3 teams that have won the MLB offseason … so far
With the Major League Baseball offseason paused by a lockout, free agent signings and trades between MLB teams have come to a screeching halt as well.
However, before the Collective Bargaining Agreement expired on December 1, there were plenty of teams who made moves to improve themselves for the 2022 season.
Which three MLB teams made the best moves and improved the most this offseason? Here’s our list.
Let’s start in Detroit, where the Tigers have made some big strides this offseason in an effort to battle for the American League Central crown next season. Highlighting the moves this offseason have been a trade with the Cincinnati Reds to acquire catcher Tucker Barnhart, who could well be more than just the team’s answer short-term answer at catcher, signed pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez to a five-year, $77 million to solidify the rotation, then answered the questions about what the franchise would do at shortstop by inking Javier Baez to a six-year, $140 million deal.
After finishing third in the division last season with a 77-85 mark, Detroit went out and swiftly addressed needs that will accelerate their window to compete for the division. There is also plenty of excitement surrounding the franchise with former top overall draft pick Spencer Torkelson likely to be a part of team’s 2022 plans as well.
It’s easy to see why Detroit is among the three teams who have won the offseason so far. Let’s stay in the American League for our next impressive offseason move-maker.
The American League West is going to look very different next season, thanks in large part to some of the moves made by the Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers this offseason.
With a spending spree, the Texas Rangers are one of the winners of the MLB offseason so far
While the Mariners didn’t make our list, they certainly should get credit for signing the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner (Robbie Ray) and making a trade to bring infielder Adam Frazier over from the San Diego Padres. It’s also likely that the Mariners will still be active once a new Collective Bargaining Agreement is in place and transactions can begin again.
That could be what is to come in Seattle, but there have already been plenty of waves made in the division with the Texas Rangers opening up the franchise’s collective checkbook and shelling out a seven-year, $175 million contract to Marcus Semien and a 10-year, $325 million deal with Corey Seager to rebuild their middle infield. Texas also inked starting pitcher Jon Gray to a four-year deal worth $56 million. Add in a one-year deal with outfielder Kole Calhoun and you can see that the Rangers have been busy completely revamping their roster.
Texas still needs to work on its pitching, but its aggressiveness before the CBA expired put the American League West on notice that the team hoped to turn things around quickly from last year’s 102-loss debacle.
Finding which picture to use at the top of this slide discussing the additions for the New York Mets this offseason was no easy task. After all, the Mets finally named their general manager (Billy Eppler) on November 18, and then starting spending on numerous players in an effort to compete for the National League East in 2022.
New York Mets owner Steve Cohen opened his wallet and the team picked up some high-priced, solid additions
The Mets boosted their infield versatility by signing Eduardo Escobar to a two-year deal, then bolstered their outfield with the signings of Mark Canha and Starling Marte. Top all of that with the Mets paying starting pitcher Max Scherzer $130 million over three years and it’s easy to see why the Mets will be a very intriguing team next season.
All of those additions will push New York’s payroll in the neighborhood of $264 million next year (per FanGraphs). That’s roughly $61 million more than this season … and it is possible the Mets aren’t done spending yet.
New York will field a 2022 Opening Day roster that is significantly different than its 2021 version. The Mets hope that the new additions can keep the team from collapsing as it did in the second half of 2021 and earning its first postseason berth since 2016.
Next. 3 surprising things to learn from the MLB lockout. dark
With the defending World Champion Atlanta Braves lurking in the division, the Mets needed to do something this offseason to show they intended to compete for the title in October. On paper at least, they did just that before the work stoppage began.