Ranking all 30 MLB teams’ front offices from worst to first

12. Twins

General Manager: Thad Levine

We have to give some love to teams like the Twins that are in smaller markets but still find ways to make splashy moves and push the boundaries of their budgets to try and win. Derek Falvey and Thad Levine haven’t usually pushed to be involved in every big name free agent out there, but they manage to make one or two moves for impact players each season, which is certainly not nothing. Not to mention, their farm system is in a pretty good spot at the moment.

The results have been mixed, though, as the Josh Donaldson signing certainly didn’t work out as well as they hoped (although they did well to get out from under that deal) and the Carlos Correa deal could end up poorly if Correa’s previous failed physicals and poor start to 2023 end up being issues long-term. However, that the Twins were able to even bring back Correa as well as extend Byron Buxton — and added several players that gave the Twins one of the better pitching staffs in the league at the same time — is a testament to some strong, if limited, work in the Twin Cities.

11. Mets

General Manager: Billy Eppler

Mets fans are going to (maybe?) be mad at being this low, so let’s get this out of the way: having an owner with such deep pockets solves a lot of inadequacies with one’s front office. The Mets are aggressive and are clearly making moves to try and win a World Series sooner rather than later which should be applauded. Also, there is some talent down in the minor leagues on the position player side even if a lot of their top prospects have some warts to their game.

The problem is that with all of the turmoil in that organization, it seems decidedly unclear if the Mets’ seemingly endless resources have been spent wisely. Bringing back Nimmo seems like it was a good investment, but throwing a bunch of Cohen’s money at aging stars hasn’t gotten the job done as the Mets are off to a rough start in 2023. To crack the top 10, the Mets need to be making better baseball and roster decisions and not just hope that the endless money well will be enough.

10. Guardians

General Manager: Mike Chernoff

It wasn’t that long ago that many thought that the Guardians were destined to plummet to the bottom of their division due to the organization’s unwillingness to commit real money to their payroll and keep their talent in the fold. Francisco Lindor comes to mind here and, in fairness, some of those fears have been justified as the Guardians have not really spent much nor is it likely that they will be players for the big time free agents. Their track record with developing offensive players is also decidedly mixed, although some trades for prospects helped their cause as there are some success stories there.

The one thing they have done and continue to do is develop pitching and they probably do it better than anyone else. That solves a lot of ills when it comes to payroll and roster construction. Chris Antonetti is calling the shots here and it will be interesting to see how he handles this exciting young core they have in Cleveland right now. Extending Jose Ramirez was a very good start, but this front office’s upside is capped unless they are willing and able to at least lock down some of these young guys for longer than their arbitration eligibility.

9. Mariners

General Manager: Justin Hollander

Justin Hollander may be the general manager, but this is Jerry DiPoto’s team and he calls the shots. DiPoto was well known for being a guy that is willing to wheel and deal and would trade his grandmother if he could get a comp draft pick back in the deal. Sometimes that has led to less-than-desirable results and many thought that he was guilty of overdoing it at times.

However, present day DiPoto has been decidedly more reserved. The Mariners have one of the most exciting young teams in all of baseball with guys like Julio Rodriguez, Cal Raleigh, Logan Gilbert, and George Kirby. DiPoto already locked up Julio to an extension and it looks like he is trying to do so with others to keep costs controlled and fill the roster with high end talent. The Mariners’ current farm system is meh and some of DiPoto’s moves could go either way, but overall the Mariners’ front office is in good shape.