MLB Offseason Power Rankings: Braves, Astros Moving Up
By Jason Burke
The MLB hot stove is teasing us at this point, with some teams being very active (thanks Seattle!) and some teams not making any moves. Here is a look at how each team’s offseason is stacking up according to WAR (Wins Above Replacement).
The goal of any franchise during the offseason is to add some players that will help you win baseball games, either in the coming season or in the future. With that in mind, I calculated each team’s WAR heading into this offseason, accounting for free agents to-be and trades made throughout the regular season, and came up with a total. Every other week during the offseason we revisit that total and add (or subtract) newcomers to the roster or players that have been traded away.
Then we simply rank the teams according to their new WAR total. It’s pretty basic, but it should give us an idea of how big some of the moves that are made this winter could be, and at the very least what the front offices are hoping will happen with each move. The process may not be perfect, but it’s a fun exercise to help us bridge the gap until opening day! Who knows, maybe we’l stumble on something by doing this.
Here are the moves that have happened since last time:
Blue Jays signed Kendrys Morales.
Yankees traded Brian McCann, released Dustin Ackley and traded James Pazos.
Tampa Bay traded Richie Shaffer and Taylor Motter to Seattle.
Angels added Andrew Bailey and Jesse Chavez.
Astros traded for McCann and signed Josh Reddick and Charlie Morton.
Oakland traded Danny Valencia to Seattle.
Rangers claimed Tyler Wagner off waivers.
The Mariners added Carlos Ruiz, Valencia and Pazos via trades, released Stefen Romero.
Neil Walker accepted the Mets Qualifying Offer.
Philadelphia acquired Howie Kendrick in a trade with the Dodgers and Jeremy Hellickson accepted a Qualifying Offer.
Atlanta signed Bartolo Colon and R.A. Dickey.
St. Louis signed Brett Cecil.
The Dodgers traded away Ruiz and Kendrick, bringing back Darin Ruf and minor leaguer Darnell Sweeney.
Let’s see how these moves affected the power rankings!