If you blinked, you probably missed it. But the MLB offseason is over, and spring training is officially here.
Stars such as Kyle Tucker, Alex Bregman and Bo Bichette all have new homes. MacKenzie Gore and Freddy Peralta were among the top names traded. So what teams improved most in free agency? Here’s a list of 10 teams (in no particular order).
Pittsburgh Pirates
If you’ve seen my previous stories and watched me on Foul Territory, you know how high I am on the Pirates. They have a tremendously talented young pitching staff now with an offense that has an infusion of talent, headlined by Ryan O’Hearn, Brandon Lowe and Marcell Ozuna. Their manager, Don Kelly, drew rave reviews as the interim last season and O’Hearn even compared this Pirates team to the 2023 Baltimore Orioles.
I’m buying stock in these Pirates, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they end up making the postseason this year.Â
Baltimore Orioles
Speaking of the Orioles, they are absolutely deserving of a spot on this list. Their young talent is undeniable, but the team has underperformed recently and now has a new manager in Craig Albernaz, who played a key role in maximizing the small-payroll Cleveland Guardians. Now, he goes to a team with an abundance of young talent that has added Pete Alonso, Shane Baz, Ryan Helsley, Chris Bassitt and Taylor Ward, among others, this offseason.
The American League East is tough, but a bounceback season and a potential playoff spot should not be ruled out for the Orioles.
New York Mets
The Mets got CRUSHED early in the winter, and it really didn’t feel fair (although not re-signing Edwin Diaz was questionable). David Stearns is patient and has a better understanding of market prices than most. He then flipped the switch and signed Bo Bichette and Devin Williams and traded for Marcus Semien, Luis Robert Jr. and Freddy Peralta.Â
While last season was a disappointment for the Mets, they are in a better position to make the playoffs this season. And they did so without totally gutting their farm system this winter, giving them long-term building blocks and/or additional flexibility at the deadline if they so choose.
San Diego Padres
The inclusion here may surprise some folks, but the Padres have been chasing the Dodgers for years in the National League. They entered this offseason with a limited payroll, yet added Griffin Canning, Walker Buehler, German Marquez and others deep into the offseason. They already have a ton of talent on the roster and if Fernando Tatis Jr. can stay healthy, this is a team that could make some noise in the NL. And don’t ever count out A.J. Preller on potentially making a big move at the deadline. He’s relentless in phone calls, and late July/early August is when he does his best work – and also his biggest splashes.
Chicago White Sox
Let’s make this clear: the White Sox are not contenders this year. But what they are is a team that has direction and is getting closer to competing. At the GM Meetings, Chris Getz told me the organization is even higher on the return for Garrett Crochet than they were at the time of the trade. They made some strong moves this winter, headlined by Munetaka Murakami, and added a future trade asset in Seranthony Dominguez.Â
Detroit Tigers
The Tigers were already good, and they kept Tarik Skubal and Jack Flaherty while also adding Framber Valdez. That absolutely puts them ahead of where they were last season and makes them a massive threat in the American League. This is very likely Skubal’s last season in Detroit, so the organization will have one opportunity with this rotation. But if it works as they planned … the Tigers could be a team to watch in the AL this season.
Chicago Cubs
The Cubs had a terrific offseason. I, like many other writers, have criticized the organization for not spending in free agency. They then went out and signed Alex Bregman, traded for Edward Cabrera, and signed a few relievers to bolster the late innings. The Milwaukee Brewers have had a strong hold on this division recently, but this feels like the season where the Cubs are in position to overtake them in the National League Central.
This offseason was some of Jed Hoyer’s best work, which will only make Craig Counsell’s job easier. And with the high-end bullpen reinforcements, it’ll allow Counsell some flexibility to deploy his relievers in a similar way to what he did in Milwaukee.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Well, I can’t believe they’re on this list. The back-to-back World Series champions, with arguably the greatest roster in baseball history, got even better this winter by signing Edwin Diaz and Kyle Tucker.
The Diaz signing was a stunner. We were at the Winter Meetings listening to Scott Boras talk when Will Sammon of The Athletic reported the move. Writers left immediately to confirm and write the story and it had baseball in shock. Tucker, meanwhile, became more obvious in the hours leading up to the agreement. But still, the Dodgers got better, and a three-peat is definitely not out of the question.
Seattle Mariners
It wasn’t necessarily the splashiest of offseasons for the Mariners, but they did the two things they sought out to do: re-signed Josh Naylor, their top priority, and traded for Brendan Donovan to further bolster their infield.
Donovan was a player the Mariners had targeted for months. They had countless conversations with the Cardinals about the versatile infielder, who was a significant target for the San Francisco Giants. But it was the Mariners who got Donovan, and the two additions should put Seattle squarely in the mix to not only get back to the postseason, but perhaps even to the World Series.Â
Athletics
The A’s didn’t make big splashes by any means, but their inclusion on this list stems from the emergence of the young players last season. They signed Tyler Soderstrom to a seven-year contract extension. They recently extended Jacob Wilson for seven seasons. And manager Mark Kotsay indicated on Foul Territory that an extension for Nick Kurtz is not out of the question either.
If they’re able to extend Kurtz, and some industry sources are skeptical about an extension getting done now, it would keep three of the most talented young assets with the A’s long-term. It gives them massive building blocks as they move to Las Vegas. And it also gives them pieces to use in recruiting free agents and others to the franchise in future seasons as well.