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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.

__________________________________________________________

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:

Which AL West team has had the best offseason so far?
The Athletics 30.47% (2,576 votes)
Texas Rangers 28.29% (2,391 votes)
Houston Astros 18.94% (1,601 votes)
Los Angeles Angels 14.69% (1,242 votes)
Seattle Mariners 7.61% (643 votes)
Total Votes: 8,453

Giants Acquire Osleivis Basabe

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The Giants acquired infielder Osleivis Basabe from the Rays in exchange for cash, according to announcements from both teams. Tampa Bay designated Basabe for assignment earlier in the week. The Giants already had an open 40-man spot to accommodate Basabe.

The 24-year-old Basabe’s only big league experience came back in 2023, when he totaled 94 plate appearances across 31 games and batted .218/.277/.310. That inauspicious debut came after a more encouraging .296/.351/.426 output (95 wRC+) in Triple-A that year. However, the 2024 campaign brought significant declines for Basabe in nearly every meaningful category. He spent th entire year in Triple-A Durham, hitting .248/.293/.336. Basabe’s walk rate dropped from 7.3% to 4.9%. His strikeout rate jumped from 15.5% to 18%. His average exit velocity dipped by nearly three miles per hour, while his hard-hit rate fell by a hefty eight percentage points.

Rough as the previous season was, Basabe is regarded as a solid defender who can handle shortstop, second and third. He ranked within the top 10 prospects in Tampa Bay’s system an offseason ago and has a minor league option remaining, so the Giants can send him to Triple-A without needing to expose him to waivers.

With Willy Adames at short, Matt Chapman at third and Tyler Fitzgerald at second, there’s no immediate path to Basabe logging any kind of consistent at-bats in the majors, even if he has a big spring showing. However, the Giants’ bench is far less solidified, and he’ll join Brett Wisely, Casey Schmitt and David Villar (among others) in competing for a utility role on Bob Melvin’s bench.

MLB Owners Approve John Seidler As Padres’ Control Person

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John Seidler, the brother of late Padres chairman Peter Seidler, was unanimously approved as the team’s new control person in a vote among the league’s other 29 owners, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. The move will become official once the paperwork naming John the trustee of Peter’s trust is finalized in about a month’s time, Acee adds.

Padres ownership has been embroiled in a legal battle in recent months, as Peter’s widow, Sheel Seidler, has filed suit against her late husband’s brothers, alleging that they’ve breached fiduciary duty and committed fraud as successors of Peter’s trust. Sheel Seidler accused brothers-in-law Matt and Bob Seidler of selling assets to themselves “far” below market prices in an effort to consolidate control of the franchise and of violating Peter’s wishes that she serve as interim control person of the club before passing ownership onto the couple’s children at a later date.

Matt Seidler contested the suit in a formal response wherein he accused his sister-in-law of attempting to “manufacture claims against the Trustees in pursuit of the control that Peter intentionally chose not to give her.” Per Matt’s response, the trust has made numerous transactions, totaling tens of millions of dollars, benefiting Sheel and her children.

Sheel’s attorney suggested in a statement that the Seidler brothers have no evidence to support claims of wrongdoing by his client: “It’s ironic that they accuse Sheel — Peter’s wife of two decades and the mother of his three children — of misusing his assets, while at the same time they have reaped the benefits of Peter’s generosity for decades. The fact is, we will win in court because the defendants have shown they have no case.”

To date, Matt’s formal response to Sheel’s lawsuit is the only on-record comment provided by any of the brothers. John was not present for and has not issued comment on today’s vote. While John has now been approved by the league’s other owners, it remains possible that the forthcoming legal battle could yet impact the team’s ultimate ownership outlook. Any timeline on a resolution is impossible to predict. If the case is litigated in full and not settled outside of court, it could prove to be a yearslong process.

Giants, Lou Trivino Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Giants and right-handed reliever Lou Trivino have agreed to a minor league contract, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. The Pro Edge Sports client will be invited to major league camp this spring.

Trivino, 33, hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since 2022 due to a series of arm injuries. He underwent Tommy John surgery prior to the 2023 campaign and missed all of the 2024 season due to ongoing inflammation in that elbow and a separate shoulder issue. He recently held a bullpen session for scouts — the Giants were among those in attendance — and seemingly has a clean bill of health. By signing in San Francisco, he’ll be reunited with his longtime manager in Oakland, Bob Melvin, at least for spring training.

When he’s been healthy and at the top of his game, Trivino has been a quality high-leverage arm. He throws hard, misses bats and picks up grounders at strong rates. From 2020-22, the righty averaged just under 96 mph on his four-seamer and sinker while pitching to a 3.76 ERA with a 24.5% strikeout rate, 10.4% walk rate and 48.7% grounder rate. In parts of five big league seasons, he’s tallied 37 saves and 52 holds.

The Giants recently shipped out one veteran reliever, lefty Taylor Rogers, in a trade with the Reds that looked to be more about cost-savings than improving for the upcoming season. That left Taylor’s twin brother, Tyler, and righty Camilo Doval as the Giants’ only two relievers with even two years of big league service. If he impresses in camp, Trivino can add a veteran option to a late-inning group that includes Tyler Rogers, Ryan Walker and Doval. Others in the bullpen mix include Sean Hjelle, Erik Miller, Landen Roupp, Tristan Beck, Spencer Bivens and Randy Rodriguez.

Athletics Outright Kyle McCann, Anthony Maldonado

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The Athletics have sent catcher Kyle McCann and right-hander Anthony Maldonado outright to Triple-A, according to each player’s transaction log at MLB.com. That indicates both players cleared waivers after being designated for assignment last week. Both will stay with the organization as non-roster depth and could be in big league camp as non-roster invitees.

McCann, 27, made his major league debut last year. He has generally been a high-power, high-strikeout guy in his minor league career and he carried that up to the big leagues. In his 157 plate appearances, he struck out 59 times, a huge 37.9% rate. But he also popped five home runs and walked at a solid 10.2% clip, allowing him to post a .236/.318/.371 slash line and 102 wRC+. Defensively, each of FanGraphs, Baseball Prospectus and Statcast graded him as a subpar framer.

Those offensive numbers hewed fairly close to his minor league numbers, as he slashed .251/.344/.458 for a 99 wRC+ over 2022 and 2023. He struck out 32.9% of the time but drew walks in 11.1% of his plate appearances and hit 38 homers in 846 trips to the plate.

The A’s have Shea Langeliers as their primary catcher and acquired Jhonny Pereda to serve as the backup, nudging McCann off the roster. That gave other clubs a chance to grab McCann but none of them took that chance. Since McCann has less than three years of service time and this is his first career outright, he doesn’t have the right to elect free agency.

The A’s only have the two backstops on their 40-man in Langeliers and Pereda, so they’re surely glad to keep McCann around as depth without needing to use a roster spot for now. He could be the first one up if either of the two rostered backstops suffers an injury.

Maldonado, 27, was just claimed by the A’s in November. He made his major league debut with the Marlins last year, allowing 12 earned runs in 19 innings with a tepid 13.4% strikeout rate. The minor league track record is larger and more impressive. Over the past four years, he tossed 188 innings on the farm with a 3.26 earned run average, 32.4% strikeout rate and 9% walk rate.

Like McCann, this is his first career outright and he has less than three years of major league service time. That means he’ll have to accept this outright assignment, giving the A’s a depth arm for their bullpen without taking up a spot on the roster.

The Opener: Bregman, Twins, 40-Man Moves

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One free-agent deal is already in the books this morning. Here are three more things to keep an eye out for today:

1. Bregman stands alone:

After slugger Pete Alonso finally agreed to return to the Mets last night, third baseman Alex Bregman stands as the lone top tier bat in free agency. With the start of spring training looming, Bregman’s market has been fairly quiet in recent days. The Tigers reportedly remain in on him even after their deal to re-sign righty Jack Flaherty. The Cubs, Blue Jays, Astros, and Red Sox are all involved in Bregman’s market on at least some level. It seems possible that at least a couple of those suitors have eased off their pursuits of Bregman, however. MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart relayed yesterday that, per GM Dana Brown, the Astros have not recently spoken to Bregman’s camp and that their discussions about a reunion with him “remain internal.” Meanwhile, the Red Sox continued their ongoing talks with the Cardinals about third baseman Nolan Arenado. A Bregman decision could be a catalyst for resolution on the Arenado front, or vice versa.

2. Could a Twins trade be on the horizon?

All winter long, it’s been clear that the Twins were operating at or near their maximum capacity for payroll and wouldn’t be able to make significant additions on the free agent market without clearing payroll via trade. Despite that long-anticipated reality, however, the Twins have made multiple free agent signings in recent days. The additions of center fielder Harrison Bader and southpaw reliever Danny Coulombe are set to cost the Twins $9.25MM, and according to RosterResource that puts them around $18MM over their 2024 payroll. While it’s possible that the front office has simply been provided more financial flexibility than initially believed, it’s worth noting that Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey recently acknowledged an uptick in trade discussions. Could a deal or two that clears payroll space be coming? Minnesota needs to open two 40-man roster spots to finalize their deals with Bader and Coulombe.

3. Several 40-man moves pending:

In addition to that pair of 40-man moves pending for the Twins, there are several other clubs who need to open 40-man spots to finalize agreements of their own. Last night’s Alonso reunion in Queens will force the Mets to open a spot on their 40-man roster that features a number of depth arms on the bubble (e.g. Austin Warren, Tyler Zuber, Max Kranick, Kevin Herget). This morning’s Tommy Pham deal will require the Pirates to jettison someone else from their 40-man, which could prove problematic for offseason DFA pickups like Brett de Geus, Peter Strzelecki or Chase Shugart. The Yankees still need to make roster space for their reunion with southpaw Tim Hill, which could lead to a quick DFA turnaround for recent waiver claims Braden Shewmake or Owen White. Over in Detroit, the Tigers still haven’t announced their deal to re-sign Jack Flaherty, which will prompt a 40-man subtraction in the Motor City as well.

MLB Mailbag: Guerrero, Alonso, Yoshida, Alcantara, Cubs, Mariners

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This week's mailbag gets into Vladimir Guerrero Jr. vs. Pete Alonso, whether the Mets should move on from Alonso, whether any MLB trade was as shocking as the NBA's Luka Doncic deal, those who feel this MLB offseason has been dull, how much the Red Sox would have to eat on Masataka Yoshida's contract, possible Sandy Alcantara suitors, and much more.

Jed asks:

Why is the general expectation that Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will get over $400m in free agency next winter for 10+ years despite being a defensively limited, slow-footed, right-hand batting first baseman. With Pete Alonso, I've seen so much coverage about how he may not get more than a $23m AAV from the Mets for no more than three years total. Obviously Pete is 4 years and three months older than Vlad Jr., and would be playing his age 30-32 seasons on a three-year deal. But Vlad Jr. will be 27 in 2026, the first year of his presumptive 10+ year mega deal. After those first three seasons on Vlad's hypothetical 10+ year mega deal, he will also be playing his age-30 season in the fourth year of such a contract, presumably at a $40m AAV.

Aside from getting his age 27-29 seasons, why are pundits convinced that an expensive, long-term deal for Vlad Jr makes more sense than a short-term deal with a $23m AAV for Alonso (especially considering that since their 2019 debut seasons, Alonso has hit 66 more homers and posted a higher slugging percentage)? Why is everyone convinced that Vlad Jr represents a better long-term bet to succeed than Ryan Howard, Prince Fielder, and all the other countless examples of RHB 1B who failed to produce in their 30s?

I can't speak to general expectations; only my own.  I encourage you to re-read what I wrote on this on December 10th.  A key point was, "So much depends on which Guerrero shows up in 2025."

I strongly prefer the wRC+ stat to home run totals and slugging percentage.  We need to account for offensive contributions other than the home run, and in a more logical way than slugging percentage (a home run is not worth four times as much as a single, for example).  Guerrero has two elite seasons with the bat: 2021 and 2024.  In those years, he hit so well that his defense was an afterthought and he was worth 5-6 WAR.  Juan Soto had six 5-WAR-ish or better seasons under his belt prior to free agency (extrapolating his rookie year and the shortened 2020 season), and it's because he's never posted worse than a 143 wRC+.

Guerrero sandwiched a 132 and 118 season between his 160+ ones, and hitting in that more human range can drop him all the way to 1-3 WAR.  That's a guy you very much don't want to be paying $40MM a year.  But Vlad always has the batted-ball data to back up elite offense, and with another 160+ season I do think offers reach $400MM+.

Alonso's best season was his rookie year with a 144 wRC+.  His second-best was 141 in 2022.  He's been at 121 over the last two years.  He's a 2-3 WAR player who's shown a ceiling of 4 WAR.  Guerrero has shown more variance, but his ceiling has been 6 WAR and he nearly reached it in the recently-completed season.

In comparing age, I'd look at the Opening Day difference of each player's first year under a new free agent contract.  In other words, comparing age at 4-1-25 for Alonso to 4-1-26 for Guerrero.  Using that approach, Guerrero is 3.27 years younger.  Those being prime years, they're incredibly important when it comes to free agent contracts.

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MLBTR Podcast: Jack Flaherty Back To Detroit, Max Scherzer, And What’s Next For The Padres

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Angels Extend Angel Stadium Lease Through 2032

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The Angels announced on Wednesday that they’ve exercised a three-year extension on their Angel Stadium lease (link via Michael Slaten of the Orange County Register). The guaranteed term of their lease had run through 2029; they’ll now remain at the park through at least the end of 2032. The lease agreement includes two additional three-year options, which the team could eventually trigger to stay through 2038.

“We are excited to announce that we have extended our lease securing the Big A as the home of Angels Baseball into the next decade,” a team spokeswoman said. “As we prepare for our 60th season in Anaheim, we wanted our fans and community partners to know that Angels Baseball and its foundation remain committed to being an active part of this city and region.”

Anaheim mayor Ashleigh Aitken released a statement of her own: “As a lifelong Angels fan, I join those in our city and across our region in welcoming baseball in Anaheim into the next decade. This lease extension brings added certainty and ensures the strong tradition of baseball in Anaheim. As mayor, I look forward to working with the Angels on future community partnerships, and, as a fan, look forward to a great season ahead.”

There haven’t been any developments on the property’s extended future. A few years ago, the city had been set to sell the stadium and surrounding land to a group led by Angels owner Arte Moreno. However, the City Council killed that tentative agreement in May 2022 after revelations that the FBI was investigating then-mayor Harry Sidhu for corruption related to the stadium deal. Sidhu resigned and subsequently pled guilty to four charges.

Construction on Angel Stadium began in 1964. The team began play there in ’66. It’s the fourth-longest tenured active ballpark behind Fenway Park, Wrigley Field, and Dodger Stadium.

Mets Outright Dylan Covey, Luis De Los Santos

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The Mets sent righty Dylan Covey and infielder Luis De Los Santos outright to Triple-A Syracuse, the team announced. Both players were designated for assignment last week — Covey as the corresponding move for Ryne Stanek, De Los Santos when the Mets signed Nick Madrigal.

Both players were offseason additions, so neither has played a game for the Mets. Covey signed a one-year split contract the day after the conclusion of the World Series. That came with an $850K base salary in the majors and a $350K salary for whatever time he spends in the minors. The contract is designed to make it likely that the Mets can keep him as depth. Covey has been outrighted multiple times in his career, which gives him the right to decline the assignment in favor of free agency. However, he’d forfeit his $350K minor league guarantee to test the market, so he’ll presumably accept the assignment and get a non-roster invitation to Spring Training.

Covey has a 6.18 earned run average over 307 1/3 major league innings. The 33-year-old has started 46 of his 100 big league appearances. Covey has been a long reliever for the past two seasons. He worked to a 3.77 ERA through 43 frames between the Dodgers and Phillies in 2023. His 15.7% strikeout rate was well below average, but he kept the ball on the ground at a strong 54.3% clip. A shoulder strain cost him most of last season. Covey tossed 15 Triple-A frames in the Philadelphia system. He posted a 1.20 ERA behind a massive 71.4% grounder percentage.

De Los Santos was a waiver claim out of the Toronto organization. He had signed with the Jays out of the Dominican Republic in 2015. He played eight seasons in the minors and was called up for the first time after the trade deadline. De Los Santos appeared in 13 games late in the year, hitting .172 with a pair of doubles across 31 plate appearances.

The righty hitter appeared in 43 contests with Triple-A Buffalo last season. He hit .268/.376/.486 over 154 trips to the plate. That improved his career Triple-A batting line to .228/.343/.393 in parts of three seasons. De Los Santos has shown a decent eye (12.7% walk rate) with below-average contact rates at that level. Primarily a shortstop, he has a decent amount of experience at all four infield positions. This is his first outright, so he’ll remain with the Mets.

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