With pitchers and catchers set to report in a matter of days, the MLB offseason isn't officially over, but it does feel like the big moves have come and gone. And with that in mind, we can praise teams that made good decisions .... while also criticizing moves that left a lot to be desired.
These big choices below fit the latter, and are ones teams are bound to regret sooner rather than later.
The Blue Jays not adding a big bat
The Toronto Blue Jays had a strong offseason. I think Dylan Cease was the best pitcher available, and the contract he got from the Jays reflects just that. Cody Ponce adds even more depth to a strong rotation, Tyler Rogers is Mr. Reliable in the bullpen and Kazuma Okamoto should be a very fun addition to an already stout team. When looking at the Jays roster, though, it does feel like they're a bat short. Just look at their projected Opening Day lineup.
Blue Jays Batting Order | Player | Position |
|---|---|---|
1 | George Springer | DH |
2 | Addison Barger | RF |
3 | Vladimir Guerrero Jr. | 1B |
4 | Anthony Santander | LF |
5 | Alejandro Kirk | C |
6 | Daulton Varsho | CF |
7 | Kazuma Okamoto | 3B |
8 | Ernie Clement | 2B |
9 | Andres Gimenez | SS |
There's obviously a lot of talent here, and if Anthony Santander bounces back following a lost season, this lineup might very well be just fine. However, how much better would it look with a guy like Kyle Tucker or Bo Bichette protecting Vladimir Guerrero Jr.? While there's a lot to like, it feels as if Guerrero and George Springer are the ones they can truly rely on to give them elite-level offensive production.
Bichette tied for second in the sport in hits despite missing much of September due to injury, and he led the league with a .381 average with runners in scoring position. Okamoto should be good, but that's a high bar. Losing his production could really come back to haunt Toronto, even with its improved pitching.
The Orioles giving Pete Alonso a five-year deal
The Baltimore Orioles made several win-now moves, but none were bigger than giving Pete Alonso a five-year, $155 million deal. To be fully transparent, I'm a Mets fan who wanted Alonso to retire with the franchise. I also understood the risks of handing a 31-year-old, power-hitting first baseman who is one of the worst defenders at his position a deal of that length.
The beginning of this deal should be fine; Alonso is coming off a strong year, and his batted ball metrics were as good as they've ever been. He should put up strong offensive numbers playing half the time in a ballpark in which he's seen the ball well throughout his career. But I just question how the contract will age.
Players of his archetype rarely age well, and once Alonso starts to lose some of his light-tower power, what good does he offer? He's a lousy defender, lacks speed, doesn't have the best eye and doesn't make consistent contact. I hope he does well, and if the Orioles find a way to win it all with Alonso, nobody will care how the deal ages. But ultimately, there's a reason teams refused to give Alonso a big deal last winter, and that most seemed hesitant to do so again this offseason. As painful as it was to see him go, it's likely the Mets will be proven right for not giving Alonso five years — and the Orioles will regret doing so by year three or so.
The Mets, Blue Jays letting the Dodgers land Edwin Diaz, Kyle Tucker
The Los Angeles Dodgers have won back-to-back World Series titles and seem destined to three-peat after signing Edwin Diaz and Kyle Tucker, two players who fill the biggest holes from last year's team. All of a sudden, the Dodgers' bullpen looks elite after looking anything but in 2025, and their lineup looks even scarier with Tucker, an MVP-level player, in the thick of it. The Blue Jays and the New York Mets are the teams most to blame for this transpiring.
Both were heavily in on Tucker, but the Mets refused to budge off their short-term, high-AAV offer, and the Jays refused to give Tucker a high-enough AAV on a long-enough deal to keep him away from the Dodgers. As for Diaz, New York was outbid yet again on a deal they could've gone longer on, and Toronto never really seemed that interested despite Jeff Hoffman's up-and-down season in 2025.
It's one thing for the Mets and Blue Jays, two teams hoping to compete in 2026, to miss out on those players who would've fit so well on their respective clubs. But losing out on them to the Dodgers makes it really sting. Even if it took overpaying, ensuring that the rich couldn't get even richer would've made it worthwhile.
The Phillies running it back yet again
The Philadelphia Phillies have built a strong core, as evidenced by their four straight postseason appearances. But they haven't made it past the NLDS since 2023, and after choosing to essentially run it back once again in 2026, I have no reason to believe they'll even get to the NLCS — let alone win the World Series. I mean, look at their offseason moves:
- Re-signed Kyle Schwarber
- Re-signed J.T. Realmuto
- Signed Brad Keller
- Signed Adolis Garcia
- Acquired Jonathan Bowlan
The biggest saw them re-sign Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto. The Realmuto contract came almost immediately after an actual upgrade they were linked heavily to, Bo Bichette, signed with their division rivals in the Mets. The biggest external additions were Brad Keller and Adolis Garcia, but do they even count as major upgrades?
Keller is very good, but immediately following his signing, the Phillies traded another quality reliever, Matt Strahm, in what felt like a cost-cutting move. Garcia was once a star, but he struggled so mightily last year to the point where he was non-tendered. He might be an upgrade over the likes of Nick Castellanos and Max Kepler, but he certainly isn't one over Harrison Bader.
Re-signing Schwarber, the NL MVP runner-up, obviously wasn't a bad move to make, but the Phillies did not make nearly enough moves around him. Perhaps rookies Justin Crawford, Andrew Painter and Aidan Miller will come up to the Majors at points this season and light the world on fire. Barring that, I don't see the Phillies getting further than they have in recent years, and with an aging core, that's a major disappointment.
The Twins refusing to pick a direction
The Minnesota Twins appeared destined to continue selling pieces this offseason after offloading nearly half their active roster at the 2025 trade deadline. Players like Joe Ryan, Pablo Lopez and Byron Buxton felt expendable for a team primed to enter a rebuild. But instead, the Twins elected to keep their stars ... and do basically nothing else.
Keeping their best players in a winnable division wouldn't be the worst decision in the world if they surrounded those players with more talent, but for whatever reason, they just didn't do that. The biggest move they made was signing first baseman Josh Bell. Yikes.
I think trading Buxton, Ryan and Lopez made the most sense given the hauls the Twins could've gotten for each player, but I would've understood trying to compete. They didn't try, though. Now, Minnesota appears likely to have another disappointing year in 2026, and there's a good chance they will have missed their best chance to sell high on that trio as well.
The way the Red Sox handled their position player group
The Boston Red Sox greatly improved their starting rotation this offseason, signing Ranger Suarez and trading for both Sonny Gray and Johan Oviedo. On paper, the Red Sox have one of the best and deepest rotations in the American League. As nice as that is, though, their position player group is a mess.
First and foremost, the Red Sox have two clear holes in their infield. Giving top prospect Marcelo Mayer an opportunity to fill one of them is fine, but what about the other? Boston's plan appears to be to run with some combination of Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Romy Gonzalez, David Hamilton and Kristian Campbell at second base, and they're going to hope Trevor Story has another mostly healthy season at short.
What makes this even worse is that the Red Sox had a bevy of options to choose from to address their infield. From Ketel Marte to Bo Bichette to Brendan Donovan to Alex Bregman, a player everyone assumed would be back in Beantown, Craig Breslow whiffed everywhere he turned.
Not only do the Red Sox have a lackluster infield and a lineup mostly devoid of power bats, but Boston also failed to trade from its outfield surplus. Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu, Ceddanne Rafaela and Roman Anthony are all still in town fighting for three spots. They could choose to DH Duran, but trading him for an infielder or pitcher made too much sense, and Breslow failed to do that.
The Red Sox have too many outfielders, not enough infielders and not enough power. I like their pitching staff, and who knows, maybe Mayer and Campbell can surprise some people with huge years, but it feels like Boston had a golden opportunity to win a World Series and didn't do quite enough to achieve that goal.
The Tigers keeping Tarik Skubal
I get why the Detroit Tigers kept Tarik Skubal. He is the best pitcher in the world, so willingly parting with someone of his caliber is easier said than done. With that being said, Skubal is entering his final year of team control. Does anyone truly believe he'll be with the Tigers past the 2026 season? Does anyone really believe the Tigers will outbid teams like the Mets and Dodgers to make the lefty a Tiger for life? Sure, they should, but we need to be realistic here.
The answer is almost certainly no, especially after signing Framber Valdez. Skubal feels like a lock to wear another uniform by Opening Day in 2027, and that puts the Tigers in a tough spot. It's hard to get on them too much for keeping him and trying to win the World Series this year, especially after signing Valdez, but are the Tigers that much better than they were in 2025? Their rotation is obviously much improved and they're clear favorites to win the AL Central, but are the Tigers better than teams like the Mariners, Blue Jays, Red Sox and Yankees? Did we forget that offense was their big issue in the postseason?
Game | Tigers Runs Scored |
|---|---|
WC Game 1 | 2 |
WC Game 2 | 1 |
WC Game 3 | 6 |
ALDS Game 1 | 3 |
ALDS Game 2 | 2 |
ALDS Game 3 | 4 |
ALDS Game 4 | 9 |
ALDS Game 5 | 2 |
They scored four runs or fewer in six of their eight postseason games, and did nothing to address their lineup at all. Skubal and Valdez are one of the best starting pitching duos in the AL, but that doesn't matter if Detroit will score two or three runs per game in October.
I think this ends one of two ways. The Tigers will either underperform and trade Skubal at the trade deadline (assuming he's healthy) for a lesser haul than they could've gotten this winter, or the Tigers will make the playoffs but fall short before eventually losing Skubal for nothing more than a draft pick. The only way to justify keeping Skubal and not trading him for a haul is by winning the World Series, and I don't think the Tigers are there yet.
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