Fansided

The 5 biggest winners from the MLB offseason as spring training opens

By David Salituro

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 18: Gerrit Cole and Manager, Aaron Boone of the New York Yankees pose for a photo at Yankee Stadium during a press conference at Yankee Stadium on December 18, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 18: Gerrit Cole and Manager, Aaron Boone of the New York Yankees pose for a photo at Yankee Stadium during a press conference at Yankee Stadium on December 18, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – FEBRUARY 12: David Price #33 and Mookie Betts #50 of the Los Angeles Dodgers answer questions from the media during an introductory press conference at Dodger Stadium on February 12, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – FEBRUARY 12: David Price #33 and Mookie Betts #50 of the Los Angeles Dodgers answer questions from the media during an introductory press conference at Dodger Stadium on February 12, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /

Los Angeles Dodgers

For much of the offseason, it looked like the biggest move the Los Angeles Dodgers were going to make looked would be bringing back Alex Wood. Then, in a trade that took nearly a week to become official, they upended the NL race for 2020.

The Dodgers acquired Mookie Betts and David Price from the Boston Red Sox, adding a former MVP and Cy Young Award winner to a lineup that’s gone to two of the last three World Series and has won the NL West seven consecutive years.

Betts will play side-by-side in the Dodgers outfield with the reigning NL MVP in Cody Bellinger. Since Bellinger’s rookie season in 2017, the two have combined to hit 196 home runs. Both rank in the top-10 in OPS and WAR among outfielders in that span, something no other teammates in the NL can claim.

Betts is still just 27 and in the prime years of his career. He’s already put together a Hall of Fame-worthy resume in his first six seasons in the league, including the 2018 AL MVP.  Only six other players have a higher WAR through their first six seasons than Betts; all of them are in the Hall of Fame except for active players Mike Trout and Albert Pujols. Since the start of his MVP season, Betts is behind only Trout and Christian Yelich in OPS and on-base percentage, while his .319 batting average trails only Yelich. He’s scored 33 more runs than any other player in baseball in the last two seasons.

Joining Betts on the West Coast is Price, who’s coming off four injury-plagued seasons in Boston. He was limited to just 22 starts and 107 innings in 2019, finishing the year with a 4.28 ERA, his worst mark in a decade. In his last full season in 2018, though, Price won 16 games and another three in the postseason, including the World Series clincher in Dodger Stadium. He’s joining a rotation that led baseball last season with a 3.15 ERA from starters, more than 20 points lower than any other team, and with a 1.07 WHIP.

The Dodgers also upgraded their bullpen by signing sinker ball specialist Blake Treinen. The former Oakland Athletics closer is coming off a 2019 in which he lost his job, but two seasons ago had the lowest ERA (0.78) in MLB history among pitchers with at least 80 innings.

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