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Offseason In Review: Los Angeles Angels

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The Angels were the most active team in the first few weeks of the offseason. They added a mid-rotation starter and a new designated hitter to upgrade the middle third of the lineup. They went oddly quiet after that, leaving them to enter the season with a roster that again seems too thin to hang in the race all year.

Major League Signings

2025 spending: $47.25MM
Total spending: $95.25MM

Option Decisions

  • None

Trades and Claims

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

  • None

Notable Losses

The Angels finished 63-99 under first-year manager Ron Washington, narrowly avoiding what would have been their first 100-loss campaign. Only the White Sox, Rockies and Marlins had a worse run differential. They have the longest active playoff drought in MLB at 10 years.

Shortly after the season ended, owner Arte Moreno told Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register that he expected to compete for a playoff spot in 2025. "(General manager Perry Minasian's) marching orders are we need to build a team that can compete for a playoff spot. When you get to playoffs, anything can happen," Moreno said. The owner indicated he was prepared to raise payroll to make that happen. The Angels had cut spending by more than $40MM over the 2023-24 offseason.

Expecting to add 20+ wins within one offseason, even with a payroll spike, is unrealistic. Still, the Angels began the winter with a sense of urgency that reflected a real desire to improve in the short term. They pulled off the first major trade of the offseason within hours of the World Series concluding. The Angels took the remaining two years and $26MM on Jorge Soler's contract off the Braves' hands. Los Angeles sent Griffin Canning, whom they were presumably planning to non-tender, the other way. Atlanta subsequently cut Canning themselves, confirming that was purely a salary dump on their part.

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Offseason In Review: Baltimore Orioles

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There was some hope that the Orioles would become big offseason players in the first winter under new owner David Rubenstein. That didn't exactly come to pass, though the O's still showed a bit more aggression than they have in a while.

Major League Signings

2025 spending: $67.975MM
Total spending: $100.975MM

Option Decisions

Trades and Claims

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

Notable Losses

The Orioles hired Mike Elias as general manager in November of 2018. The initial years of his tenure saw the club act very conservatively, but for understandable reasons. They lost 115 games in that 2018 season and were looking at a long rebuilding period. They finally emerged with a winning record in 2022 and then made the playoffs in 2023, but the ownership situation was uncertain. The Angelos family had been squabbling over control of the club and there were whispers that the O's were for sale.

In the 2023-24 offseason, reports emerged that a group led by David Rubenstein was going to purchase the club. That sale didn't get approved by Major League Baseball until around Opening Day of the 2024 season. At that time, Elias had still never given a free agent a multi-year deal. Craig Kimbrel and his $13MM guarantee was the only signing to go beyond $10MM.

Many Oriole fans hoped that the regime change would lead to a huge shift in operating policy, similar to the way Steve Cohen turned the Mets into a powerhouse club. There were some positive signs during the 2024 season that such a path was possible. The O's acquired Zach Eflin at the deadline. His deal with the Rays was backloaded, with an $18MM salary in 2025 that the Orioles took on. They also acquired Seranthony Domínguez, whose deal contained an $8MM club option for 2025 that was eventually exercised.

Reading the tea leaves, it seemed like the club would be operating with some more spending capacity for 2025. In early October, just after the O's were eliminated from the playoffs, Elias fanned the flames a bit. He told members of the media that he was "pretty confident" the club's payroll would be going up. He later said that the O's were looking at "the whole spectrum" of available pitchers, adding: “If you’re running the team optimally….you’re certainly wanting to keep the whole menu of player acquisition open. That involves high-end free agent deals over many years. We’ve been engaged in those conversations already.”

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Offseason In Review: Philadelphia Phillies

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After winning the NL East for the first time in 13 years, the Phillies had their quietest offseason since Dave Dombrowski took over as president of baseball operations. Some will say the Phillies didn’t need to make any major moves, considering that almost all of their key contributors are returning for another year. Others will argue they are playing a dangerous game by largely running it back, allowing the Mets and Braves to gain precious ground. Is this team moving in the right direction heading into 2025?

Major League Signings

2025 spending: $22.5MM
Total spending: $22.5MM

Trades & Claims

Option Decisions

  • None

Notable Minor League Signings

Notable Losses

The Phillies have enjoyed continued success under manager Rob Thomson, so it came as no shock when they began their offseason by extending the skipper through 2026. The team was also quick to confirm that Thomson’s full coaching staff would return in 2025, although they later lost assistant pitching coach/director of pitching Brian Kaplan to the Diamondbacks. Philadelphia’s pitching staff was arguably the best in baseball during Kaplan’s tenure working under Caleb Cotham (2022-24). The Phillies will hope that Cotham’s new second-in-command, Mark Lowy, has just as much success. In an additional personnel move, the Phillies promoted assistant GM Preston Mattingly to vice president and general manager. Those roles were previously held by Sam Fuld, who will remain with the organization in a new role on the business side of operations. 

At the same press conference in which Dombrowski announced Thomson’s extension, the POBO spoke the words that became the defining refrain of the Phillies’ offseason: “We just have to be open-minded to exploring what’s out there for us, talk to some clubs and see what ends up happening. That process hasn’t started. Sometimes you trade good players for good players” (per MLB.com's Todd Zolecki). 

Needless to say, that quotation led to much speculation about the Phillies making a major trade to shake things up. In particular, Alec Bohm was the subject of several trade rumors. The Royals, Mariners, Angels, and Athletics were all reported to have some degree of interest in the third baseman at one time or another. Coming off an All-Star campaign, Bohm’s value hasn’t been higher since he finished runner-up for the 2020 NL Rookie of the Year. However, there seemed to be a disconnect between how highly the Phillies valued Bohm and how badly any potential suitors were hankering after his services. For instance, the Phillies reportedly asked for Mason Miller from the A’s in exchange for Bohm, which quickly shut down any negotiations between the two teams (per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal). 

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Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript

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MLBTR's Steve Adams hosted a live chat today, exclusively for Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers.

 

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Offseason In Review: Pittsburgh Pirates

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It was another modest offseason for the Pirates, who are banking on their young arms to carry them into contention.

Major League Signings

2025 spending: $19.95MM
Total spending: $19.95MM

Option Decisions

Trades and Claims

Extensions

  • None

Notable Minor League Signings

Notable Losses

It's been a rough few decades for the Pirates. They didn't make the playoffs between 1993 and 2012. They then got three straight Wild Card berths, but advanced to the NLDS just once. They started a new playoff drought in 2016 that continues to this day.

There have been some signs of potential lately. In 2023, they were 20-9 at the end of April, but they went 8-18 in May and finished at 76-86. They hovered near contention last year, sitting at 48-48 at the All-Star break, but again finished at 76-86.

Despite those losing seasons, there are exciting elements on the roster. Their collection of rotation talent is one of the best in the league, fronted by Paul Skenes but also including Jared Jones, Mitch Keller, Braxton Ashcraft, Bubba Chandler, Mike Burrows and Thomas Harrington. They also have position players Bryan Reynolds, Ke'Bryan Hayes and Oneil Cruz in place for years to come.

Ideally, the club would have invested around this young core, but that didn't come to pass this winter. The offseason included one notable trade, which is essentially a risky bet on a late bloomer, and several modest free agent signings. They gave out seven one-year deals, none of them worth more than $5.25MM, spending less than $20MM in total. Some of those moves are fine in isolation but the total package is underwhelming.

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Offseason In Review: Milwaukee Brewers

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The Brewers followed a heartbreaking postseason exit with an offseason punctuated by the departure of a franchise shortstop, the trade of a star closer, and severe payroll restrictions from ownership.

Major League Signings

2025 spending: $6.15MM
Total spending: $6.15MM

Option Decisions

Trades and Waiver Claims

Extensions

  • None

Minor League Signings

Notable Losses

The Brewers didn't come right out and say it, but their early offseason activity was a portent for what became a glaring, obvious lack of financial resources for the baseball operations department. The decisions to decline pricey options on injured lefty Wade Miley (who had Tommy John surgery in late April) and backup catcher Gary Sanchez didn't come as a surprise.

However, many Milwaukee fans were surprised to see the team place righty Colin Rea on outright waivers when he was a net $4.5MM call for them. The decision was perhaps justified originally when Rea cleared waivers and had his option declined, but the $5MM deal he eventually signed with the Cubs was larger than the net amount he'd have cost the Brewers to retain. The Brewers followed that with another somewhat surprising move to non-tender southpaw reliever Hoby Milner, who was projected for a $2.7MM salary. The 34-year-old's 4.73 ERA was rocky, of course, but he posted terrific K-BB% numbers and had given the Brew Crew 129 innings of 2.79 ERA ball across the 2022-23 seasons.

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Trade Rumors Chat Transcript

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MLBTR's Steve Adams hosted a live chat today, exclusively for Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers.

 

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Offseason In Review: Toronto Blue Jays

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The Blue Jays came up short on most (but not all) of their many pursuits of star free agents this winter, and the ship may have already sailed on the team's efforts to sign Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to a contract extension.  Amidst all the pessimism surrounding the Jays' future, the team did make some notable moves to try and reload the roster after a disappointing 2024 campaign.

Major League Signings

2025 spending: $59MM (not counting Tate/Walker)
Total spending: $156MM

Option Decisions

  • None

Trades & Claims

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

  • None

Notable Losses

Toronto hitters combined for only 156 home runs and a .389 slugging percentage in 2024, so a 44-homer bat like Anthony Santander should bring some much-needed thunder to the lineup.  The Blue Jays made a hefty $92.5MM investment that Santander can build on the career year that saw him hit .235/.308/.506 over 665 plate appearances for the Orioles, while handily topping his previous high of 33 homers (in 2022).

Santander's overall hitting profile is a concern, as evidenced by the low batting average and OBP.  However, Santander still posted an above-average walk rate despite the low on-base number, and his strikeout rate remained above average in 2024 even though chasing pitches has been an issue for his entire career.  The switch-hitter is certainly a power-first (if not quite a power-only) type of batter, yet the profile fits for a Jays team lacking in pop and in left-handed hitting balance.

Santander will step right into the lineup as the everyday left fielder, and he'll probably get a decent share of DH time given that his glovework is considered only passable.  As defense-focused as the Blue Jays have been over the last couple of years, they continued to move in that direction with a surprising trade for arguably the sport's best defensive second baseman.

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Offseason In Review: Kansas City Royals

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The Royals began the offseason with a three-year signing to keep their excellent rotation intact. They traded from that starting staff a month later to acquire a new leadoff hitter. Kansas City hoped to follow up with an impact offensive acquisition that never materialized. They instead turned to the relief market late in the winter to add a veteran closer.

Major League Signings

2025 spending: $35MM
Total spending: $80MM

Option Decisions

Trades and Claims

Extensions

  • Signed LHP Cole Ragans to three-year, $13.25MM deal to cover final pre-arb year and first two arbitration seasons

Notable Minor League Signings

Notable Losses

The Royals were perhaps the most surprising playoff team of 2024. Kansas City had a 30-win improvement relative to the preceding season. They held the Orioles to one run in two games to sweep their Wild Card series. The Yankees knocked K.C. off in the Division Series, but the Royals' window has reopened after a nine-year postseason drought.

They remain one of the more top-heavy contenders. Kansas City's success was built around an elite rotation and an MVP-caliber season from Bobby Witt Jr. They preserved a crucial piece of that rotation just before free agency opened. Kansas City signed Michael Wacha to a three-year, $51MM extension to keep him from opting out and testing free agency. The veteran righty rejoins Seth Lugo as the 2-3 arms behind breakout left-hander Cole Ragans.

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Offseason In Review: Arizona Diamondbacks

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The D-backs followed up their 2023 World Series appearance with a narrow playoff miss and responded by making the biggest free agent signing in franchise history. Now brandishing one of the best one-two starting pitching punches in the sport, they'll look to ride a powerhouse rotation back into October baseball.

Major League Signings

2025 spending: $46.35MM
Total spending: $216.35MM

Option Decisions

Trades and Waiver Claims

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

Notable Losses

Arizona's playoff hopes in the 2024 season stayed alive until the very end, but they ultimately watched from home after missing the postseason by the literal narrowest margin possible. It was a bitter pill for the club and its fans to swallow -- particularly since the offseason promised considerable turnover. Star first baseman Christian Walker hit free agency, as did slugger Joc Pederson on the heels of what was arguably a career-best season. Closer Paul Sewald and key role players like Randal Grichuk and Kevin Newman also returned to the open market.

That all left plenty of work to be done, and not a ton of payroll space to make it happen -- or so it seemed initially, anyhow. General manager Mike Hazen publicly stated in November that he anticipated a payroll in the same range as 2024's $173MM figure. With Jordan Montgomery exercising a $22.5MM player option on the heels of a down year, the D-backs lost plenty of flexibility. There was still a decent amount of room, but they ostensibly needed to replace their first baseman, designated hitter, closer and multiple bench pieces.

As he set those payroll expectations, Hazen also made clear that bolstering the back end of his bullpen was a key priority. For the first third or even half of the offseason, the general expectation was that Arizona would seek high-end bullpen help and perhaps a more affordable replacement for Walker, who seemed destined for multiple years with an average annual value in the $20MM range.

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