As we roll into spring training, the MLB off-season is pretty much complete. There are a few big names still yet to be signed like reigning NL Cy Young winner Blake Snell and power-hitting DH JD Martinez, but outside of a few players teams are essentially set with their roster candidates. We’ve got grades for every MLB Team.
Arizona Diamondbacks: A-
The D-Backs shocked the league with a trip to the World Series last season. They want to prove it wasn’t just a fluke, too. They added ex-Tigers lefty Eduardo Rodriguez to sure up the rotation, traded for slugging third-baseman Eugenio Suarez from the Mariners, signed Joc Pederson to DH and re-signed Lourdes Gurriel Jr. for the outfield. The team is now much deeper and hopes to have Corbin Carrol take the next step to an MVP-caliber player. In a tough NL West, they have their work cut out for them, but clearly, GM Mike Hazen is looking to turn this team into a routine contender.
Atlanta Braves: B+
The Braves would get a B or better as long as they didn’t release or trade their young core, that’s how good their team is. However they clearly are hungry for another title, and not afraid to go and get it. Their biggest move was trading for stud lefty Chris Sale. This now gives the Braves arguably the best rotation in baseball (at least until Ohtani returns to the mound). They did have to let go of promising young shortstop Vaughn Grissom to get him, but that is still a much more money-savvy move than shelling out 200 mil+ to get Blake Snell. They also added Jared Kelenic, who had struggled for the Mariners but was once among the best prospects in the sport. If they can get him to hit at all, that will turn into a genius move.
Baltimore Orioles: B+
Like the Braves, the O’s have a very strong young core that they did not mess with. Also like the Braves, they went out and added an ace to beef up their pitching staff. The Orioles traded for former NL Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes to lead their staff. The defending division champs can now go toe to toe with any AL team in a series with their new pitching firepower. They also brought in Craig Kimbrel to close down the bullpen. The O’s also have a new ownership group (with Orioles legend Cal Ripken Jr. in the mix) that may look to spend more aggressively in the coming years, a huge boon for any smaller franchise.
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Boston Red Sox: C+
The Red Sox are not exactly looking to compete this year. They dealt their ace Chris Sale (who admittedly has not pitched all that much in the Busy Bean). They also traded a reliable starting outfielder Alex Verdugo to their hated rival New York Yankees. This would be a below C grade if not for the fact that they also were able to bring Theo Epstein back into the fold. The curse-breaking front office legend should help them right the ship going forward. Adding Vaughn Grissom in the Sale trade isn’t a terrible look either.
Chicago Cubs: B
The Cubs nearly got a much worse grade but were able to reunite with Cody Bellinger on a three-year, $80 Million deal. Retaining the former MVP along with the under-the-radar signing of wily Japanese lefty Shota Imanaga make the Cubs look like they could contend for the weak NL Central this season.
Chicago White Sox: D
The White Sox were horrendous last year and did not do much to improve the team. They took a flier on Mike Soroka and brought Cory Knebel in to man the closer role, but the best hope for these players is to be hot items at the trading deadline to restock the farm system. The Reinsdorfs do not care about this team it would appear.
Cincinnati Reds: C+
The Reds were over .500 last year and are looking to push for the playoffs this season. They added multiple arms like Frankie Montas and Nick Martinez to improve their weak pitching staff, and Bruce Suter for the bullpen. However, these things aren’t exactly going to push them over the top. Going out and getting Blake Snell, for example, would send a message to the NL Central that the Reds are the real deal.
Cleveland Guardians: C-
The Guardians stayed pat with a team that struggled to achieve beyond mediocrity last year, but they also didn’t have a firesale of any of their young talent. Their pitching staff had three promising rookies last year and could bring a fruitful season if Shane Beiber gets back to his career numbers after a disappointing 2023. The biggest off-season note for the guardians was the retirement of Terry Francona, their legendary manager. Stephen Vogt has some big shoes to fill as the new skipper.
Colorado Rockies: F
The Rockies barely participated in the free agency market, their biggest acquisition was journeyman pitcher Dakota Hudson. They need Kris Bryant to stay on the field and wake up to his MVP quality. Otherwise, it will be a tough year in Denver yet again.
Detroit Tigers: D
The Tigers have strong young talent and could use the hitting ability of their old DH JD Martinez. Having Kenta Maeda be your marquee signing when your division is up for grabs is not the best look. If Javy Baez doesn’t stop sleepwalking, it may be another disappointing season for los Tigres.
Houston Astros: B
The Josh Hader addition to the tune of $95 Million gives the Astros arguably the best bullpen in baseball. They also gave Altuve an extension to lock up the former MVP for likely the remainder of his career. They don’t really need to do much else, with Verlander under contract for two more years to lead the staff and all their young talent secure. The Astros spent carefully to ensure contender status for the coming years.
Kansas City Royals: B+
Extending Bobby Witt Jr. is the biggest move the Royals have made in years. They hope he will blossom into a superstar like Acuna and Julio Rodriguez have for their respective teams. The Royals weren’t done there, they added veteran pitchers Seth Lugo (who has a sneaky career 3.50 ERA) and Michael Wacha to add some pitching prowess to a lacking rotation. Along with Hunter Renfroe to fill out the lineup, the Royals are in a much better place this season.
Los Angeles Angels: F
The Angels couldn’t bring back Ohtani and have one of the worst rosters in the MLB beyond Trout. They did nothing to rectify these issues including trying to deal Trout for prospects. If Anaheim fans thought this team was hard to watch the past few years, this year will be a real doozy.
Los Angeles Dodgers: A++
The Dodgers are the undisputed winners of this off-season. They got the biggest free agent since Alex Rodriguez, maybe the biggest free agent ever, Shohei Ohtani. The two-way star signed the biggest contract in the history of American sports ($700 Million over 10 years), and is set to be the face of the franchise for the next decade. Then they went and got the best Japanese free agent since, well, Ohtani (but arguably a top 3 foreign free agent ever), in Yamamoto.
To make sure the rotation is rock solid they went and got Tyler Glasnow as well. Let’s not forget that they buffed their lineup with solid corner outfielder Teoscar Hernandez. To top it all off, they retained future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw. The Dodgers have one of the most fearsome rosters ever comprised. A masterclass from their front office.
Miami Marlins: D
The Marlins’ biggest issues this off-season were all managerial. They “mutually” parted ways with Don Mattingly, who had sustained the team far above the roster talent to this point. Then Kim Ng did not take her option to remain as the GM either. Yuli Gurriel and Jorge Soler walked, and the Marlins did nothing to plug the hole in their rotation caused by Sandy Alcantara’s injury. Signing Tim Anderson keeps this from being an outright F.
Milwaukee Brewers: C-
The Brewers have had a rather strange offseason. They traded away their best pitcher for a prospect and high draft pick, and then also traded their mid-rotation Adrian Houser to the Mets. However, they also signed Rhys Hoskins to fill their first base vacancy and retained Brandon Wudruff, their number two (and now ace) starter. So it appears the team is going in two directions here. They can’t possibly expect to be better without Burnes, but they also spent money on a fairly prominent free agent in Hoskins. Hard to square, and not a great look for the post-Stearns and Counsel era.
Minnesota Twins: D
The Twins intentionally contracted payroll by letting Sonny Gray and Kenta Maeda walk and then didn’t really bring anyone to replace them. This means the team that has been a consistent playoff contender for the past 5 years or so is suddenly looking like they might struggle to make .500 if they don’t have a healthy Correa and Buxton… two of the most injury-prone players of the last few years.
New York Mets: C-
The Mets pushed for Ohtani and Yamamoto, but just couldn’t get there. They instead went for mid-rotation pieces Manaea and Severino as well as some low-end roster fillers like Bader. The Mets have a strong foundation and a reloaded farm system. They’ll be all in next year for Soto and others.
New York Yankees: A
The Bronx bombers made the biggest trade of the off-season when they acquired Juan Soto. They also made their rotation much stronger with the addition of Marcus Stroman. Then they made a surprise trade with their rival Red Sox to deepen the lineup with Verdugo. The Yankees are back, in a big way.
Oakland Athletics: F
The Athletics ownership is ripping the team from a city that loves it and can’t even do that right. It’s barely worth mentioning the baseball side of things because that’s arguably even worse. Simply terrible.
Philadelphia Phillies: C+
The Phillies couldn’t land any of the big names but were able to retain Aaron Nola and keep their rotation strong. With the roster essentially being in the same place it was when the Phillies went to consecutive NLCS, it’s hard to say they’re doing a bad job, but some additional tools probably wouldn’t hurt.
Pittsburgh Pirates: D
The Pirates remain in a bad place as a franchise. Their problem for 10 years has been a lack of pitching, and with one of the best classes of free agent pitchers in recent memory, they did nothing to add a lynchpin to their rotation. The lineup has some promising young players, but they didn’t give it any veteran reliability either.
San Diego Padres: F
The Padres dealt Juan Soto and let Snell, Hader and Lugo walk. The team was barely .500 last year and seems to be in an even worse place now. Sure guys like Machado and Tatis Jr. can make things happen but it appears that 2022 was an anomaly and not a new tone for the Padres.
San Francisco Giants: B+
The Giants had one of the most under-the-radar off-seasons in the league. They signed Korean stud Jung-Hoo Lee to a six-year deal that they hope will be as fruitful as many of the other international signings of recent years, got Jorge Soler to replace Joc Pederson and brought in fireballer Jordan Hicks. They also traded for currently injured former Cy Young Winner Robbie Ray from the Mariners. They still didn’t get Ohtani or Yamamoto, however. All in all the team is in a better place than it was the past two years.
Seattle Mariners: C+
The Mariners traded away a Cy Young award winner and their power-hitting third baseman. Sure, Ray wasn’t going to pitch until after the all-star break, but it’s not a great look. They have to hope that Luke Raley is the real deal and that a return to Seattle for Haniger is enough to make him hit again. Julio Rodriguez can’t do everything, after all.
St. Louis Cardinals: B
The Cards needed pitching and got it. Sonny Gray is a huge add, and bringing back Lance Lynn will hopefully work out nicely. Kyle Gibson is a bit of a question mark at 36, but the contact pitcher has great upside as a back-of-the-rotation guy. The lineup should be fine as long as Arenado and Goldschmidt play to the back of their baseball cards.
Tampa Bay Rays: C-
The Wander Franco situation is miserable, though not entirely the Ray’s fault. Still having to fill in for one of the best young players by trading away a potential breakout piece of your own (in Raley) is tough. Combine that with trading away Glasnow, and not really adding any immediate rotation depth with McLanahan on the IL, we can’t exactly say it’s been a good off-season for the Rays.
Texas Rangers: C+
The roster does not need much addition, but not retaining Jordan Montgomery could hurt. Tyler Mahle was added because they do need pitching until deGrom and Scherzer return. If Eovaldi can give them 30+ starts, they should easily be a playoff team again.
Toronto Blue Jays: C+
After apparently being inches from landing Ohtani the Blue Jays have not been able to put together a strong free agency. Justin Turner is not a bad addition, but otherwise nothing impactful in terms of personnel. However, bringing in Mattingly to manage could be just the thing they need to bring the team over the top.
Washington Nationals: F
The Nationals couldn’t even sell the team. They’re rebuilding, but so far the prospects have not been able to bring any signs of life. They don’t even have any solid veterans to trade for other prospects. Corbin getting shelled every fifth day can’t possibly help morale either. Just an ugly season incoming from a currently ugly team.
