP Brad Boxberger, 3B Jace Peterson, C Omar Narvaez, OF/DH Andrew McCutchen, RHP Trevor Gott
Noteworthy Trades: Hunter Renfroe to Los Angeles Angels for LHP Adam Seminaris, RHP Janson Junk and RHP Elvis Peguero; Kolten Wong to Seattle Mariners for OF/DH Jesse Winker and IF Abraham Toro-Hernandez; Esteury Ruiz to Oakland A's for C/DH William Contreras, RHP Justin Yeager and RHP Joel Payamps
Re-Signings/Extensions: n/a
Grade: A-
Like the Marlins, the Brewers have yet to sign a single free agent, have yet to extend the contract of a current member of the roster and have done basically nothing aside from making three trades.
But unlike Miami's minor moves, Milwaukee's trades were big deals.
In sending Hunter Renfroe to the Angels, the Brew Crew saved themselves probably close to $10 million in 2023 salary for a soon-to-be free agent while adding three pitching prospects to a farm system that was dearly lacking for arms.
In sending Esteury Ruiz to the A's, Milwaukee added another pitching prospect, a solid bullpen arm and a great hitting catcher. Somehow, the Brewers were the biggest winner of the trade that had Oakland sending Sean Murphy to Atlanta.
And while the Kolten Wong trade didn't actually save Milwaukee any money, the Brewers did turn an impending free agent with 82 career home runs (Wong) into an impending free agent with 80 career home runs (Jesse Winker) and an infielder with some pop who is under team control for another four years (Abraham Toro). And they needed a third baseman, so he might be the answer there.
All good stuff that might be able to keep the Brewers from trading away star pitchers Corbin Burnes and/or Brandon Woodruff in an effort to improve the franchise's long-term outlook.
Minnesota Twins
Free-Agency Adds: C Christian Vázquez, OF Joey Gallo
Free-Agency Losses: SS Carlos Correa, C Gary Sanchez, RHP Michael Fulmer, RHP Dylan Bundy, 1B Miguel Sanó
Noteworthy Trades: Gio Urshela to Los Angeles Angels for RHP Alejandro Hidalgo; Casey Legumina to Cincinnati Reds for SS Kyle Farmer
Re-Signings/Extensions: n/a
Grade: B
The Twins wanted to bring back Carlos Correa. They were one of the many teams trying to sign Carlos Rodón. And even when Correa was still available, there was talk of Minnesota also wanting Dansby Swanson.
They've been just kind of lurking as a possible landing spot for a bunch of this year's top free agents. And from that perspective, looking up in mid-December and merely seeing Christian Vázquez, an $11 million flyer on Joey Gallo and Johan Camargo on a minor-league deal on their list of offseason signings feels like a letdown.
But let's not forget that Minnesota did a fair amount of "offseason" shopping before the in-season trade deadline, bringing in both starting pitcher Tyler Mahle and relief pitcher Jorge López with multiple seasons remaining before they hit free agency. Combine those moves with the acquisition of Vázquez and Gallo, and the Twins have set themselves up to be a player in the AL Central in 2023.
Even with the addition of Gallo, they still need to do something about the outfield, though, which was a mess aside from rarely healthy Byron Buxton.
And if trading for Kyle Farmer was their solution to losing Correa, yikes. They do have Royce Lewis, who might finally be ready to live up to the hype of being the No. 1 overall pick in 2017...but missing out on all the free agent shortstops could be a major problem here.
New York Mets
Free-Agency Adds: RHP Justin Verlander, RHP Kodai Senga, RHP David Robertson, LHP José Quintana, C Omar Narvaez
Free-Agency Losses: RHP Jacob deGrom, RHP Chris Bassitt, RHP Taijuan Walker, RHP Trevor Williams, LHP Joely Rodriguez, RHP Adam Ottavino, RHP Seth Lugo, RHP Trevor May, RHP Mychal Givens, OF Tyler Naquin
Noteworthy Trades: Keyshawn Askew to Tampa Bay Rays for LHP Brooks Raley; Jake Mangum and Franklin Sanchez to Miami Marlins for RHP Elieser Hernandez and RHP Jeff Brigham
Re-Signings/Extensions: RHP Edwin Díaz, OF Brandon Nimmo
Grade: A+
How can what was already one of the highest payrolls in baseball afford to give $425 million to Justin Verlander, Edwin Díaz, Brandon Nimmo and Kodai Senga?
That's not our problem to solve.
All we know is that the Mets have more than adequately addressed their mass exodus of pitchers by re-signing their closer and bringing in seven new arms, one of whom just won the AL Cy Young for a third time.
At this point, it's looking like they'll have Max Scherzer, Verlander, Senga, Carlos Carrasco and José Quintana in the starting rotation, with Tylor Megill, David Peterson and Elieser Hernandez as long relievers. Meanwhile, Brooks Raley, David Robertson and Díaz will handle the late innings.
And, uh, yeah, that'll do.
If rookies Brett Baty (3B) and Francisco Álvarez (C) are even remotely ready to take the reins at their respective positions, it's hard to find any weakness on this roster. Though, for what is probably going to be close to a $350 million payroll when all is said and done, that should be the case.
New York Yankees
Free-Agency Adds: LHP Carlos Rodón, RHP Tommy Kahnle
Free-Agency Losses: OF Andrew Benintendi, RHP Jameson Taillon, LHP Aroldis Chapman, DH Matt Carpenter, RHP Miguel Castro
Noteworthy Trades: n/a
Re-Signings/Extensions: OF Aaron Judge, 1B Anthony Rizzo
Grade: A-
Even if all the Yankees had done was not lose Aaron Judge, this would have been a successful offseason.
But keeping Judge and Anthony Rizzo AND signing one of the best pitchers on the market?
That's a grand slam.
The Yankees now have a starting rotation of Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón, Nestor Cortes, Luis Severino and Frankie Montas, with Domingo Germán and Clarke Schmidt still in the mix, too. I'd rather have the Mets rotation, but that starting five will be a buzzsaw in the AL East.
We should note, however, that the Yankees have not yet done anything to improve what was a disappointing offense over the second half of last season, hence the A-minus grade.
Retaining Judge and Rizzo is great, but with Andrew Benintendi headed to the White Sox and Matt Carpenter's future still unknown, it looks like the Yankees are going to enter 2023 with a worse lineup than where they ended 2022.
If and when they do something to address their left-field situation, though, this grade can flip to an A-plus.
Oakland A's
Free-Agency Adds: IF Aledmys Díaz, IF Jace Peterson, RHP Trevor May
Free-Agency Losses: UTIL Chad Pinder, C/DH Stephen Vogt
Noteworthy Trades: Sean Murphy to Atlanta Braves and RHP Joel Payamps to Milwaukee Brewers for LHP Kyle Muller, OF Esteury Ruiz, RHP Royber Salinas, RHP Freddy Tarnok and C Manny Piña; Yonny Hernandez to Los Angeles Dodgers for cash considerations; Jeff Criswell to Colorado Rockies for RHP Chad Smith
Re-Signings/Extensions: n/a
Grade: F
Plain and simple, the A's didn't get enough for Sean Murphy.
I'm a huge fan of Esteury Ruiz's speed on the basepaths. Kyle Muller should be a solid southpaw. Royber Salinas and Freddy Tarnok both have some promise on the mound.
But not getting a single MLB.com top 100 prospect while also absorbing Manny Piña's $4.5 million salary in 2023 for no apparent reason was an indefensible return for a Gold Glove catcher who had a ton of suitors.
Since mid-March, the A's have traded away Chris Bassitt, Matt Olson, Matt Chapman, Sean Manaea, Frankie Montas, Lou Trivino and now Murphy. After all that wheeling and dealing, they have hands down the worst MLB roster, no top-40 prospects and just three top-100 prospects.
Throw in the fact that Oakland signed a pair of utility infielders over the age of 30 to two-year deals in the middle of this complete overhaul, and it's hard not to wonder if this franchise has any clue what it's doing.
Also worth noting: The A's dropped from No. 2 to No. 6 in the draft lottery, so they really cannot catch a break.
Philadelphia Phillies
Free-Agency Adds: SS Trea Turner, RHP Taijuan Walker, LHP Matt Strahm
Free-Agency Losses: RHP Noah Syndergaard, RHP Kyle Gibson, RHP David Robertson, RHP Corey Knebel, RHP Zach Eflin, LHP Brad Hand, 2B Jean Segura
Noteworthy Trades: n/a
Re-Signings/Extensions: n/a
Grade: A-
The Phillies wasted no time in going out and getting what they wanted.
Aside from Jacob deGrom signing with the Rangers, the 11-year, $300 million deal between Philadelphia and Trea Turner was the first major splash of the offseason.
Within the previous 48 hours, the Phillies had also landed a back-of-the-rotation starter to replace Noah Syndergaard (Taijuan Walker) and a left-handed reliever to replace Brad Hand (Matt Strahm), both on multiple-year deals.
Just like that, the reigning NL champions are probably even better than they were last season.
Granted, Philadelphia just barely snuck into the 2022 postseason before catching fire, so even with the improvement, they're likely still going to be projected to finish behind both New York and Atlanta in the NL East.
But I certainly wouldn't want to be a starting pitcher tasked with going up against a lineup where the first seven hitters are Turner, Kyle Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto, Bryce Harper, Rhys Hoskins, Nick Castellanos and Alec Bohm.
Given the sheer volume of arms that they lost, the Phillies probably need to sign one more inexpensive starter and one more right-handed reliever. But they've already done the heavy lifting that was necessary in order to remain a contender.
Pittsburgh Pirates
Free-Agency Adds: RHP Vince Velasquez, 1B/DH Carlos Santana, LHP Jarlin Garcia, C Austin Hedges
Free-Agency Losses: C Roberto Perez, 1B/OF Ben Gamel
Noteworthy Trades: Jack Hartman to Tampa Bay Rays for 1B Ji-Man Choi; Kevin Newman to Cincinnati Reds for RHP Dauri Moreta; Nick Garcia to Colorado Rockies for 1B/OF Connor Joe
Re-Signings/Extensions: n/a
Grade: B+
Much like several other small-market clubs, the Pirates are in a tough spot—one that got even tougher earlier this month when star outfielder Bryan Reynolds requested a trade.
But to the best of their ability, it looks like Pittsburgh is at least trying to build a contender around Reynolds rather than trading him away three years before he hits free agency.
After just scrolling through everything the Mets, Yankees and Phillies have done, these probably don't seem like winning moves. However, in Vince Velasquez, Carlos Santana, Jarlin Garcia, Dauri Moreta, Ji-Man Choi, Austin Hedges and Connor Joe, the Pirates have brought in seven Major Leaguers who could all be significant contributors in 2023.
They're going to need more/better pitching to have a chance against the Cardinals and Brewers in the NL Central. To that end, expect at least one more inexpensive one-year deal on par with what they gave Velasquez this year and José Quintana last year. (Perhaps with Mike Minor, who wants to prove he can still pitch after three consecutive rough seasons.)
It's nice to see Pittsburgh at least trying, though. The Pirates spent a grand total of $14.1 million in free agency last offseason, and they're already north of that mark this year.
San Diego Padres
Free-Agency Add: SS Xander Bogaerts
Free-Agency Losses: 1B Josh Bell, LHP Sean Manaea, RHP Mike Clevinger, RHP Pierce Johnson, UTIL Brandon Drury, OF Wil Myers, OF Jurickson Profar
Noteworthy Trades: n/a
Re-Signings/Extensions: RHP Robert Suarez, RHP Nick Martinez
Grade: A-
We're still waiting on the Padres to sign Juan Soto to a massive extension, but they still have two more years to figure that out.
In the meantime, they made a massive move to get former Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts.
For a while, it looked like San Diego's grade was going to be a clear F. The Padres missed out on Aaron Judge and Trea Turner despite reports that they offered each of those stars more money than what they accepted to play on the East Coast.
But that Bogaerts news dropping a few hours after the end of the winter meetings was ginormous.
When Fernando Tatis Jr. is eligible to return from suspension in late April, the Padres will have a lineup featuring Bogaerts, Tatis, Soto and Manny Machado, which is probably the best quartet of hitters in the majors right now.
Re-signing both Robert Suarez and Nick Martinez to multi-year deals was also critical for the Padres.
They need one more bat to fill out the lineup and probably one more back-of-the-rotation starter in case handing a spot in the rotation to Adrian Morejon doesn't pan out. But like the Phillies getting Turner, San Diego did the hard part. Now it just needs to plug some of the smaller holes to finish the job.
San Francisco Giants
Free-Agency Adds: SS Carlos Correa, OF Mitch Haniger, RHP Ross Stripling, LHP Sean Manaea
Free-Agency Losses: LHP Carlos Rodón, 1B Brandon Belt, 3B Evan Longoria, LHP Jarlin Garcia
Noteworthy Trade: Tristan Peters to Tampa Bay Rays for IF Brett Wisely
Re-Signing/Extension: OF Joc Pederson
Grade: A
Whether Carlos Correa is actually worth $350 million over 13 years is something we can debate for the next decade-plus. But San Francisco spending big to land one of the five best players available in free agency sure feels like a win for a team trying to keep pace with the Dodgers and Padres in the NL West arms race.
Had the Giants merely given Correa a blank check and nothing else, though, they probably would have gotten a C-plus or a B-minus.
It's because they also re-signed one corner outfielder to a one-year deal, got another one on a three-year deal, and added a pair of starting pitchers that the Giants get a solid A.
Given where they were at heading into the offseason, they reasonably could have thrown in the towel and pivoted into a rebuild. Instead, they opted to rebuild a contender almost overnight.
What keeps the G-Men from getting an A-plus, you might ask?
Well, they were all in on Aaron Judge. Judge to the Giants seemed to be all anyone could talk about for the first month of the offseason. So even though they ended up with quite a haul of free agents, it does feel like they fell short of the desired outcome.
Seattle Mariners
Free-Agency Add: RHP Trevor Gott
Free-Agency Losses: OF Mitch Haniger, 1B/DH Carlos Santana, 2B Adam Frazier, LHP Matt Boyd
Noteworthy Trades: Erik Swanson and Adam Macko to Toronto Blue Jays for OF Teoscar Hernández; Jesse Winker and Abraham Toro to Milwaukee Brewers for 2B Kolten Wong; Kyle Lewis to Arizona Diamondbacks for OF Cooper Hummel
Re-Signings/Extensions: n/a
Grade: B
After all the money the Mariners invested in Robbie Ray, Luis Castillo and Julio Rodríguez over the past year, they were in no position to be shelling out big bucks for free agents this offseason.
If they were going to add to their 90-win roster, it almost had to come via trades.
And Seattle did make two seemingly good swaps to bring in Teoscar Hernández and Kolten Wong.
Both of those players have just one year remaining before free agency, so there's some "2023 or Bust" to their approach. But Wong is a significant upgrade from the woeful year Adam Frazier had at second base for the M's, and Hernández should rival Rodríguez for the title of "Best Mariners Hitter in 2023."
The Kyle Lewis/Cooper Hummel swap also feels like a win for Seattle. They get two more years of team control over an outfielder while turning a center fielder into a corner outfielder as a means of insurance in case Jarred Kelenic has yet another poor campaign.
St. Louis Cardinals
Free-Agency Add: C Willson Contreras
Free-Agency Losses: LHP José Quintana, DH Albert Pujols, C Yadier Molina, OF Corey Dickerson
Noteworthy Trades: n/a
Re-Signing/Extension: RHP Adam Wainwright
Grade: B
The Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina departures weren't traditional free-agency losses. St. Louis knew long before the season ended that both of those seasoned veterans were retiring.
And while they're still significant losses, replacing Molina with Willson Contreras was a major win for the Cardinals.
He's nowhere near the base-stealing deterrent that Molina always was, but Contreras is right up there with Will Smith and J.T. Realmuto atop the list of the best-hitting catchers of the past half-decade. Getting that former division rival on a five-year, $87.5 million deal could go down as one of the best moves of what has been a wild spending spree over the past few weeks.
Beyond that, things have been quiet for the Cardinals. Some rumors of interest in big names here and there, but their only other acquisition was outfielder Oscar Mercado on a minor-league deal.
Notably, the Cardinals haven't added anyone to replace José Quintana in the starting rotation, but they don't need to. Adam Wainwright is back for one more year. They still have Miles Mikolas, Jack Flaherty, Jordan Montgomery and Steven Matz. And Matthew Liberatore could be coming for Matz's job.
Getting Carlos Rodón would've been nice, of course, but they're in good shape without him.
Tampa Bay Rays
Free-Agency Add: RHP Zach Eflin
Free-Agency Losses: RHP Ryan Yarbrough, RHP Corey Kluber, C Mike Zunino, OF David Peralta, OF Kevin Kiermaier
Noteworthy Trades: JT Chargois and Xavier Edwards to Miami Marlins for RHP Santiago Suarez and RHP Marcus Johnson; Brett Wisely to San Francisco Giants for OF Tristan Peters; Brooks Raley to New York Mets for LHP Keyshawn Askew
Re-Signings/Extensions: n/a
Grade: C-
Spending on free agents typically is not the Tampa Bay way.
During the 2019-20 offseason, the Rays didn't sign a single free agent to a major league contract. The following year, they signed seven guys, all of them to one-year deals in the cumulative amount of $18.7 million. Last year, they had essentially the same free agency budget, signing three players for a combined $18.9 million.
So for the Rays to give Zach Eflin a three-year, $40 million deal a week before winter meetings even began was pretty shocking.
They've done very little else, but the Rays have one heck of a starting rotation now, provided Tyler Glasnow and Shane Baz are healthy after missing most of last season. Between those two, Eflin, breakout ace Shane McClanahan, Drew Rasmussen and Jeffrey Springs, Tampa Bay certainly shouldn't be messing around with openers again any time soon.
Here's the thing, though: The pitching was already good. What Tampa Bay needed to do was improve a lineup that ranked 21st in the majors—and dead last among playoff teams—in total runs scored in 2022, and it has done nothing of the sort.
There are still a few good bats out there. Brandon Drury could be in Tampa Bay's price range. Maybe they could get an older hitter on a late-career discount, like Yuli Gurriel, Brandon Belt or former Rays Evan Longoria and Nelson Cruz. But the options are quickly dwindling, and it'd be a shame if they brought in Eflin only to supply him with no run support.
Texas Rangers
Free-Agency Adds: RHP Jacob deGrom, LHP Andrew Heaney
Free-Agency Losses: LHP Matt Moore, OF Kole Calhoun
Noteworthy Trade: Kolby Allard to Atlanta Braves for RHP Jake Odorizzi and $10 million
Re-Signing/Extension: LHP Martín Pérez
Grade: A+
Texas ranked fifth in the AL in runs scored in 2022, but 12th in runs allowed.
Martín Pérez had a great season and Jon Gray was solid from June 1 onward, but the Rangers desperately needed to improve their starting rotation.
And they certainly did, giving Jacob deGrom a five-year, $185 million deal, trading for Jake Odorizzi and getting Andrew Heaney for $12 million (with a $13 million player option for 2024.)
Now, the Rangers have a bona fide ace atop an entire five-man rotation consisting of guys making at least $12 million each in 2023. That's quite the 180 from only spending more than $4 million on one starter (Gray) in 2022.
Granted, there's no guarantee it works. Toronto took a similar approach in recent years, spending big on Hyun Jin Ryu, Yusei Kikuchi and José Berríos, only to have three-fifths of an expensive rotation that either couldn't get outs or stay healthy in 2022.
But the Rangers look like a threat to at least make the postseason, and might even be able to win a loaded AL West. That didn't seem feasible six weeks ago.
Toronto Blue Jays
Free-Agency Adds: RHP Chris Bassitt, OF Kevin Kiermaier
Free-Agency Losses: RHP Ross Stripling, OF Raimel Tapia, OF Jackie Bradley Jr., OF Bradley Zimmer
Noteworthy Trade: Teoscar Hernández to Seattle Mariners for LHP Adam Macko and RHP Erik Swanson
Re-Signing/Extension: RHP Anthony Bass
Grade: A
Trading Teoscar Hernández—who will likely be due around $14 million in 2023 salary before hitting free agency—for an established relief pitcher who had a 1.68 ERA last season (Erik Swanson) and an intriguing Single-A pitching prospect (Adam Macko) and then signing Kevin Kiermaier to a one-year, $9 million deal was a savvy pair of moves by the Blue Jays.
Is Hernández better than Kiermaier right now? Almost definitely. The former Blue Jay is at least less injury prone than the new Blue Jay, and Hernández is unquestionably the better slugger.
But is Hernandez better than an extra $5 million (the difference between his projected salary and Kiermaier's salary), a setup guy with three years of team control, a pitching prospect who ranks eighth in Toronto's farm system and Kiermaier? Heck no.
Likewise, letting Ross Stripling walk after a career year and then signing Chris Bassitt to a three-year deal in his place was a great trade-off for the Blue Jays.
We'd love to see Toronto figure out a long-term deal with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. before it's too late, but he doesn't hit free agency until after the 2025 campaign. If the Jays want to wait until next winter when Hyun Jin Ryu, Matt Chapman and others come off the balance sheet, so be it.
Washington Nationals
Free-Agency Adds: RHP Trevor Williams, 3B Jeimer Candelario
Free-Agency Losses: DH Nelson Cruz, 1B Luke Voit, RHP Joe Ross, 2B Cesar Hernandez
Noteworthy Trades: n/a
Re-Signings/Extensions: LHP Sean Doolittle, RHP Erasmo Ramirez
Grade: C+
Listen, the Nats aren't contending for a playoff spot in 2023. Even if they were in the NL Central, they wouldn't stand a chance. But they're really up a creek without a paddle in a division with Atlanta, New York and Philadelphia.
Short of somehow unloading the gargantuan contracts of Stephen Strasburg and/or Patrick Corbin, there's not a whole lot they could do to win this offseason.
But adding a couple of inexpensive veterans to an inexperienced roster might not be a bad call.
They got Jeimer Candelario on a one-year, $5 million deal after a disappointing 2022 campaign. That's a bargain for a guy who has a decent glove at the hot corner and who led the majors in doubles in 2021.
And $13 million for two years of Trevor Williams isn't too shabby, given the going rate for pitching in free agency these days.
Williams bounced back and forth between the bullpen and the starting rotation with the Mets over the previous 1.5 seasons, but he should be a full-time starter with the Nationals. And if he pitches anything like he did last year (3.21 ERA) or like he did in 2018 (31 starts with a 3.11 ERA), maybe they can move him at the trade deadline for a decent haul of prospects.
Or, if Strasburg gets and stays healthy by some miracle, Washington could have an intriguing rotation for the next two years of Strasburg, Corbin, Williams and young arms Josiah Gray and MacKenzie Gore. Maybe they add enough bats along the way to make things interesting by 2024...but probably not.