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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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Offseason In Review: Chicago Cubs

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The Cubs added star power in the Kyle Tucker trade, but otherwise made modest additions despite several other big swings.

Major League Signings

2025 spending: $33.25MM
Total spending: $56.25MM

Option Decisions

Trades and Claims

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

  • None

Notable Losses

Much like the previous winter with Marcus Stroman, this Cubs offseason kicked off with a pivotal player option decision that would affect their financial flexibility.  This time, Cody Bellinger elected to take the $27.5MM owed to him in 2025 in lieu of a $2.5MM buyout, which also preserves a $25MM option on 2026 with a $5MM buyout.  Bellinger's decision was not surprising, as he's now positioned himself to decline the '26 option having collected a total of $32.5MM for '25.

The Athletic's Patrick Mooney suggested a couple of times early in the offseason that the Cubs were seeking a starting pitcher who "could be trusted in a playoff game."  Nonetheless, it wasn't long before Mooney's colleague Sahadev Sharma wrote that "the top tier of the starting pitching market has been ruled out" for the club.  Blake Snell, Max Fried, and Corbin Burnes would go on to sign contracts ranging from $182-218MM (though some included deferred money), and the Cubs were seemingly never a factor on them due to what I assume are philosophical objections to five-plus year commitments to thirty-something-aged free agent starters.

Instead, Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer made a pre-Winter Meetings strike for 34-year-old southpaw Matthew Boyd.  Boyd was available on a two-year contract because of his age and injury history.  After totaling 355 2/3 innings for the 2018-19 Tigers, Boyd has not reached 80 innings in a season since.

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Offseason In Review: Miami Marlins

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The rebuild continued in South Beach, as the Marlins continued to move experienced talent for prospects.

Major League Signings

2025 spending: $3.5MM
Total spending: $3.5MM

Option Decisions

  • None

Trades & Claims

Notable Minor League Signings

Notable Losses

Miami's offseason began with a big internal housecleaning, as the Marlins parted ways with their entire coaching staff, and several behind-the-scenes employees ranging from the team's dietician to the traveling secretary.  The headline name among all the Marlins' new hires was Clayton McCullough, chosen for his first big league managerial position after a long career as a coach and coordinator in the Dodgers' organization, and as a manager at multiple levels of the Blue Jays' farm system.

McCullough's history of working in player development and with players at both the Major and minor league levels bodes well for his stewardship of a Marlins team that continues to look towards the future.  Of all the players on the Marlins' 40-man roster, only Sandy Alcantara and new signing Cal Quantrill have more than four years of MLB service time, as president of baseball operations Peter Bendix has already significantly overhauled the roster after a little over 16 months on the job.

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Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript

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MLBTR’s Anthony Franco held a live chat today, exclusively for Front Office subscribers!

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Offseason In Review: San Francisco Giants

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While not the blockbuster offseason some fans expected from the Giants' new front office, a couple of big names landed in San Francisco.

Major League Signings

2025 spending: $36MM
Total spending: $197MM

Option Decisions

  • Blake Snell, SP: Opted out of final year of contract ($30MM in 2025)
  • Robbie Ray, SP: Declined to opt out of final two years of contract ($50MM over 2025-26 seasons)
  • Wilmer Flores, IF: Exercises $3.5MM player option for the 2025 season

Trades & Claims

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

  • None

Notable Losses

Willy Adames' $182MM contract represents the largest deal in Giants history, and perhaps marks an end to the narrative that the franchise is unable to attract top-tier talent to the Bay Area.  Bryce Harper, Aaron Judge, Carlos Correa (though that situation was rather unique), and Shohei Ohtani are a few of the major free agents who the Giants pursued but were unable to sign when Farhan Zaidi was the club's president of baseball operations, leaving fans perpetually frustrated at Zaidi's roster-building endeavors.

Things changed even before Zaidi was officially replaced by Buster Posey last September, as Posey (then acting in his capacity as a member of the Giants board of directors) took a very direct role in negotiating Matt Chapman's six-year, $151MM contract extension.  It is rare to see such extensions signed when a player is as close to Chapman was to the open market, and finalizing that deal indicated that Posey might be moving with more aggressiveness once he took the reins as the new PBO.

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