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Poll: Who’s Winning The Offseason In The AL East?

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The calendar has flipped to February and the start of spring is just a matter of days away. While some notable free agents (including seven of MLBTR’s Top 50) remain unsigned, most clubs have already done the heavy lifting in terms of preparing their roster for the 2025 season. For the past week, we’ve been taking a look around the league at which clubs have had the strongest offseason to this point. The Mets, Cubs, Dodgers, and Tigers have decisively won the polls covering the National League’s three divisions and the AL Central, but things were much closer in the AL West where the Athletics narrowly beat out the Rangers. Today, we’ll turn our attention to the league’s final division: the AL East.

While the Yankees managed to make it all the way to the World Series before losing to Los Angeles in five games, 2024 was a less than stellar year for the rest of the division. The Blue Jays and Rays sold off pieces at the deadline after underperforming badly in the first half, while the Red Sox struggled down the stretch and ultimately missed the playoffs despite adding at the deadline. The Orioles, meanwhile, managed to make the postseason for the second year in a row but have still yet to win a playoff game between those two appearances after getting bounced by Detroit in two games during the AL Wild Card series. All five teams in this division are ostensibly attempting to compete again in 2025, however, and there’s been noteworthy moves all throughout the division this offseason.

Which team has done the most to set themselves up for success this winter? Teams are listed in order of their 2024 record.

New York Yankees

A discussion of what the reigning AL champions have added this winter can’t begin without addressing what they’ve lost. Juan Soto signed a record-shattering contract to move across town to the Mets, and in doing so removed a vital piece from the heart of New York’s lineup. Down one perennial MVP candidate, the Yankees focused this winter on fixing up their roster around the one that still remains in Aaron Judge. The club kicked off the offseason by calling the bluff of veteran ace Gerrit Cole when he opted out of his deal with the club only to agree to return on his current deal rather than test free agency when the Yankees declined to tack on an extra year and $36MM to his contract to force him to stay. They then paired another veteran ace with Cole at the top of the rotation by signing southpaw Max Fried away from Atlanta, which freed them up to trade Nestor Cortes to the Brewers as part of a package that landed them star closer Devin Williams. Trading for Fernando Cruz and reuniting with both Tim Hill and Jonathan Loaisiga in free agency further bolstered the club’s strong bullpen mix.

While the club’s pitching moves have been quite impressive, the same can’t necessarily be said for the lineup. The club swapped Cody Poteet to the Cubs to acquire Cody Bellinger in what amounted to a salary-dump move for Chicago, and the addition of Bellinger allowed the club to move Judge back to his natural position of right field. With that being said, however, their only other move of note on offense has been to sign Paul Goldschmidt coming off a career-worst season. Those additions are likely upgrades over Alex Verdugo and Anthony Rizzo, but losses of Soto and Gleyber Torres on offense have not been addressed. The Yankees have tried to trade Marcus Stroman to free up funds for further lineup additions, but that goal has not yet borne fruit.

Baltimore Orioles

The Orioles haven’t made the splashy addition many expected this winter after a difficult season that saw them get swept out of the playoffs for the second year in a row. Right-hander Corbin Burnes departed for Arizona and was replaced by veteran arms Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano rather than a true ace. Aside from those rotation additions, the club has also added Andrew Kittredge to its bullpen mix as a set-up man for returning closer Felix Bautista. Most of the focus has been on the lineup this winter, however, as they’ve added Tyler O’Neill to replace Anthony Santander, Gary Sanchez to replace James McCann, and then further bolstered the club’s outfield depth with deals for Ramon Laureano and Dylan Carlson. That leaves the club set to enter 2025 with a position player mix that might be even deeper than last year’s, but a pitching staff that carries even more question marks.

Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox set out to improve their rotation this winter and accomplished just that. They swung a trade for White Sox southpaw Garrett Crochet at the Winter Meetings, shipping out top prospects Kyle Teel and Braden Montgomery in a four-player package that brought back a lefty ace with two years of control remaining before free agency. They followed that addition up by replacing outgoing veteran right-hander Nick Pivetta with a high-upside roll of the dice on Walker Buehler, who struggled in 2024 coming off a return from Tommy John surgery but was among the best pitchers in the sport before going under the knife.

Outside of those moves, however, the Red Sox have been surprisingly quiet. They were involved in the sweepstakes for top free agents like Juan Soto and Max Fried but ultimately did not sign any of those impact players, or even players in the next tier down like Nathan Eovaldi and Teoscar Hernandez.  The additions of Aroldis Chapman and Justin Wilson should help to improve the bullpen, but the team’s long-acknowledged need for a right-handed bat who can help balance their lineup has gone unaddressed. That could change as they appear to be involved in the markets for both Alex Bregman and Nolan Arenado, but for now the offense has gone largely unaddressed.

Tampa Bay Rays

The Rays’ offseason moves have largely been overshadowed by the situation regarding Tropicana Field, which was badly damaged by Hurricane Milton and will not be usable for the 2025 season. That’s forced the Rays to temporarily relocate to Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, but the new location hasn’t stopped the club from being fairly active this winter. The club was long expected to deal from their starting pitching surplus this winter, and did so when they shipped Jeffrey Springs to the A’s alongside Jacob Lopez in a return highlighted by flamethrowing right-hander Joe Boyle. The club also traded Jose Siri to the Mets shortly before the non-tender deadline, leaving them with plenty of question marks in the outfield, but did manage to address other key areas of the roster in free agency.

After entering the winter with catcher as their biggest question mark, the club added the winter’s top free agent at the position in Danny Jansen. More recently, the Rays addressed their lackluster mix of players at shortstop by bringing Ha-Seong Kim into the fold on a sh0rt-term deal. The club’s lack of solid outfield options, which will likely force infielders like Christopher Morel, Richie Palacios and Jose Caballero onto the grass in 2025, leave a major question mark on the club’s roster, but the additions of Jansen and Kim along with the impending return for ace Shane McClanahan from injury leave the club into a relatively good place headed into 2025.

Toronto Blue Jays

Long considered to be the bridesmaid but never the bride when it comes to landing top talent in free agency, the Jays once again came up short in their pursuit of top free agents like Soto, Burnes, and Roki Sasaki. That didn’t stop them from upgrading the roster this winter, however, as they’ve been one of the more active teams around the league. Jeff Hoffman, Josh Walker, Nick Sandlin and Yimi Garcia were both brought in to shore up the club’s lackluster bullpen mix after the club non-tendered closer Jordan Romano, while future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer will be tasked with replacing Yusei Kikuchi in the club’s rotation as he enter his age-40 campaign.

In addition to those pitching moves, the Jays made two major additions to their lineup: they traded Spencer Horwitz to land Guardians second baseman Andres Gimenez alongside Sandlin during the Winter Meetings, providing them with a quality defensive option at the keystone and a viable long-term alternative to Bo Bichette at shortstop. That move was followed up by signing slugger Anthony Santander to a five-year deal, with Santander set to offer power in the lineup as well as some protection for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in his final season before free agency. Guerrero’s future has been a key topic of Toronto’s offseason to this point, and while the sides have discussed an extension there’s been no signs of a conclusion in sight even with Guerrero’s self-imposed deadline just a week away.

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The AL East stands out among the other divisions around the league in part because all five teams have at least a couple of notable additions to their roster in a winter where a surprising number of clubs mostly stood pat. With that being said, however, most of those additions either left a hole in the roster unaddressed or fell short of what outside observers felt was needed to push the team to contention in 2025. All five teams made worthwhile moves this winter, but will it be enough for the Yankees to overcome the losses of Soto and Torres, or the Orioles to overcome the loss of Burnes? Will the Red Sox be able to to get by without adding to the lineup, and will the Rays be able to compete with questions all over the outfield? Are the Blue Jays’ aggressive additions enough to put them back into the playoffs for Guerrero’s walk year? With all five teams trying to win in 2025 despite holes and question marks, the AL East figures to be perhaps the most interesting of the league’s divisions this year, top-to-bottom.

Of the five AL East clubs, which one has had the strongest offseason so far? Have your say in the poll below:

Poll: Who’s Winning The Offseason In The AL Central?

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The calendar has flipped to February and the start of spring is just a matter of days away. While some notable free agents (including seven of MLBTR’s Top 50) remain unsigned, most clubs have already done the heavy lifting in terms of preparing their roster for the 2025 season. In the coming days, we’ll be taking a look around the league at which clubs have had the strongest offseason to this point. The Mets, Cubs, and Dodgers have decisively won the polls covering the National League’s three divisions, but things were much closer in the AL West with the Athletics squeaking past the Rangers by about 300 votes for the division’s best offseason. Will things be just as close in the AL Central?

Coming off a season where they sent three teams to the ALDS and had a fourth club narrowly miss the postseason, the AL Central enters 2025 in its strongest position in years in spite of the White Sox breaking the single-season record for losses last year. That strength comes with heightened expectations, however, and clubs like the Tigers and Royals that have been mired in lengthy rebuilds in recent years are looked at as genuine contenders entering the season for the first time in a decade or more. Meanwhile, the Guardians and Twins hope to keep their perpetual playoff contention going and the White Sox will look to show signs of life despite being mired in what could be a lengthy rebuild of their own following their disastrous 2024 season.

Which team has done the most to set themselves up for success this winter? Teams are listed in order of their 2024 record.

Cleveland Guardians

It’s been a busy offseason in Cleveland with plenty of turnover on the roster. The club’s biggest free agent move was reuniting with longtime ace Shane Bieber on a two-year deal with an opt out after 2025, but they also reunited with longtime first baseman Carlos Santana for his third stint with the club and inked veteran reliever Paul Sewald to a one-year deal as well. Those three free agent moves have been supplemented by a number of notable trades. They shipped out the contracts of Andres Gimenez and Myles Straw to Toronto in separate deals and flipped first baseman Spencer Horwitz (acquired in the Gimenez deal) to the Pirates for Luis Ortiz to bolster the club’s rotation.

In addition to those roster upgrades, however, they’ve also made a handful of sell-side trades including a deal that sent first baseman Josh Naylor to the Diamondbacks. The club also parted ways with right-hander Nick Sandlin as part of the Gimenez trade and shipped righty Eli Morgan to the Cubs in a separate deal. Overall, the Guardians managed to substantially upgrade their rotation after the unit struggled with depth in 2024 and cleared plenty of salary off their long-term books, but did so at the expense of an offense that loses two everyday players in Gimenez and Naylor as well as some of the club’s bullpen depth in Sandlin and Morgan.

Kansas City Royals

The Royals have followed up their breakout 2024 season by continuing to spend in free agency, and kicked off the winter’s free agent market by agreeing to a new three-year deal with veteran right-hander Michael Wacha. Wacha’s return to the rotation gave the club the starting depth they needed to trade right-hander Brady Singer to the Reds in order to acquire infielder Jonathan India and provide Bobby Witt Jr. with additional protection in the lineup.

Those early offseason moves were the most significant of the winter for Kansas City, though they’ve stayed busy by adding closer Carlos Estevez to their bullpen on a two-year deal and re-upping with swingman Michael Lorenzen to provide competition for youngsters Alec Marsh and Kris Bubic at the back of the rotation. It’s a strong group of offseason moves on paper, though it’s somewhat troubling that the Royals haven’t properly addressed an outfield group that was bottom-three in baseball by wRC+ last year.

Detroit Tigers

For much of the offseason, it appeared that the Tigers were largely standing pat as the club entered the holiday season with veteran starter Alex Cobb’s one-year deal as their only notable addition. Since then, however, they’ve added two more notable free agents who didn’t see their markets develop as much as expected. They’ve bolstered the lineup with Gleyber Torres on a one-year deal that kicked Colt Keith over to first base and Spencer Torkelson into a bench role, but most notable of all is the club’s reunion with Jack Flaherty on a two-year deal that includes an opt out after 2025.

After shipping Flaherty to Los Angeles last summer before catching fire down the stretch, plenty of fans have wondered what the Tigers’ run through the postseason last year might have looked like with Flaherty alongside Tarik Skubal at the front of the rotation. That question could now be answered in 2025, and with no significant subtractions from the club’s roster this winter it’s difficult to argue the Tigers haven’t improved headed into the coming season.

Minnesota Twins

It’s been a very quiet offseason in Minnesota. From the outset of the offseason, there’s been reports of the Twins’ payroll being more or less maxed out and the club needing to move salary in order to make notable additions. Those trades haven’t materialized to this point, despite rumors swirling around top players like Pablo Lopez as well as more ancillary pieces like Christian Vazquez and Chris Paddack.

That hasn’t completely stopped the Twins from making moves, however. In the past week, they’ve signed Harrison Bader to back up oft-injured star Byron Buxton in center field while adding southpaw Danny Coulombe to the bullpen as a replacement for Caleb Thielbar. They also managed to swing a trade for former top catching prospect Diego Cartaya with the Dodgers when he was squeezed off of the 40-man in Los Angeles, though Cartaya has yet to so much as make his debut in the big leagues to this point. Whether they can add a bat to the lineup who can help replace the production of Max Kepler and Carlos Santana, however, figures to depend on the club’s success at swinging a sell-side trade to clear salary.

Chicago White Sox

As a firmly rebuilding club, the goals of the White Sox offseason look quite different to the other clubs in the AL Central. With that being said, however, they’ve generally done quite well in achieving those goals. Their most notable move, of course, was shipping southpaw Garrett Crochet to the Red Sox in a Winter Meetings blockbuster reminiscent of the Chris Sale trade following the 2016 season. In exchange for Crochet’s services, Chicago landed a pair of top-100 prospects in catcher Kyle Teel and outfielder Braden Montgomery as well as infielder Chase Meidroth and right-hander Wikelman Gonzalez.

That excellent return for two years of Crochet aside, the club’s offseason has mostly been defined by adding shorter-term ancillary pieces who could potentially be flipped at the trade deadline in July. Matt Thaiss, Cam Booser, Mike Tauchman, Austin Slater, Bryse Wilson, Josh Rojas, and Martin Perez all fit this category to one degree or another, with the latter five names all being signed to inexpensive one-year deals that should make them easily affordable for even budget-conscious contending clubs this summer should any of them play well enough to justify a trade.

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Despite having the lowest cumulative payroll of any division in the majors, the AL Central has had a fairly busy offseason with every team having made at least a couple of noteworthy additions. The Guardians have continued their eternal balancing act of the present and future by improving the roster’s biggest weakness in 2024 while shedding significant salary, while the Royals and Tigers both made notable (if somewhat modest) additions to the rosters that catapulted them to surprise contention last year. The Twins have made a handful of minor moves as they hope their deep roster can rebound from the steps backward some key players took in 2025, while the White Sox jump-started their rebuild with a major trade and added a number of low-cost veterans with an eye towards more trades this summer.

Of the five NL Central clubs, which one has had the strongest offseason so far? Have your say in the poll below:

Poll: Who’s Winning The Offseason In The AL West?

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The calendar has flipped to February and the start of spring is just a matter of days away. While some notable free agents (including seven of MLBTR’s Top 50) remain unsigned, most clubs have already done the heavy lifting in terms of preparing their roster for the 2025 season. In the coming days, we’ll be taking a look around the league at which clubs have had the strongest offseason to this point. After the Mets, Cubs, and Dodgers have decisively won the polls covering the National League’s three divisions, the focus now shifts to the American League starting with the AL West.

The junior circuit’s west coast teams have been busy for the most part, perhaps reflecting the division’s tightly contested nature. A three-way race for the AL West came down to the final day of the 2023 season, and despite the Astros’ division title, the Rangers were the ones to be crowned World Series champions. In 2024, Houston’s long reign over the division started showing signs of cracks as they struggled out of the gate, won “just” 88 games (down by their standards) and were bounced from the playoffs in the AL Wild Card Series.

Which team has done the best job setting themselves up for 2024? Teams are listed in order of their 2024 record:

Houston Astros

The winds of change are blowing through Houston, and they’ll enter 2025 with a significantly reshaped roster. The most notable move this winter was to ship star outfielder Kyle Tucker to Chicago ahead of his final season under team control. Losing a player of Tucker’s caliber is always a brutal blow, but Houston did fairly well in the trade. They not only added a new top prospect in third baseman Cam Smith, but they also managed to bring in All-Star third baseman Isaac Paredes and bolster their rotation depth with right-hander Hayden Wesneski.

The additions of Paredes and Wesneski have patched holes left by the departures of Alex Bregman and Justin Verlander in free agency, though the club has apparently not completely closed the door on a reunion with Bregman. Meanwhile, the need at first base caused by Jose Abreu’s dramatic decline was filled by the addition of three-time Gold Glove winner Christian Walker. Solid as those moves have been, though, the Astros have subtracted more than they’ve added. Ryan Pressly, Yusei Kikuchi, and Jose Urquidy are no longer with the club, and the Astros’ replacement for Tucker as a left-handed outfield bat to this point appears to be a reunion with journeyman Ben Gamel.

Seattle Mariners

Seattle has had the quietest offseason in the division despite typically being one of the most active teams on the trade market. Rumors of a Luis Castillo deal have not come to fruition, and trade targets to bolster the club’s lackluster infield such as Nico Hoerner, Alec Bohm, and Triston Casas have all remained with their current teams. The Mariners’ lack of activity on the trade market has led them to make mostly ancillary moves. As ownership has scaled back the budget substantially, the Mariners have re-signed Jorge Polanco and added Donovan Solano for a combined $11.25MM. Their only other additions have been minor trades for players with minimal big league experience like Austin Shenton and Miles Mastrobuoni.

Texas Rangers

The Rangers’ front office has had a tall order placed in front of them this winter: navigate under the luxury tax while supplementing an offense that struggled last year and completely rebuilding a pitching staff that saw seven major pieces reach free agency. They’ve most succeeded in those goals. Robert Garcia, Chris Martin, Jacob Webb, Shawn Armstrong, and Hoby Milner were all brought in to help patch up one of the league’s weaker bullpens. The club parted with first baseman Nathaniel Lowe to bring Garcia into the fold, but his bat has been effectively swapped out for free agent pickup Joc Pederson and trade acquisition Jake Burger in trade.

Meanwhile, the club added some pop behind the plate by pairing Kyle Higashioka with Jonah Heim after Heim struggled through a down season offensively last year. The Rangers managed to keep Nathan Eovaldi on a three-year deal despite the soaring cost of starting pitching. Whether these additions will be enough to make up for the losses of Lowe, Kirby Yates, David Robertson, Jose Leclerc, Andrew Heaney and Max Scherzer remains to be seen.

Athletics

After shuttering the Coliseum and departing Oakland for a temporary stay in West Sacramento, the A’s have begun to spend more aggressively than they have in years. The club locked up breakout slugger Brent Rooker for the next five seasons on a $60MM extension and has been active both the trade and free agent markets. The A’s signed Luis Severino to a club-record three-year, $67MM deal while also agreeing to deals with third baseman Gio Urshela, former Rangers closer Jose Leclerc and lefty T.J. McFarland. On the trade market, they added southpaws Jeffrey Springs and Jacob Lopez in a deal with the Rays that saw them surrender Joe Boyle, their Competitive Balance Round A pick, and two prospects.

Los Angeles Angels

After narrowly avoiding the first 100-loss season in franchise history, the Angels were heavily active in the early stages of the offseason. They acquired slugger Jorge Soler in a trade with the Braves on day one of the offseason, surrendering only non-tender candidate Griffin Canning. They added Scott Kingery in a cash swap with the Phillies shortly thereafter. The early days of free agency brought deals for Yusei Kikuchi, Travis d’Arnaud, Kyle Hendricks, and Kevin Newman.

Things have been mostly quiet in Anaheim since that flurry of moves back in November, and it will surely take a strong, healthy season from Mike Trout in addition to steps forward for multiple youngsters if the Angels are going to contend for the postseason in 2025.

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The AL West appears to have moved towards parity somewhat this winter. The Astros have sacrificed maximizing their immediate odds at continued dominance in the name of longer-term stability. The Mariners opted to keep their elite rotation together rather than risk breaking up the group to strengthen a mediocre lineup. The Rangers have been very active in reshaping their roster in hopes of recapturing the glory of 2023, while the fourth- and fifth-place A’s and Angels have been surprisingly aggressive in their efforts to separate themselves from the AL’s cellar dwellers.

Of the five AL West clubs, which one has had the strongest offseason so far? Have your say in the poll below:

Poll: Who’s Winning The Offseason In The NL West?

By | at

The calendar has flipped to February and the start of Spring Training is just a matter of days away. While some notable free agents (including nine of MLBTR’s Top 50 MLB Free Agents for the 2024-25 offseason) remain unsigned, most clubs have already done the heavy lifting in terms of preparing their roster for the 2025 season. In the coming days, we’ll be taking a look around the league at which clubs have had the strongest offseason to this point. So far, the Mets and Cubs have decisively won the polls covering the NL East and Central respectively. Today, the focus shifts to the NL West.

The west coast represents the class of the National League given that they’ve represented the senior circuit in the World Series in each of the past two seasons. The division has sent at least two teams to the postseason in each of the past five seasons, and this offseason finds three of the club’s five teams firmly in win-now contention windows while a fourth has also begun acting aggressively. Which team has done the most to set themselves up for success this winter? Teams are listed in order of their 2024 record.

Los Angeles Dodgers

The reigning World Series champions may have stayed mostly on the sidelines during the bidding for top free agent and $765MM man Juan Soto, but that in no way means they’ve had a quiet offseason. The Dodgers have been one of the league’s most active teams this winter, re-signing Teoscar Hernandez and Blake Treinen, extending Tommy Edman, and also making a number of additions in free agency. The club kicked off the winter by poaching lefty Blake Snell from their division rivals in San Francisco and haven’t let up since, adding Michael Conforto to the outfield and Hyeseong Kim to the infield while bolstering the bullpen with both Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates, arguably the two best closers available in this winter’s market.

The most notable addition of the winter for Los Angeles, however, was surely longtime NPB phenom Roki Sasaki, who was posted despite not yet being eligible for anything more than a minor league contract and international bonus pool money. Getting Sasaki under such favorable terms would be a coup for any team, and it only serves to strengthen the Dodgers further. That’s not to say their offseason has been flawless, however. Their roster crunch reached a point where they had to sell off some of their less-necessary 40-man prospects and depth pieces like Diego Cartaya, Gavin Lux, and Ryan Brasier. Aside from that, the club’s biggest question mark in 2025 was the shortstop position, and that remains largely unaddressed as the club plans to give veteran star Mookie Betts another run at the position despite his lack of experience there. Even with a potential hole at short if Betts is unable to handle the position, however, the Dodgers have set themselves up well as they look to defend their World Series title in 2025.

San Diego Padres

It’s been a quiet and disappointing offseason in San Diego amid discord within the club’s ownership group and a clear budget crunch that has hampered president of baseball operations A.J. Preller all throughout the winter. The departures of Scott, Jurickson Profar, Donovan Solano, and Ha-Seong Kim in free agency have left the club’s strong core without much of its supporting cast, and San Diego’s hopes of landing Sasaki were dashed by their rivals in L.A. despite a strong push that made them a finalist. The club’s only big league signing to this point in the winter has been re-signing Elias Diaz to help shore things up behind the plate. It’s a welcome addition but hardly a needle mover, and it seems as though the Padres may not be able to make more impactful additions without trading a player like Dylan Cease or Luis Arraez to clear salary.

Arizona Diamondbacks

After missing the playoffs by just a hair in 2024, the 2023 NL champions have not been resting on their laurels this winter. The club re-upped with Randal Grichuk yesterday to keep a key right-handed bat in the outfield mix, and while the losses of Joc Pederson, Christian Walker, and Josh Bell to free agency are all sure to sting the lineup the addition of Josh Naylor in a trade with the Guardians should help to ease that blow considerably. By far the club’s most notable addition, however, is that of Corbin Burnes. Arizona managed to reel in the offseason’s top pitching free agent on a surprisingly favorable six-year guarantee, and the 2021 NL Cy Young award winner will now join Zac Gallen at the top of an already-strong rotation that also features Merrill Kelly, Eduardo Rodriguez, Brandon Pfaadt, and Jordan Montgomery. With that being said, the club still has one major question mark in the lineup after letting Pederson’s role as the regular DH go as-of-yet unfilled, and the club’s efforts to add a closer to their relief corps have not yet come to fruition either.

San Francisco Giants

Much like the Diamondbacks, the Giants’ offseason is highlighted by one major, splashy signing: they added shortstop Willy Adames to their infield on the largest free agent contract in club history, pairing him with recently-extended third baseman Matt Chapman to form a dynamic duo on the left side of the infield for years to come. Aside from that signing, perhaps the biggest addition to the Giants organization of the offseason was longtime franchise face Buster Posey taking over for the exiting Farhan Zaidi as president of baseball operations.

Since adding Adames just before the Winter Meetings, however, things have been fairly quiet in San Francisco. Future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander was brought in to help Logan Webb anchor the rotation after Snell departed for Los Angeles, but Verlander turns 42 later this month and it’s fair to wonder how much he has left in the tank after a difficult 2024 season. That appears to be all the club plans to do this winter, as Posey recently suggested that the organization feels “pretty set” with their offseason moves despite departures like Michael Conforto and Taylor Rogers having gone as-of-yet unanswered.

Colorado Rockies

Coming off back-to-back 100-loss seasons, the Rockies have continued to eschew the full rebuild strategy other bottom-feeders like the White Sox and Marlins have taken up in favor of retaining their veteran players to serve as a bridge to their younger pieces. That’s led to extremely quiet offseasons in recent years, and this one has been no exception to that. The club added some infield depth by signing Thairo Estrada and Kyle Farmer to one-year deals as they look to replace Brendan Rodgers, but those are the club’s only big league free agent additions of the winter.

Arguably their most impactful move was re-signing catcher Jacob Stallings on the heels of an excellent rebound season with the club last year, and he should help to solidify the catcher position until well-regarded prospect Drew Romo is ready to take over regular catching duties. The pitching staff has been almost entirely unaltered aside from the departures of Daniel Bard and Cal Quantrill, however, and there hasn’t been a bat brought in to replace the production of retiring franchise stalwart Charlie Blackmon.

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This offseason has been a bit of a mixed bag around the NL West, with three of its five clubs making multiple major additions to the roster but the other two having done very little to this point in terms of either buy-side or sell-side moves, instead largely remaining stagnant. The Dodgers have been, unsurprisingly, the most active club of the winter both within the division and arguably in baseball as a whole. With that said, however, Arizona’s coup in bringing Burnes into the fold and San Francisco’s record-setting deal for Adames are strong moves that could catapult either club back into the postseason after missing out last year. Colorado’s trend of modest offseasons has continued, however, and with the caveat that Preller can never be counted out when it comes to making bold moves, it seems that the Padres have elected to join them in that quiet approach to this point in the offseason.

Of the five NL West clubs, which one has had the strongest offseason so far? Have your say in the poll below:

Poll: Who’s Winning The Offseason In The NL Central?

By | at

The calendar has flipped to February and the start of Spring Training is just a matter of days away. While some notable free agents (including nine of MLBTR’s Top 50 MLB Free Agents for the 2024-25 offseason) remain unsigned, most clubs have already done the heavy lifting in terms of preparing their roster for the 2025 season. In the coming days, we’ll be taking a look around the league at which clubs have had the strongest offseason to this point. After the Mets decisively won yesterday’s poll on the AL East, the focus now shifts to the NL Central.

It was another down season for the Midwest’s NL teams, as they sent just one club to the postseason and were not represented in the NLDS for the third consecutive year. Three of the division’s teams haven’t made it to the postseason at all in a 162-game season this decade, and the pressure is on for those clubs to start winning again while the two that have found more recent success try to keep their windows open. Which team has done the most to set themselves up for success this winter? Teams are listed in order of their 2024 record.

Milwaukee Brewers

As is typical for Milwaukee, this offseason has seemingly been about balancing the club’s present against their future. The loss of star shortstop Willy Adames was an expected but nonetheless tough blow for the Brewers, and it spurred them to complete their lone major move of the offseason back in December. With a hole on the infield after losing Adames, Milwaukee traded longtime relief ace Devin Williams to the Yankees ahead of his final year of team control. In return, they added big league ready infielder Caleb Durbin as well as southpaw Nestor Cortes.

Cortes, also in his final year of team control, appears poised to join an impressive prospective playoff rotation in Milwaukee alongside Freddy Peralta and Brandon Woodruff. Durbin, meanwhile, will turn 25 later this month and has yet to make his big league debut but hit quite well both at Triple-A and in the Arizona Fall League. He could help solidify the club’s infield situation as soon as Opening Day. Outside of those additions, however, the Brewers have been extremely quiet: one-year pacts with depth arms Grant Wolfram and Elvin Rodriguez are the only two major league free agent signings they’ve made this winter.

St. Louis Cardinals

There isn’t much to say about the Cardinals’ offseason, as the club’s focus has been entirely consumed by their as-of-yet unsuccessful attempts to move on from veteran third baseman Nolan Arenado. That’s led the club to make zero big league free agent signings and trade for zero established MLB players, meaning the only roster changes of note to this point in the winter for St. Louis have been the losses of free agents like Paul Goldschmidt and Andrew Kittredge. Off the field, the biggest move of the Cardinals’ offseason to this point has been to announce the day the 2024 campaign ended that Chaim Bloom will take over for John Mozeliak as president of baseball operations following the 2025 season.

Chicago Cubs

It’s been a busy offseason for the Cubs. Most notably, they swung perhaps the biggest trade of the offseason when they acquired star outfielder Kyle Tucker from the Astros, though it cost them All-Star third baseman Isaac Paredes and young starter Hayden Wesneski from their big league roster in order to do so and they subsequently had to deal Cody Bellinger to the Yankees to make room for Tucker in the lineup. Paredes has not been replaced in free agency or via trade to this point, with that hole seemingly set to be addressed internally by top prospect Matt Shaw. A pair of solid bench moves round out the club’s activity on the positional side. Carson Kelly should help to improve things at catcher and the addition of Jon Berti could help make up for the loss of production on the bench created by the decision to non-tender Mike Tauchman.

The biggest reported goal of the Cubs’ offseason was to upgrade the pitching staff, but those additions have been far more modest as compared to Tucker. It’s not as flashy as the club’s reported interest in players like Max Fried, Jack Flaherty, and Tanner Scott may have suggested, but Matthew Boyd figures to be an upgrade over Kyle Hendricks in the rotation and Ryan Pressly should solidify things in the ninth inning after the club acquired him in a separate trade with Houston. Beyond those two more significant names, the club has added depth in the form of swing men Colin Rea and Cody Poteet as well as southpaw Caleb Thielbar.

Cincinnati Reds

Following a mixed bag of a 2024 season where Elly De La Cruz and Hunter Greene established themselves as star-caliber players but the rest of the roster largely struggled with injuries and/or ineffectiveness, the Reds have been quite busy in hopes of turning things around for 2025. They kicked off the winter by adding Terry Francona as their new manager, and traded Jonathan India and Joey Wiemer to land Brady Singer from the Royals not long afterwards. They also retained Nick Martinez (who accepted their Qualifying Offer) and brought back veteran lefty Wade Miley on a non-guaranteed deal to further deepen the rotation.

The only guaranteed free agent signing the club has made was signing non-tendered outfielder Austin Hays to a one-year deal, but Hays is joined by a number of trade acquisitions even beyond Singer. The Reds acquired Jose Trevino from the Yankees in order to pair with Tyler Stephenson behind the plate, and Gavin Lux was brought in to help replace India’s production in the lineup. Rounding out the club’s notable trade acquisitions this winter is southpaw Taylor Rogers, who comes over from the Giants to join Alexis Diaz and Emilio Pagan at the back of Cincinnati’s bullpen.

Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pirates’ biggest move of the offseason was its first one of significance, as the club traded right-hander Luis Ortiz to the Guardians alongside a pair of prospects in order to land infielder Spencer Horwitz, who figures to serve as the club’s everyday first baseman this year. In addition to adding Horwitz, the Pirates have retooled their bullpen following the departure of Aroldis Chapman in free agency by signing southpaws Tim Mayza and Caleb Ferguson while also working out minor trades for Chase Shugart and Brett de Geus. Reports have indicated that Ferguson will stretch out during Spring Training and could be a candidate to start, but the club has otherwise not added to a rotation that remains a strength even after losing Ortiz.

On the positional side of things, Horwitz is joined by the additions of Adam Frazier in free agency and Enmanuel Valdez via trade. Both Frazier and Valdez figure to help shore up second base for the club while adding some left-handed options to the club’s predominantly right-handed bench mix. Veteran and longtime franchise face Andrew McCutchen also re-upped with the Pirates on his third consecutive one-year deal as he plays out the twilight of his career as a veteran leader on a young Pirates team. For all the club’s additions this winter, however, right field remains a major question mark after the club non-tendered Bryan De La Cruz without replacing him to this point in the winter.

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The 2024-25 offseason has been one defined almost entirely by major trades for the NL Central’s five clubs, with four of the five clubs having worked out at least one major swap and the fifth still hard at work attempting to do the same. The Cubs, Pirates, and Reds have all supplemented those trades with notable but relatively modest free agent signings as they attempt to claw their way back into playoff contention, and Cincinnati also added a likely future Hall of Famer to the dugout in the manager’s chair to help guide their young ballclub. The Brewers and Cardinals have been quieter by comparison, with Milwaukee largely standing pat outside of the Williams trade while the Cardinals have been paralyzed by their efforts to trade Arenado but have opened up playing time for a number of notable young players like Alec Burleson and Ivan Herrera.

Of the five NL Central clubs, which one has had the strongest offseason so far? Have your say in the poll below:

Poll: Who’s Winning The Offseason In The NL East?

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The calendar has flipped to February and the start of Spring Training is just a matter of days away. While some notable free agents (including nine of MLBTR’s Top 50 MLB Free Agents for the 2024-25 offseason) remain unsigned, most clubs have already done the heavy lifting in terms of preparing their roster for the 2025 season. In the coming days, we’ll be taking a look around the league at which clubs have had the strongest offseason to this point. Today, that focus is on the NL East division. After sending three teams to the playoffs in 2024 while a fourth debuted a number of top prospects, there’s plenty of big expectations headed into 2025 all throughout the division. Which team has done the most to set themselves up for success this winter? Teams are listed in order of their 2024 record.

Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies entered the offseason in need of some late-inning relief help after Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estevez both hit free agency at the outset of the winter. The club signed right-hander Jordan Romano to a one-year deal after he was non-tendered by the Blue Jays in November, but the club’s other pitching additions have actually been focused on the starting rotation. The addition of versatile swing man Joe Ross creates some much-needed depth and fills the role Spencer Turnbull played on the 2024 club, but the club’s biggest move this winter was swinging a deal with the Marlins for Jesus Luzardo. Luzardo will fit right into the Phillies’ powerhouse rotation alongside while also lessening the club’s reliance on right-hander Taijuan Walker after a disastrous 2024 campaign.

Things have been very quiet for the club on the positional side of things, however, with the addition of outfielder Max Kepler as their regular left fielder being the only notable addition so far. Kepler should help bolster the club’s outfield depth and push Johan Rojas into a part-time role after a difficult 2024 campaign, but it’s still somewhat surprising to see the club make so few alterations to its lineup in spite of rumors earlier this winter that the club could look to move on from third baseman Alec Bohm or right fielder Nick Castellanos in order to more drastically reshape the lineup.

New York Mets

It’s undeniable that the Mets made the single most significant addition of anyone in the division this winter when they signed Juan Soto to a record-shattering $765MM deal just before the Winter Meetings began. Soto is a transformational player with an MVP-caliber ceiling, and even without other supplemental moves landing him is a feat for the organization to be proud of. With that being said, however, the club’s approach to the rest of its offseason since signing Soto has been surprisingly modest. They reunited with veteran southpaw Sean Manaea in free agency, but opted to replace Jose Quintana and Luis Severino in the rotation by bringing in Manaea’s longtime A’s teammate Frankie Montas as he searches for a bounceback and converting Clay Holmes into a starter after several years of success as a late-inning reliever in the Bronx.

Meanwhile, they made something of a splash in the bullpen by adding lefty set-up man A.J. Minter to the mix behind closer Edwin Diaz while also bolstering the club’s depth with deals for Justin Hagenman, Dylan Covey, and Griffin Canning. Additions to the lineup beyond Soto have been fairly muted as well. The club swung a trade to acquire Jose Siri from the Rays in a move that should help the club weather the loss of Harrison Bader in free agency, while adding Nick Madrigal and Jared Young to the mix has helped improve the club’s bench depth. Noticeably absent from the club’s spending spree this winter, however, is a reunion with fan favorite slugger Pete Alonso. That’s left New York with plenty of questions about the infield corners, where Mark Vientos figures to handle one position with internal youngsters like Brett Baty and Ronny Mauricio also in the conversation for playing time.

Atlanta Braves

Despite the club’s history of striking early on the free agent and trade markets, the early part of this winter was extremely quiet for the Braves outside of them moving the salary of slugger Jorge Soler to the Angels on the first day of the offseason. The club watched Max Fried and Charlie Morton depart in free agency from their rotation but have not yet done anything of note to address those departures, instead hoping the return of Spencer Strider from injury as well as depth options like Bryce Elder and Ian Anderson will be able to cover the lost innings. Where Atlanta has made a splash, however, is in the lineup. After losing Ronald Acuna Jr. for most of 2024 amid a season full of disappointing performances up and down the club’s lineup, the club added Jurickson Profar on a three-year deal. Profar supplants Jarred Kelenic as the club’s everyday left fielder, while depth additions Bryan De La Cruz and Carlos D. Rodriguez should help Kelenic cover right field until Acuna returns from injury.

Washington Nationals

The Nationals’ youth movement is in full swing with a number of top prospects having reached the majors, highlighted by an outfield that now includes both James Wood and Dylan Crews. They’ve made a number of short-term moves to supplement their young roster this winter, with the most impactful of those being the trade they worked out to bring in first baseman Nathaniel Lowe from the Rangers in exchange for southpaw Robert Garcia. Lowe will pair with free agent addition Josh Bell to handle first base and DH duties in D.C. while infield Amed Rosario was signed to shore up the club’s depth all around the diamond.

Turning to the pitching staff, the Nationals have reunited with Trevor Williams while adding both Michael Soroka and Shinnosuke Ogasawara to the rotation mix in order to support a group of young arms led by MacKenzie Gore. The club’s surplus of viable starting options should also help keep things steady in a bullpen that saw more subtractions and additions this winter. In addition to Garcia being shipped out in the Lowe trade, the Nats non-tendered longtime closer Kyle Finnegan back in November. More recently, the club added veteran right-hander Jorge Lopez on a one-year deal to fill Finnegan’s role as a veteran presence in the late innings.

Miami Marlins

As one of the few clubs in the majors committed to rebuilding at the moment, the Marlins’ offseason looks very different than the rest of the division. Infielder/outfielder Eric Wagaman is the club’s only major league free agent signing, and he has just 18 games of big league experience under his belt to this point. The club also added Matt Mervis to the first base mix alongside Jonah Bride in a swap with the Cubs for Vidal Brujan. Other moves to this point have been more focused on shipping out major league talent than bringing it in, with Jake Burger heading to the Rangers and Luzardo moving to the club’s division rivals in Philadelphia. Those deals have brought in a number of prospects, however: Miami’s farm system added Starlyn Caba and Emaarion Boyd in the Luzardo deal while Max Acosta, Brayan Mendoza, and Echedry Vargas all came over in the exchange for Burger.

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The additions of Soto, Luzardo, and Profar in New York, Philadelphia, and Atlanta respectively all figure to provide major impact, but all three top clubs in the East have been a bit more measured than expected, outside of those moves. Meanwhile, the Nationals have made a flurry of short-term deals and signings to augment their club but haven’t made the sort of high-impact addition many expected with veteran Patrick Corbin coming off the books this winter. Miami’s approach is different than the other five as a rebuilding club, with a weakened major league roster being the price the Marlins have paid to replenish their farm system. Of the five NL East clubs, which one has had the strongest offseason so far? Have your say in the poll below:

Poll: Should The Phillies Extend J.T. Realmuto?

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Earlier this offseason, reporting out of Philadelphia indicated that Phillies brass are considering reducing the workload of veteran catcher J.T. Realmuto as he enters the final season of his deal with the club, after the first season of Realmuto’s career where he played less than 100 games due to injury. In that same report, there was a suggestion that the club could look to broach the topic of a contract extension with Realmuto ahead of his final year of team control, whether that would ultimately come later in the offseason or once camp opened up for Spring Training.

As January comes to a close, there have been no further reports regarding the state of talks between the sides. That could change quickly, however, given that camp will open in just two weeks. After all, last winter saw plenty of rumors about the possibility of an extension between the Phillies and right-hander Zack Wheeler, but talks did not begin until Spring Training was underway and eventually resolved in early March. Should the Phillies be interested in following a similar timeline with Realmuto, it’s easy to imagine talks starting up in the near future.

Realmuto, 34 in March, was dealt to the Phillies by the division rival Marlins prior to the 2019 season and has been a key cog in the Philadelphia lineup ever since. In 699 games for the club, the veteran has slashed an excellent .266/.331/.463 with a 112 wRC+. That puts Realmuto alongside Salvador Perez and Sean Murphy has one of the better offensive catchers in the past decade, though he falls outside the top tier occupied by Adley Rutschman, William Contreras, Willson Contreras, and Will Smith. Realmuto was at his best during the 2022 season, when he finished seventh in NL MVP voting, won the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards for the catcher position, and became the second catcher in MLB history to post 20 homers and 20 steals in a single season.

The past two seasons have seen Realmuto’s age and heavy workloads begin to catch up with him, however. He’s hit just .258/.315/.442 (105 wRC+) since the start of the 2023 campaign. His 25.2% strikeout rate during that time is higher than ever, and his walk rate has dipped to just 6.5%. Perhaps more importantly, Realmuto has fallen from the upper echelon of defensive catchers in the sport to become below average in terms of both blocking and framing, though he still remains elite when it comes to controlling the running game. While Realmuto has remained productive even amid this recent decline in skills, it’s fair to wonder if the veteran’s downturn in production the past two years could worsen as he enters his mid-30s given the harsh aging curve associated with the catcher position.

On the other hand, Philadelphia’s options without Realmuto in the fold are uninspiring. After a strong year as Realmuto’s backup in 2022, Garrett Stubbs has been one of the worst hitters in the sport the past two seasons with a paltry .206/.287/.271 slash line in 95 games. Youngster Rafael Marchan hit a far more robust .294/.345/.549 (146 wRC+) last year while filling in for Realmuto during his trip to the injured list, but that came in a sample of just 17 games and 56 plate appearances. If Realmuto were to head to free agency after the coming season, the Phillies would need to find an external addition at catcher to fortify that group anyway.

None of those options figure to be a clear upgrade even over the diminished form Realmuto has shown the past two seasons. Danny Jansen, Jose Trevino, and Victor Caratini are among the best catchers expected to be available next winter, but Realmuto’s 105 wRC+ is tied with Caratini for the lead among that group over the past two years and his 4.2 fWAR easily clears the production that trio has put up in timeshare roles. While a big season from Jansen and/or an additional step back from Realmuto could change things, a healthy season from Realmuto with a reduction in his day-to-day workload could improve his numbers and make him more difficult to bring back should he make it to the open market.

How do MLBTR readers feel president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski should handle Realmuto ahead of his final season under contract? Have your say in the poll below:

Poll: Should The Padres Trade Dylan Cease Or Michael King?

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While the Padres no longer appear to be under a mandate to cut payroll for the 2025 season, signs still point to the club needing to make a trade or two in order to free up space in an already-maximized budget if they hope to address multiple holes in the lineup. That’s led to plenty of rumors surrounding the club’s pending free agents, the most valuable of whom are without a doubt right-handers Dylan Cease and Michael King.

Trading a front-line starter like Cease or King might seem counterproductive for a club that’s already lacking in rotation depth, but it’s possible that the trade return for either player could involve a young starter or two while allowing the Padres to reallocate the freed up payroll space to the lineup. It’s surely under that logic that San Diego has explored Cease’s market and discussed King with rival clubs as well. The Padres have reportedly been more resistant to trading King under the belief that he’s more likely than Cease to sign an extension, but president of baseball operations A.J. Preller is generally open-minded when it comes to trade discussions. That the two sides face a nearly $1.5MM gap after exchanging salary figures and appear headed toward an arbitration hearing only adds an additional layer of complexity.

Cease, 29, is the bigger name of the two righties. A longtime top prospect with the Cubs and White Sox, the right-hander debuted on the south side back in 2019 and had developed into a legitimate front-end arm by 2021. Over the past four seasons, he’s pitched to a 3.52 ERA (120 ERA+) with a 3.32 FIP and an excellent 29.7% strikeout rate. Perhaps even more impressive than Cease’s strong rate numbers is his volume. The right-hander has been a workhorse by the standards of the modern game with 716 innings of work across 130 starts since the start of 2021. That’s the most starts and seventh-highest innings count of any starter in that time.

By contrast, King doesn’t offer the same level of star power or track record. The 2024 campaign was actually the first time King has acted as a full-time starter in the majors, and his 173 2/3 innings of work were not only a career high but the first time he had thrown even 105 innings since 2018. The results can’t be denied, however, and King was nothing short of excellent. He posted a 2.95 ERA (139 ERA+) with a 3.33 FIP. His peripherals are quite similar to Cease, as well; his 27.7% strikeout rate was a touch lower than Cease’s 29.4% figure, but his 8.7% walk rate was nearly identical to Cease’s 8.5%. King’s 6.2% barrel rate was far better than that of Cease.

Given that similar production and a price tag that’ll be $5-7MM less than that of Cease, it’s easy to imagine some clubs preferring King between the two. If King can fetch what the Padres deem to be a better return, moving the more affordable arm and keeping the more proven/durable righty makes some sense. On the other hand, King still seems likelier to sign an extension than the Boras Corp-represented Cease, and Cease has shown some year-to-year volatility. He posted a below-average ERA as recently as 2023.

If you were in Preller’s shoes and needed to free up some payroll space to address various holes on the roster, how would you proceed with your coveted rotation duo? Have your say in the poll below:

Poll: Will The Cardinals Be Able To Trade Nolan Arenado?

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One of the biggest storylines of the offseason has been the Cardinals’ to this point unsuccessful attempts at moving veteran third baseman Nolan Arenado. As the club scales back its payroll and focuses on youth, both the Cardinals and Arenado himself have expressed a desire to move on this winter. In theory, moving an eight-time All-Star who’s just two seasons removed from being an MVP finalist should not be an especially difficult task, but a confluence of factors has made things very complicated for St. Louis’s front office.

The most obvious limiting factor at play is Arenado’s hefty contract. The infielder is due $74MM over the next three seasons, and even with the Rockies poised to pitch in $10MM as a condition of the trade that sent him to St. Louis in the first place, it’s hard to imagine a number of smaller or even mid-market clubs being able to stomach the majority of that salary. Even for clubs who can afford to pay Arenado, it would be understandable if there was some level of pause about committing that much money to a hitter coming off a .272/.325/.394 slash line that was essentially league average (102 wRC+). Arenado’s glove is still enough to make him a roughly three-win player even with his diminished offensive numbers but the division rival Cubs’ difficulties in finding a trade partner when looking to move Cody Bellinger this winter show how depressed the market can become for a three-win player who’s making more than they would fetch on the open market.

Things are further complicated by Arenado’s no-trade clause, which he’s appeared to be very comfortable wielding in order to direct the Cardinals’ negotiation efforts towards clubs he wants to join. Arenado blocked a trade to the Astros in mid-December despite previous belief that he would approve a trade to Houston, in large part because he wanted to see how the club would fortify the roster after trading away Kyle Tucker. That decision to wait and see what was next for Houston backfired, as they pivoted towards signing Christian Walker in a move that likely closed the door on Arenado joining the Astros.

Since the deal with the Astros fell through, the market for Arenado’s services has been exceptionally quiet, with the Cardinals beginning to entertain the possibility that Arenado might be in camp for the start of Spring Training or even still be in the club’s starting lineup on Opening Day. The Yankees reportedly tried to convince the Cardinals to do a swap that would’ve sent Arenado to the Bronx and right-hander Marcus Stroman to the St. Louis, but the Cardinals dismissed that offer without even presenting it to Arenado due to a lack of interest in adding Stroman to the fold. It’s hardly a surprise that they wouldn’t want to take on Stroman and is $18.5MM salary for 2025, but that decision only serves to highlight the financial difficulties the Cardinals face in attempting to move their third baseman.

Even as a trade of Arenado has become less likely as the calendar has flipped to 2025, there are at least some reasons for optimism. Arenado has reportedly become more open-minded about what clubs he would approve a trade to in recent weeks, which could theoretically inspire renewed efforts from clubs like the Mariners, Royals, and Tigers who have some level of interest in him but initially believed that Arenado would block any trade they worked out with the Cardinals. Meanwhile, the Cardinals have indicated that they wouldn’t necessarily need to cut payroll elsewhere if Arenado remains with the club in 2025. It’s at least theoretically possible that’s simply a negotiation tactic, but if the Cardinals are truly not operating under a mandate to cut payroll to a specific level, then perhaps they’ll be more willing to chip in cash to help pay down Arenado’s salary or accept another underwater contract as part of the return.

One obvious catalyst that could spur Arenado talks back to the forefront of the hot stove would be Alex Bregman finding a new home in free agency. Bregman entered the winter ranked as the #3 free agent overall and the top available infielder according to MLBTR’s annual Top 50 MLB Free Agents list, but he’s found a relatively quiet market to his point in the winter. The Red Sox, Tigers, Astros, Blue Jays, and Cubs are all known to be involved in Bregman’s market to this point on at least some level. While trading Arenado to a division rival like the Cubs is nearly impossible to imagine, the Astros have already moved on, and Toronto may not be competitive enough to satisfy the veteran. The interest is mutual in at least the case of the Red Sox, who currently figure to start Arenado’s longtime Rockies teammate Trevor Story at shortstop on a regular basis this year. If Bregman were to come to a decision, and especially one that saw him end up in Houston, Chicago, or Toronto, it’s easy to imagine Arenado’s market picking up more significantly.

How do MLBTR readers think things will play out? Will Arenado be in another uniform before Opening Day? And if so, will a deal get done before he’s scheduled to report to the Cardinals for Spring Training on February 17? Have your say in the poll below:

Poll: The Mariners’ Dilemma In Dealing From The Rotation

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If there’s one standout trait about the Mariners headed in 2025, it’s their elite rotation; Seattle has the most impressive collection of young, cost-controlled starting pitching talent in the majors right now. Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryce Miller, and Bryan Woo combined for more than 700 innings of 3.18 ERA baseball in 2024. Gilbert, who turns 28 in May, is the oldest of the group and the quartet has a combined 17 seasons of team control remaining.

That crop of talented young starters is the envy of the rest of the league, but if there’s a second standout trait about the 2025 Mariners it’s their questionable offense. Cal Raleigh is among the best offensive catchers in the game, but the lineup offers little certainty outside of him. Julio Rodriguez has superstar upside but didn’t show it for much of last year as he entered July hitting just .247/.297/.327. Randy Arozarena managed an excellent 11.7% walk rate down the stretch after being traded to the Mariners midseason, but hit just five home runs in 54 games and was worth just 1.9 fWAR overall last year between his time in Seattle and Tampa.

The trio of Raleigh, Rodriguez, and Arozarena all project to be above average hitters in 2025, but the rest of the lineup is well below average. Victor Robles enjoyed a career year after joining the Mariners midseason last year, but his elite performance in Seattle was carried by a .388 BABIP. Between that extreme good fortune with batted ball luck and his career .236/.311/.356 (81 wRC+) slash line prior to joining the Mariners, it’s hard to expect more than league average production from Robles in 2025. Dylan Moore and Luke Raley both posted solid numbers in 2025 but are platoon players who can’t be relied on in everyday roles, while J.P. Crawford, Mitch Haniger, and Mitch Garver were all well below average hitters in 2024.

The club’s only addition to the offense to this point has been Donovan Solano, who posted solid numbers in 2024 but figures to join Moore and Raley as another part-time player. A combination of Moore, Raley, and Solano seem likely to be capable of handling first and second base, but the club’s lineup still has a gaping hole at the hot corner after non-tendering Josh Rojas and declining Jorge Polanco’s club option. MLBTR explored the third base market as it pertains to the Mariners earlier this month, but none of the free agent options that fit their budget and lower-level trade candidates available are particularly inspiring.

The Mariners have been hesitant to trade from their excellent rotation, only reluctantly listening to offers on pricey veteran Luis Castillo and seemingly shutting down discussions regarding their young core of arms entirely. But shopping a cost-controlled, elite starting pitcher could open up new possibilities for the club to add impact talent that wouldn’t have been available otherwise. The Red Sox reportedly dangled an impact youngster in first baseman Triston Casas in exchange for either Miller or Woo earlier this winter, and it’s easy to imagine rotation-needy clubs offering similarly impactful talent in exchange for a young arm of that caliber.

Dangling Gilbert or Kirby would surely land the Mariners an even more enticing package in exchange given their solid track records of front-of-the-rotation work in the majors to this point. The Orioles, for example, have a deep group of positional talent but are in need of an impact starter. It’s not impossible to imagine Baltimore being willing to part with an established young talent like Jordan Westburg as the headliner in a package for someone like Gilbert, perhaps packaged with a less impactful cost-controlled arm like Dean Kremer to ease the blow to Seattle’s rotation.

Turning away from the Orioles, Mark Vientos of the Mets and Matt McLain of the Reds are among the other high-end, cost-controlled third basemen who the Mariners could theoretically seek as a headliner in a package for one of their top starters, though neither is quite as valuable as Westburg. Of course, such deals are easier to propose than actually execute. While a team like Cincinnati packaging McLain with one of their own rotation arms like Nick Lodolo in order to land an elite talent like Gilbert could make sense on paper, the injury history of both players could give the Mariners plenty of pause about giving up one of their most valuable assets for little in the way of certainty and the Reds may be equally hesitant to offer up two established players with All-Star upside in exchange for one.

That’s just one example, of course, but it’s equally difficult to imagine the Mariners lining up on the right trade package for a player as valuable as Gilbert or Kirby with the vast majority of rival clubs. High-end, cost-controlled starting pitching is the single most desirable asset in the sport, and while fans of rival teams have long dreamed of their GM working out a trade with Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto to bring one of the Mariners’ young aces to town they’d surely start feeling queasy about the possibility upon seeing just how much their team would need to part with in order to land such a coveted talent.

If you were in the Mariners’ shoes, how would you approach the situation? Would you take the same course Dipoto has and simply refuse to seriously entertain offers for your elite group of young pitchers, looking to upgrade the team in other ways like by dealing Castillo? Would you listen to offers while holding firm on a high asking price? Or would you compromise on the value of one of your top assets in order to help bolster an offense in desperate need of impact? Have your say in the poll below:

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