MLB: The biggest winners and losers of the offseason so far

Loser: San Francisco Giants 

It was a really important offseason for the San Francisco Giants, who came into the offseason with more than $100 million in cap space. Their front office rose to the occasion (or at least so we thought) with the signing of Twins shortstop Carlos Correa. However, the deal fell through, with Correa reportedly showing some concerning medical findings that the Giants disapproved of so much that the All-Star shortstop was suddenly an afterthought.

We also forget that the Giants just let Carlos Rodon walk for absolutely nothing at the end of the season. The Giants were 51-51 at the trade deadline, and definitely could have cashed in on some nice prospects if they traded Rodon at the deadline. Instead, they kept him around for a meaningless second half of the season, and they didn’t even make an attempt to resign him.

The Giants made a bunch of small, quality signings but, in the grand scheme of things, they won’t make a big enough impact. They still aren’t as talented as the Padres and Dodgers, two fellow NL West competitors who the Giants had a combined 12-28 record against last year.

Could the Giants pull off another 2021 season where they win another 107 games with a similar, somewhat weak roster?

Loser: Baltimore Orioles 

We heard GM Mike Elias rave about the “significant escalation” of the Orioles payroll moving forward. Well, the Orioles haven’t escalated anything, with their lone signings consisting of starting pitcher Kyle Gibson and infielder Adam Frazier. It seems eerily similar to past Orioles offseasons, where they sign a veteran or two and ship them at the deadline. As FanGraphs MLB Insider Dan Szymborski tweeted, he “didn’t hear from anyone” that the Orioles were serious about signing any “elite free agents.” The Orioles clearly need upgrades in the lineup and rotation if they are serious about playoff contention, which is why this behavior is so baffling.

Even with the Gibson signing, this rotation still needs a lot of work. This team lacks elite starting pitching, and Baltimore will not be able to contend until they acquire it. With Carlos Rodon signing with the Yankees, the last true elite starting pitcher is officially off the board. The Orioles will come in with Dean Kremer as their number one starter, an option that won’t suffice for a playoff contender.

We must realize that Elias is incredibly good at what he does. It’s totally sensible for him to pump the brakes on this playoff hype and have the Orioles take another year to develop their young talent in Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, Kyle Stowers and Grayson Rodriguez. Perhaps that’s a reason for him not spending? Maybe this team got a little too lucky last year and we’re overestimating their contending status?

This is by no means an incompetent front office. It’s an organization with a plan, a plan they will stick too so they can bring championships to Baltimore.