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New York Times
22-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
MLB Power Rankings: Cincinnati, Cleveland on the climb; What a difference a year makes
By Grant Brisbee, Chad Jennings and Levi Weaver Every week, we ask a selected group of our baseball writers — local and national — to rank the teams from first to worst. Here are the collective results. The Padres are on pace to go 118-44. The Rockies are on pace to go 31-131. But anyone can look at the standings and see that one team has a better record than another. Power rankings are for adding a little context to the wins and losses, with professional baseball writers looking to see if a team's record is actually misleading. So, in theory, it's possible the Rockies could rank ahead of the Padres if our panel of voters thought it was more indicative of their true talent levels. Advertisement Is that what happened? You will simply have to keep reading, friends. In this edition of the power rankings, we're looking back at where each of these teams ranked at this time last year and what that might tell us about where they're going. Record: 16-7 Last Power Ranking: 1 Ranking a year ago: 4 I filled in the 'ranking a year ago' section without checking. They were atop the power rankings a year ago, I'm sure of it. They'll be atop the power rankings next year. So I'm not going to check. Not unless my editor forces me to in the interest of 'due diligence' and not being 'a lazy jerkwad,' which, after checking a few Slack messages, appears to be the case. Fine. But I'm telling you, they were first. They were … fourth? How silly. Let that be a lesson to the people who want these power rankings to more closely reflect the current standings. If you do that, sometimes you'll suggest the best team in baseball is the fourth-best team in baseball, which is ridiculous. Save everyone the hassle. Just put the Dodgers first until they lose their 75th game of the season. — Grant Brisbee Record: 16-7 Last Power Ranking: 2 Ranking a year ago: 16 At this time last season, everyone was experiencing some measure of Padres fatigue. They were constantly winning offseasons and losing regular seasons, so it took only a month for people to get tired of the 2024 Padres. They were just going to be confusingly mediocre again, so 16th place it was. Then they got hot, with an 80-56 record after that. That's a .588 winning percentage and 95-win pace over a full season. This year, they've been even better, and they have the best record in baseball as of this writing. They're not above the Dodgers in this ranking because of that lingering Padres-fatigue, but if they can hold onto that best record for another week or two, maybe it'll be their turn. They've been outstanding for a full calendar year now. — Brisbee Advertisement Record: 16-7 Last Power Ranking: 3 Ranking a year ago: T-18 Here's a strong reminder of how much things can change between now and October. At this time last year, the Mets had a winning record — thanks to a six-game winning streak — but we weren't buying it. Catcher Francisco Alvarez had just gone on the IL, and the Mets seemed due for a swoon. And that's exactly what happened! The Mets were well below .500 by the end of May, but a great June and a strong September pushed them into the playoffs, where they advanced all the way to the NLCS. This year, we're having less trouble believing the Mets can make a run as they've moved to the top of the NL East. But check with us again next week after they're finished their current series against the Phillies and have played four against the Nationals. — Chad Jennings Record: 14-9 Last Power Ranking: 7 Ranking a year ago: 2 The Yankees are weird, man. In the past year, they've gotten Gerrit Cole healthy, then lost him again. They've failed to re-sign Juan Soto but added Max Fried. They've traded for Jazz Chisholm Jr., Devin Williams and Cody Bellinger. They've had turnover at first base, second base, third base, left field, center field, and most of their rotation. They've used Luke Weaver as a closer, made Ben Rice their primary DH, and buried Trent Grisham on their bench only to start actually using him again this season to pretty decent results. After all that change … they're still pretty close to where they were a year ago as our top-ranked team in the American League. They're coming off a good stretch, too. — Jennings Record: 15-8 Last Power Ranking: 5 Ranking a year ago: 21 Last July, an intrepid and content-starved writer took a look at the provisional 2025 schedule and highlighted the future road trip the Giants just finished. It was an obvious bear trap — Yankees for three, Phillies for four and a cross-country trip to Anaheim for another three without an off day. And that was without knowing the Phillies would schedule their getaway-day game for 4:05 p.m. local time, which seems illegal. The Giants went 5-5, which doesn't sound very impressive, but last season's team would have finished 0-11. The extra loss would have just appeared on the schedule one day, and nobody would have bothered to correct it. The Giants are one of the biggest movers in this exercise, and their ability to look competent in the face of expected doom is yet another reason why. — Brisbee Advertisement Record: 13-10 Last Power Ranking: 4 Ranking a year ago: 5 The Phillies have been in this power rankings tier — easily top 10, often top 5, rarely No. 1 — for a few years now. They've built a familiar core and supplemented with semi-regular tweaks (new starter Jesús Luzardo has been awesome; new reliever Jordan Romano not so much), and the end result has been a kind of overall consistency despite an offense that can feel very boom-or-bust. The question isn't whether the Phillies are among the teams with a chance to win a championship. It's whether this will be the year they do enough at the end to actually make a deep run and maybe win the whole thing. Barring something extreme, we seem to have a fairly clear set of expectations through the end of September. — Jennings Record: 13-9 Last Power Ranking: 6 Ranking a year ago: 10 Last year at this time, the Diamondbacks were the reigning pennant winners, and they looked like an even stronger team. If you knew that they were going to lead baseball in runs scored by the end of last season, you might have even picked them to win the NL West. As is, their pitching was dreadful enough to keep them out of the postseason entirely. That felt like something of a fluke, though, which makes it extra impressive that they're up this high again with Zac Gallen and Corbin Burnes scuffling. If the Diamondbacks get both of them back to their normal levels of run prevention, they could win 100 games. That might be good enough for only a fourth-place finish in the wacky NL West, perhaps, but still. They're a better team again, and this time it should stick. — Brisbee Record: 14-10 Last Power Ranking: 8 Ranking a year ago: 9 What no difference a year makes, eh? The Cubs' bullpen has been bad. Like, bottom five in the league in a lot of categories bad. But their offense has been incredibly good. Like top five in the league in a lot of categories good. They lead the sport in scoring (145 runs) and run differential (+41) Advertisement They did make one small move on Monday to try to shore up the bullpen, acquiring Drew Pomeranz from the Mariners, but here's a very weird and extreme example of the team we're working with. This is from Sahadev Sharma's story about last Friday's game: 'What happened over the next inning and a half was nearly impossible to describe. In less than an hour of baseball, the two teams traded blows, combining for 21 runs on 20 hits, including six home runs. The Cubs got punched in the jaw, blowing a six-run lead, only to counter, forcing Arizona to blow a four-run lead of its own.' Yeah. They gave up 10 runs in the eighth inning and came back to win the game. Good luck power ranking that. — Levi Weaver Record: 13-9 Last Power Ranking: 11 Ranking a year ago: 11 Last year's entry: According to Wins Above Average, the Rangers have the 20th-best pitching staff in baseball. According to FIP, the Rangers have the fourth-worst pitching staff in the majors. So, how are they in first place in the AL West as of this writing? Would you like to venture a guess which rotation leads the AL this year in ERA (2.85), FIP (3.34), fewest hits allowed (86), fewest home runs allowed (11, tied with Seattle), earned runs allowed (37) and opponent's batting average (.201), while leading the entire sport in walks-per-nine (2.24) and WHIP (0.96)? Look, when even a spider-bitten Patrick Corbin is putting up strong starts, you know something is going really right. For now, that translates to exactly the same ranking they had last year. But maybe that makes sense — they're in the exact same position in the standings they were last year, too. — Weaver Record: 14-9 Last Power Ranking: 9 Ranking a year ago: 20 It's not the biggest jump from last year to this year, but jumping 10 spots is still pretty impressive. Like the Royals, the Tigers made a huge year-over-year improvement in 2024 to shock the baseball world and make the postseason. Advertisement Unlike the Royals, they seem to be building on it this year. While we're looking back a year, here's one reason Detroit is thriving: A year ago, first-round picks Spencer Torkelson and Casey Mize were partway through seasons that ultimately made a lot of folks wonder if one or both might not be quite as good as they'd been hyped up to be. This year: no, no — they're good. In relatively recent years, the AL Central has felt a little like a 'first team to not suck, even a little bit, wins the division' situation. Last year changed that, and it looks like the Tigers are trying to make it very clear who's in charge moving forward. — Weaver Record: 13-11 Last Power Ranking: 10 Ranking a year ago: 17 At this time last year, four AL East teams ranked among our top 11. The Red Sox were the lone exception, having fallen well out of favor with our voters. This year, they're back in the mix — even flirting with the top 10 — but they're part of the American League's murky second tier. We have the Yankees as the best team in the AL, followed by a choose-your-own adventure of next-best teams, none of which is really setting itself apart. The Red Sox had a chance to absolutely dominate the White Sox through seven games in the past 10 days and were just kind of meh. — Jennings Record: 12-10 Last Power Ranking: 13 Ranking a year ago: 13 The Mariners are back, baby. Not only did they win two series on the road last week, but also they've scored eight or more runs in three out of their past four games. Over the past couple of seasons, the Mariners' problem has been painfully obvious: Score more runs, you dullards. If they can manage that, they'll win the division going away. Last year at this time, they were also on the road and scoring more runs than expected. What's old is new again. This time, though … this time the offensive surge will definitely stick. Unless the Mariners are trapped in 12th- and 13th-ranked purgatory forever. That might be the Occam's Razor explanation, to be honest. Until we know either way, here's one spot closer to the top. Don't spend it all in one place. — Brisbee Advertisement Record: 13-9 Last Power Ranking: 19 Ranking a year ago: 8 Last year around this time, it looked like the Guardians (16-6 at the time) were en route to run away with the AL Central — surely the Tigers and Royals weren't going to hang around all season long. The 7-12 start by the Twins looked like an early elimination of their biggest competition for an AL Central title. That ended up being mostly true, though it was closer than we expected. The Guardians outlasted both Kansas City and Detroit, winning the division by 6 1/2 games and sticking around in the playoffs longer than both before losing the ALCS to the Yankees. This year, it's more of a dogfight and we all know it. Not only are the Guardians performing a little worse — Emmanuel Clase seems human, for one — but also the Tigers seem legit and the Royals … well, they did make the playoffs last year, even if they don't seem destined for a repeat performance. For more on the Twins and White Sox, you'll need to keep scrolling down. Further. Further. Almost there … — Weaver Record: 9-13 Last Power Ranking: 12 Ranking a year ago: 1 You don't have to go back a full year to see how far — and how quickly — the Braves have fallen in the eyes of our voters. When this season started, the Braves were No. 2 in our rankings. They were getting healthy again, and we were bullish on a bounce back. Instead, this season is so far even worse than last season. The Braves lost their first seven games, Jurickson Profar got suspended, Reynaldo López had surgery, they've played musical chairs in the bullpen, their outfielders have been awful, and — well — now our power rankings have them middle-of-the-pack, and that's being generous given their record. A weekend sweep of the Twins was at least a step in the right direction. — Jennings Record: 12-11 Last Power Ranking: 16 Ranking a year ago: T-11 The Blue Jays lately have been one of those teams that always seem capable of going either direction. Some middle-of-the-pack teams get ranked all over the place by our individual voters, but our votes are pretty well bunched together on the Blue Jays. Basically, just rank them somewhere in the middle, and adjust a bit up or down if they get hot or cold. At this time last year, they'd won seven of nine, and so they were up. Within a couple of weeks, they were losing again and back down to No. 18. This year, they have a winning record, but their run differential is uninspiring. For now, continue to assume they're somewhere in the middle of the pack, trending on and off the playoff bubble with each good and bad week. — Jennings Record: 12-11 Last Power Ranking: 18 Ranking a year ago: 6 It can't be a huge surprise that the Brewers have slipped since last year; they are essentially a racecar shedding parts as they speed around the track. It's truly admirable that they haven't crashed and (Corbin) burned (get it?) a long time ago, but you can't stay in motion forever on one alternator, three tires and an exhausted nutria being fed Monster energy drinks intravenously. Advertisement But also … they're still running!? No, literally: they lead the league in stolen bases (34), and on Sunday, they stole six bases in the first inning en route to a nine-steal game. They might have slipped into the bottom half of these power rankings, but that's still a very fun brand of baseball to watch. — Weaver Record: 11-11 Last Power Ranking: 15 Ranking a year ago: 18 A year ago, the Astros were absolutely cooked. They were 7-17, which made it tough on power rankers who err on the side of a team's true talent level instead of year-to-date performance. Their early record suggested the Astros were almost the worst team in baseball, but their roster suggested they were going to start winning a lot more games. Eventually, they started winning a lot more games because they were actually a good team. Sometimes it's just that simple. The 2025 Astros have a similar ranking to the one from 364 days ago, even though they have a much better record than they did back then. So consider this a vote of no-confidence from the same writers from last season. There isn't nearly enough they-should-be-better sentiment for the 2025 Astros to make up for what's been a supremely mediocre start so far. — Brisbee Record: 9-12 Last Power Ranking: 13 Ranking a year ago: 3 At this time last year, the Orioles were 15-7 coming off a 101-win season. Our top-three ranking wasn't so much benefit of the doubt as it was a logical interpretation of the evidence. The Orioles were good and young and flourishing, all signs pointing in the right direction. A year later, we're not so sure. We obviously don't hate this team, but the Orioles haven't been able to sustain much momentum since the middle of last season (they played .500 ball in the second half of last year). The team still has a lot of good young talent — Gunnar Henderson's numbers are going to turn around — but concerns about their pitching seem justified, especially after Baltimore allowed 24 runs on Sunday. Right now, our voters see the Orioles more middle-of-the-pack than anywhere near the top of the sport. — Jennings Record: 11-12 Last Power Ranking: 22 Ranking a year ago: 14 I can't get over that the Cincinnati Reds lost three consecutive 1-0 games this year, and also won Sunday's game by a score of 24-2. If I look through my Optimism Glasses, I can definitely see a playoff team with a better-than-you-think rotation beginning to coalesce under the steady leadership of Terry Francona. If I put on my Pessimism Shades, I can see a team that is so wildly inconsistent that its destiny is to play September spoilers by, I don't know, sweeping the Cubs to knock them out of the playoffs, while finishing with a 76-86 record. (I have somehow managed to upset two fan bases with one hypothetical; sound off here.) Advertisement We hereby award them 19th place and a complimentary one of these cute little guys: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ — Weaver Record: 9-13 Last Power Ranking: 17 Ranking a year ago: 7 When we ranked the Rays seventh a year ago, it was despite a .500 record, an offense that hadn't been very productive and a rotation that was missing three key arms. In short, we were giving the Rays some benefit of the doubt. But not so much today. Their run differential is positive, but we've clearly become skeptical after a down year that saw the Rays rebuild at the trade deadline. An early surprise for the Rays is outfielder Kameron Misner, who made the roster because of one injury, got into the regular lineup because of another, and has been one of their most productive hitters. The Rays seem always to have a surprise up their sleeves, but last week they dropped back-to-back series against the Red Sox and Yankees, which isn't going to help in a tough division. — Jennings Record: 9-14 Last Power Ranking: T-20 Ranking a year ago: 15 It felt weird seeing the Royals this high on the list last year. This year, now that they're a playoff team and all, it feels a little weird to see them this low. The rotation has been about as good as they could expect, ranking near the top in quite a few statistics. Cole Ragans leads the league in strikeouts and Kris Bubic has an ERA under 2.00. That's wild. But the offense has been … stinky. They rank in the bottom three in average, on-base percentage, slugging and quite a lot of other categories. Bobby Witt Jr. is still crushing it, but look at the team leaderboard in OPS (min. 60 PAs): Witt: .847 Maikel Garcia: .770 Vinnie Pasquantino: .593 Jonathan India: .568 Salvador Perez: .529 Yikes. — Weaver Record: 11-10 Last Power Ranking: T-20 Ranking a year ago: 26 A jump of four places doesn't sound like much, and maybe it's not, but it's pretty hard to ignore the vibe shift of the Angels right now. Nolan Schanuel is hitting the ball harder. Zach Neto is off the IL. Kyren Paris has cooled off dramatically (two hits, no walks and 12 strikeouts in his past 23 plate appearances), but he's already done enough to start thinking of him as a long-term contributor at second base. Advertisement It's not Garvey-Lopes-Russell-Cey yet, but having an entire infield in place for years to come seems like a great step toward the next competitive Angels team. It certainly feels a lot closer than it was a year ago. — Brisbee Record: 7-15 Last Power Ranking: 24 Ranking a year ago: 22 Last year, the Twins got off to a bad start, then got off to a bad ending, and now they're off to a bad start again. The in-between was occasionally fine, and even dipped into the realm of 'fun.' There was sausage involved, and Rocco Baldelli acknowledged it with the dutiful exhaustion of a teenage boy's dad when his friends ask about his kid's band. 'Ha ha, yeah … I guess, man. They have two drummers and no singer, but they're having fun and a bunch of kids are coming out to the shows, so what do I know?' Anyway, after the Twins more or less put an end to the Braves' own very bad start by getting swept, a lot fewer kids are coming out to the shows. Attendance is way down since there are apparently other cool things to do in the Twin Cities this time of year. On the upside, Luke Keaschall has been pretty good upon making his big-league debut. So that's … something, at least. — Weaver Record: 9-14 Last Power Ranking: 23 Ranking a year ago: 24 The last time the Cardinals had two consecutive full seasons under .500 was 1958 and 1959. That statement is carefully worded to exclude the strike-shortened season of 1994, but it's still bonkers. Bob Gibson was a rookie on the last Cardinals team to play a second straight full season of losing ball. However, the last time the Cardinals allowed more runs than they scored in a full season — a Pythagorean record under .500 — was in 2023 and 2024. While they've been a little Pythag-unlucky this year, that's still a sign that the days of reliable contending might be over for good this time. The Earth went around the Sun once, and the Cards are still 24th. There's no guarantee they'll rank higher in another year, either. — Brisbee Advertisement Record: 10-12 Last Power Ranking: T-26 Ranking a year ago: 25 The A's have four starting pitchers with an ERA better than the league average, and they have three oft-used relievers with ERAs starting with '0.' It's pretty hard to start with that sort of run prevention and end up with the third-worst adjusted ERA in baseball, but they've done it. If you're wondering 'how?', there are seven pitchers alluded to up there, but there are 13 pitchers on the A's staff. The other six pitchers are doing a lot of work, and it's not the kind of work that makes you whistle while you're doing it. It's a shame, because the A's are hitting the ball well as a team, too, and they could be leading a sleepy AL West. As is, they need their ineffective players to be more effective, which is roughly where they were last year. — Brisbee Record: 9-13 Last Power Ranking: T-26 Ranking a year ago: 25 Our year-over-year rankings suggest the Nationals have been pretty stagnant. And I'll speak for myself here in saying that I want to believe in the Nats. More than most other teams in the bottom third of our power rankings, the Nationals have shown signs of future life. They have three solid starters in their mid-20s, James Wood and CJ Abrams look good, and Keibert Ruiz is off to a nice start at the plate. Get Dylan Crews and Luis Garcia going, and the Nationals could have a solid foundation for the long term. But it's just not leading to many wins in the short term. — Jennings Record: 8-15 Last Power Ranking: 28 Ranking a year ago: 23 Since last year's entry, the Pirates have: • Called up Paul Skenes, who won the NL Rookie of the Year • Uh • I mean • They signed Tommy Pham • He's pretty good, right? • Y'all hear about this Andrew Heaney fella? It's not that there aren't some exciting young players on the team. Oneil Cruz hits the ball with a frankly shocking largesse of unfettered malice in his heart. Bryan Reynolds is an All-Star and the sort of player who could be on a playoff team. Their starting rotation is fun and exciting and hopeful. But the thing about baseball is that the teams who make the playoffs tend to be the ones who have invested in things like … free agents, for example. — Weaver Record: 10-12 Last Power Ranking: 25 Ranking a year ago: 28 Advertisement It didn't take us long to identify the three worst teams in baseball last season. By the end of April, the Marlins, Rockies and White Sox were the last three teams in our rankings, and indeed they finished — in that order — with the three worst records in the league. The Marlins seem to be not as bad this season. Obviously, we're still not sold on them as a playoff team, but they have some decent hitters (and still some awful ones) behind a rotation that now has both Sandy Alcantara and Max Meyer (who'd been recently optioned to Triple A at this time last year). Add in a couple of so-far, so-good relievers and we obviously think the Marlins are better, but maybe not that much better. — Jennings Record: 5-17 Last Power Ranking: 29 Ranking a year ago: 30 Last year, the White Sox had a historically bad year. This year, they are having a slightly less historically bad year. Going 5-17 should in no way feel like an improvement, but last year, they didn't win their fifth game until they were 4-22. This year, they did it when they were a mere 4-16. Baby steps, right? [receives a memo] Ah. I've been given an update here. It says that the baby has now tripped and fallen directly into a kitty litter box, and is rolling around in the litter. Someone taught him some swear words, and he's saying those over and over. He's laughing and crying at the same time. Aaaaand now he's putting some of the litter in his mouth. Great. Who thought it was a good idea to teach this baby how to walk? — Weaver Record: 4-17 Last Power Ranking: 30 Ranking a year ago: 29 Hey, the Rockies are making progress! It's the wrong kind of progress, but still, keep it up, fellas. The only reason they won't be in 31st place next week is because of 'rules' and 'mathematics,' but give them just a little more time. A team with this kind of roster has the potential to break all sorts of norms and expectations. Until then, here's a meme: — Brisbee (Top photo of Elly De La Cruz: Carmen Mandato / Getty Images)
New York Times
18-02-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
MLB offseason grades for all 30 teams, from the Dodgers (A) to the Cardinals (F)
By Chad Jennings, Aaron Gleeman and Tim Britton The semester was about to end, and too many of our students still hadn't finished their homework, much less taken their final exam. Giving them grades took a while. But now that spring training is in full swing — and now that Jack Flaherty, Pete Alonso and Alex Bregman have signed new contracts — it's time to assess each team's offseason. The trade market remains open, and three of the top 40 players who made The Athletic's MLB Free Agent Big Board are still available, but pitchers are throwing and hitters are swinging. Advertisement Baseball's winter has come to an end. It's time to decide which teams aced the assignment, and which are going to have a tough time in summer school. (Jennings graded the AL East, NL East and NL West; Gleeman graded the AL Central and AL West; Britton graded the NL Central. Payroll numbers are according to FanGraphs' RosterResource.) The Diamondbacks already had a solid rotation with Cy Young contender Zac Gallen at the top, but they added to it anyway by signing Corbin Burnes, the best starter on the free-agent market. To replace Christian Walker at first base, they traded for Josh Naylor. To restore right-handed balance, they re-signed Randal Grichuk (and signed notable minor-league deals with Garrett Hampson, Trey Mancini and Cristian Pache). To lengthen their bullpen and replace Paul Sewald, they signed veteran Kendall Graveman. The Dodgers still stand alone in the NL West, but the Diamondbacks might have pushed themselves ahead of every other contender in the division. They have one of the deepest rotations in the game — especially if Jordan Montgomery bounces back — and top prospect Jordan Lawlar could soon join their young core of position players. Under pressure to spend some money, the A's gave Luis Severino the largest contract in team history (three years, $67 million), signed José Leclerc for $10 million, traded for the $22 million remaining on Jeffrey Springs' deal and locked in Brent Rooker to a $60 million extension. The end result is still a $74 million payroll that ranks 29th out of 30 teams, but that's up 17 percent from 2024 and up 25 percent from 2023. Presumably that spending 'spree' will be enough to keep the MLBPA from filing a grievance — and that might be all that matters to owner John Fisher — but Severino wasn't ranked among The Athletic's top 20 free agents and the A's failed to add any meaningful help for a lineup that finished 26th in runs scored last year. And where was this level of spending when the team was still in Oakland? The Braves didn't have a great offseason, but maybe they didn't need one. They added much-needed offense with new left fielder Jurickson Profar — who takes some pressure off Jarred Kelenic — but their other 'key arrivals' were an all-glove utilityman (Nick Allen) and a Rule 5 reliever (Anderson Pilar). Not exactly blockbuster moves. The more meaningful additions should be internal. Spencer Strider, Ronald Acuña Jr., Ozzie Albies, Sean Murphy and Austin Riley each spent significant time on the IL last year. Strider didn't pitch at all, Acuña played just 49 games, Albies played 99 games, Murphy missed two months, and Riley missed the final month and a half. It's hard to win without five horses, and getting those players back at some point — Acuña and Strider likely will need a few weeks — should be more important than anyone the Braves added this offseason. In fact, it might be enough to put the Braves back atop a strong NL East. The Orioles checked almost every offseason box, but the one miss is a big one. They doubled down on mid-rotation starters — Charlie Morton and Japanese standout Tomoyuki Sugano — but did not add an ace to replace Corbin Burnes (though, to be fair, a healthy Grayson Rodriguez could make a difference, and they traded for Zach Eflin last summer). The team did replace its biggest offensive losses with a pair of right-handed power hitters (Tyler O'Neill and Gary Sánchez) and another right-handed platoon hitter (Ramón Laureano) who fit their left-leaning lineup nicely. The Orioles also signed Andrew Kittredge to maintain bullpen depth. Is all that — plus their talented young core — enough to keep pace in the AL East? Another offseason, another Red Sox search for starting pitching. Except this time, the team delivered. First came a blockbuster trade for Garrett Crochet (perhaps the best starter on the trade market), then a one-year deal with Walker Buehler (an upside play at the back of the rotation). Patrick Sandoval, who's recovering from Tommy John surgery, also signed a free-agent deal and could be a factor in the second half. What put the Red Sox offseason over-the-top was the late addition of Alex Bregman. The team's left-leaning lineup needed a right-handed bat. Its infield had uncertainty at second base. A relatively young clubhouse had space for a veteran presence. The Red Sox got all of the above in Bregman, and they spent lavishly to get him, reasserting themselves as an offseason force. There is still some uncertainty in the late innings, but Boston signed Aroldis Chapman and has Liam Hendriks returning from Tommy John surgery. Ultimately, Bregman and Crochet were enough to put the Red Sox back in the playoff hunt. Chicago made its most aggressive move in years by picking up Kyle Tucker from the Astros — probably the second-best player to change teams this winter. Plugging a healthy Tucker into Cody Bellinger's old spot in the lineup is an upgrade that should push the Cubs beyond the 83-win plateau and toward the top of the NL Central. Another trade with Houston for Ryan Pressly helps the back end of the bullpen. An outright A is within reach with maybe one more significant move. The Cubs were in on Alex Bregman late in the winter, and after coming up short there's still some cash on hand to use. A homecoming for Dylan Cease, a veteran bat to add to the lineup mix or a bolstering of the bullpen are on the table, which could lift Chicago into serious contention in the National League as a whole. Chicago's payroll has shrunk by roughly half compared to last season, dropping to 28th in MLB at about $80 million. But this White Sox offseason was never going to be about adding talent to the major-league roster following a record-setting 121 losses in 2024. They accomplished the primary objectives of getting a solid prospect haul from the Red Sox for Garrett Crochet and hiring a new manager in Will Venable. However, they weren't able to cash in Luis Robert Jr. for whatever value he has left, perhaps hoping that a healthy first half will generate a bit more interest at the trade deadline. Everything else is just window dressing for another loss-filled year of non-competitive baseball. White Sox fans probably wish 'sim to next season' was an option in real life. The Reds' biggest addition is at the top step of the dugout in Terry Francona. Long regarded as one of the sport's finest managers, Francona gives Cincinnati a legitimate reason to expect internal improvement from one of the most intriguing collections of young talent in the sport. Starting with the Francona hire, the Reds operated more aggressively this offseason. They brought back Nick Martinez via the qualifying offer before swinging deals with Kansas City (for starter Brady Singer) and San Francisco (for reliever Taylor Rogers). They were close with the White Sox on a trade for Luis Robert Jr., and perhaps that discussion will continue into the season. The position-player group is flexible, and the return of Matt McLain from shoulder surgery provides a much-needed defensive improvement wherever he lines up. If everything clicks here, you don't have to squint too hard to see Cincinnati as a real contender in the NL Central. Cleveland had a busy winter, re-signing the rehabbing Shane Bieber, trading away longtime core regulars Andrés Giménez and Josh Naylor and reuniting with Carlos Santana (again) to replace Naylor. But did the Guardians get better, or merely cheaper, in dropping to 25th in payroll at about $100 million? They're betting on Luis L. Ortiz and Slade Cecconi paying future dividends, and few teams have a superior track record for developing arms. It was creative and smart to take advantage of Toronto's pursuit of Roki Sasaki to shed Myles Straw's contract, but the impact is lessened by reinvesting that savings questionably or not at all. Similar to last offseason's trade for reliever Scott Barlow, spending $7 million on the 34-year-old Paul Sewald, while a reasonable price for a setup man, seems like an odd splurge for a team with a $100 million payroll. Ryan McMahon made his first Opening Day roster in 2018, joining a Rockies team that had All-Stars in the infield, promising young arms in the rotation, and Charlie Blackmon in his prime. That team won 91 games and made the playoffs for the second year in a row. McMahon hasn't won more than 74 games in a season since, and he probably won't win that many this year, either. PECOTA projections expect the Rockies to be the worst team in baseball. Rather than commit to a rebuild (like the Marlins) or begin meaningfully building around a young core (like the Tigers and Diamondbacks), the Rockies continue to make middling additions without future-focused trades. This winter's 'key additions' were a couple of utility infielders and a Triple-A first baseman. The Rockies also re-signed catcher Jacob Stallings. The result almost certainly will be a fourth straight last-place finish. Re-signing Jack Flaherty to a cheaper-than-expected two-year, $35 million contract after trading him for prospects at the deadline is a clear win for the Tigers, who made the playoffs without him last October and will try to return there with him — and Trey Sweeney — now. Landing Gleyber Torres for $15 million adds plenty of upside to a lineup in need of it, and Tommy Kahnle could be an underrated bullpen pickup for $7.75 million. On the other hand, Alex Cobb's one-year, $15 million contract requires a lot of wishful thinking to see more upside than risk given his recent injury history, and months of Alex Bregman speculation didn't lead to a bigger splash. It's possible Detroit will regret not pushing more chips into the middle coming off last season's success, but the Tigers have done some pretty solid work in the meantime. Trading away Kyle Tucker and Ryan Pressly, and losing Alex Bregman, Yusei Kikuchi and Justin Verlander to free agency is an awful lot of big-name/ring-wearing talent departing in one offseason, even if the Astros got a quality, Isaac Paredes-led return from the Cubs for Tucker and added Christian Walker's big bat to fill another lineup hole with a three-year, $60 million free-agent deal. Enough key pieces of the title-winning cores remain to keep winning in 2025, but this is a team in transition, on the field and behind the scenes. After salary dumping Pressly, the payroll is down roughly $25 million from last season, and it's tough not to view the collective offseason moves as knowingly taking a step backward. Houston might be stuck between the present and the future. Last offseason's flurry of moves paid off with a 30-win improvement and a playoff appearance for the first time since the 2015 World Series run, but the Royals dialed things back considerably this winter. Their big splash came in November with the Brady Singer-for-Jonathan India challenge trade, and they later brought back Michael Lorenzen to fill the rotation hole created by sending Singer to Cincinnati. Carlos Estevéz should pair nicely with 2024 trade deadline pickup Lucas Erceg as the new late-inning bullpen duo and Joey Wiemer could emerge as a second valuable piece of the Singer return from the Reds, but it feels like the Royals missed a prime opportunity to add another capable veteran bat (or two) to an outfield that ranked 28th out of 30 teams in collective OPS last season. Clearly, the Angels were motivated to move quickly, trading for Jorge Soler one day after the World Series and signing Yusei Kikuchi, Travis d'Arnaud, Kyle Hendricks and Kevin Newman in November. After a two-month pause, just before the start of camp they brought in 37-year-old Kenley Jansen to presumably be the closer, as well as former White Sox teammates Yoan Moncada and Tim Anderson as bounce-back candidates. Kikuchi's three-year, $63 million deal looks like a bargain relative to the rest of the free-agent pitching market, but the other moves are the usual hodgepodge from a front office that never seems to have a big-picture plan. Short of actually rebuilding, this was a reasonable enough offseason of treading water, and the Angels should have a few more appealing pieces to shop for prospects at the trade deadline if needed. For the second year in a row, the Dodgers won the offseason. They didn't sign this winter's biggest prize (Juan Soto went to the Mets), but they did spend aggressively in free agency, building a rotation that can go seven starters deep — even before Clayton Kershaw's presumptive return — and a bullpen that has five experienced closers. And did we mention they still have Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and reigning MVP Shohei Ohtani? Our 'key additions' list is just scratching the surface of the Dodgers offseason. It says nothing of re-signing Teoscar Hernández, Kiké Hernández and Blake Treinen, and it has no room for new second baseman Hyeseong Kim, new left fielder Michael Conforto and new reliever Kirby Yates. It also fails to mention the contract extension for play-anywhere Tommy Edman, and the expected return to health of Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin. It certainly doesn't mention Ohtani's return to pitching. It seems fair to question Betts' viability as a shortstop, but the Dodgers have amassed such depth — especially on the pitching staff — that it might not matter where Betts plays. Well, at least they hired a manager. The Marlins are in full rebuild mode, and they get a passing grade for committing to the plan, even if it's an unsatisfying one. They traded away last year's Opening Day starter (Jesús Luzardo) and one of their best hitters (Jake Burger). Now, only two players from last year's Opening Day lineup are still with the team (Jesús Sánchez, Nick Fortes). Sandy Alcantara is going to return from a year lost to injury, look around the clubhouse, and have no idea who these people are. Aside from hiring Clayton McCullough as their manager, the Marlins' biggest major-league addition was bounce-back candidate Cal Quantrill. Otherwise, they added a Rule 5 catcher who's never played above Double A (Liam Hicks), a 27-year-old third baseman who was DFA'd by the last-place Angels (Eric Wagaman), and traded for a faded prospect who might be able to help out at first base (Matt Mervis). The Brewers deserve some benefit of the doubt: Last winter, they dealt their perennial Cy Young contender and rolled wire-to-wire in the NL Central anyway. They have a mode of operation, and they stick to it — as evidenced by this winter's trade of Devin Williams to the Yankees. However, one would think the team is by now exhausted by first-round postseason exits. Since advancing to the NLCS in 2018, Milwaukee has qualified for but failed to advance in the playoffs five times. Its hopes of ending that stretch will rely on internal improvement; pitchers Tyler Alexander and Grant Wolfram are the only major-league free agents the club signed. Even with the loss of Willy Adames, the Brewers still boast an enviable core of position players, headlined by William Contreras, Jackson Chourio and Christian Yelich. The rotation could be buoyed by a healthy return from Brandon Woodruff, who missed 2024 after undergoing shoulder surgery. Milwaukee should once again contend in the Central; its ceiling beyond that, though, appears limited. After three months of browsing in the bargain bin because of the outgoing ownership's payroll constraints, the Twins signed Harrison Bader, Danny Coulombe and Ty France to one-year deals totaling $10.25 million just before camp opened. They're all useful depth pieces, but the Twins made no other additions to the major-league roster and opted against bringing in a higher-upside replacement for Santana at first base. No one in Minnesota is shocked by the offseason inactivity, and criticism should be directed more at ownership than a front office with very little spending room, but it would be hard to argue the Twins have made a meaningful effort to improve last season's fourth-place roster that collapsed down the stretch. Bader at $6.25 million is the Twins' most expensive pickup, via signing or trade, in the past 25 months. The Mets landed the biggest free agent on the market, and Juan Soto alone would have made this offseason a success. But they capped their winter by re-signing Pete Alonso, giving the team — with Francisco Lindor — one of the best top-of-the-lineup trios in baseball. If there was a potential weakness to the Mets' offense it was on the pitching side where the team re-signed Sean Manaea (banking on him maintaining his strong second-half performance) and added Clay Holmes (believing he can transform into a starter). Both could be strong moves, but they come with risks. Jose Siri (center field), Jesse Winker (left-handed hitter), Frankie Montas (rotation), A.J. Minter (bullpen) and Ryne Stanek (bullpen) were other offseason moves that plugged important holes for a team with World Series ambition. No. 1 on the to-do list was re-signing Juan Soto. When that didn't work, the Yankees pivoted to significantly upgrading their rotation (Max Fried), making a couple of splashes on the trade market (Cody Bellinger, Devin Williams), signing Paul Goldschmidt to address a glaring weakness at first base, and rounding out their bullpen with Fernando Cruz and Tim Hill. There is no replacing Soto, and the Yankees' roster still has flaws — they're going to have to hope for the best with either Oswaldo Cabrera or DJ LeMahieu at third base — but Fried and Gerrit Cole are a formidable duo atop the rotation, and they'll have a full season of 2024 trade addition Jazz Chisholm Jr.. Add the potential of rookie outfielder Jasson Domínguez, and the Yankees did enough to remain World Series contenders. The Phillies did not have massive holes to fill, and their biggest move was to strengthen a rotation that was already awfully good. Their trade for Jesús Luzardo raises the ceiling of their back-end starters, lengthening the rotation even before top prospect Andrew Painter is called up to the majors. The Phillies also completed their outfield with Max Kepler and got a new closer in Jordan Romano, but they've had the same core of players for a few years now, and they'll continue to lean on that group. Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto will be eligible for free agency after this season, but there's otherwise still time for this group to make at least a couple of more runs at a championship. The Phillies have been to the playoffs three seasons in a row, but they've been eliminated earlier and earlier each year. In Paul Skenes and Jared Jones, the Pirates have two ace-caliber starters in pre-arbitration — the team-building equivalent of having a very good quarterback on a rookie deal in the NFL. And yet, they remain reluctant to push more than a couple of chips into the center of the table. Despite an offense that ranked 13th in the NL in runs and last in position player wins above replacement last season, Pittsburgh made only small moves to bolster its lineup. It doesn't help that the biggest addition, first baseman Spencer Horwitz, is already on the shelf following wrist surgery. (While Horwitz is only slated to miss some time in April, many an offensive season has been undone by wrist issues.) That leaves the Pirates banking on further improvements by Joey Bart and Nick Gonzales and the return of prospect Endy Rodríguez. Until recently, the Padres' 'key additions' were a handful of minor-league deals, a Rule 5 pick, and re-signing catcher Elias Díaz. The Padres then signed a left-field platoon of Jason Heyward and Connor Joe, added a potential DH in Gavin Sheets (on a minor-league deal), and most recently added to their rotation with Nick Pivetta (who was the best free-agent starter still available) and Kyle Hart (who thrived last year in Korea). But the lavish free-agent spending of recent offseasons is long gone, and the Padres might have more cost-cutting up their sleeves. Last spring, they made a mid-March deal to acquire starter Dylan Cease. This spring, they could trade Cease away. The Padres reportedly have also considered trading closer Robert Suarez as they try to limit spending while addressing a lack of depth — and, in some cases, a lack of proven everyday options — at multiple positions. Middle infield was the Giants' most glaring need, and they addressed it in a big way by signing Willy Adames to a seven-year deal. Their other needs, however, were met with far less significant solutions. Verlander is a future Hall of Famer, but he'll play this season at 42 and had a 5.48 ERA in 17 starts last year. He's a notable replacement for Snell, but a risky one. And while we list three 'key additions' for each team, the Giants didn't really have a third beyond Adames and Verlander (Joey Lucchesi and Lou Trivino signed minor-league deals). More significant boosts might come from having Tyler Fitzgerald for a full season at second base and getting Jung Hoo Lee back from a shoulder injury in center field. Is that enough to compete in the NL West? Statistical projections are not optimistic. So much for Jerry Dipoto's transaction addiction. Seattle basically did nothing all offseason, with the biggest move being re-signing Jorge Polanco for $7.75 million and the biggest addition being Donovan Solano for $3.5 million. For a built-to-win team that faded from last season's playoff picture by going 33-31 in the second half, it's hard to make sense of the Mariners' inactivity and overall plan. Doing nothing of note to help a lineup that ranked 21st in runs last season is particularly confusing. Seattle is an extremely difficult place to hit, so the ugly raw numbers can paint a somewhat misleading picture, but Solano is a 37-year-old first baseman who hasn't slugged above .425 since 2020 and Polanco needed a late push just to get his OPS above .650 last year. What a strangely passive offseason. The Cardinals commenced the offseason with a frank evaluation of the organization's recent failures, outlining a multiyear plan to emphasize player development while turning over the front office. At the time, the presumption across the sport was that St. Louis would look to move on from several veteran pieces, even those under longer team control. Instead, the Cardinals reported to camp with Nolan Arenado still the third baseman, Ryan Helsley still the closer and the rotation still stocked with Sonny Gray, Miles Mikolas and Steven Matz. St. Louis has been candid about its ongoing efforts to move Arenado, who nixed a deal to Houston back in December. The good news is that retaining those players means the 2025 Cardinals should be better than what we all expected. The bad news is that probably isn't good enough to contend in the NL Central — given their record last season and the lack of a single major-league acquisition this winter — and brings them no closer to improving the talent pipeline beyond this summer. In this case, the list of 'key departures' is a bit misleading. The Rays ripped their roster apart at last year's trade deadline — dealing Randy Arozarena, Isaac Paredes and Zach Eflin among others — and the Jeffrey Springs and Jose Siri trades of this offseason were simply a continuation. The Rays did add two important free agents, first to address their most glaring need at catcher (Danny Jansen) and to add offense at a point of weakness (Ha-Seong Kim). Their biggest addition, though, could be ace Shane McClanahan returning from elbow surgery. The team should also have 21-year-old Junior Caminero on the Opening Day roster for the first time, plus fuller and healthier seasons from Shane Baz and Drew Rasmussen. Young defensive standout Jonny DeLuca is getting a chance in center field. After a down year, the Rays could have enough pitching to be back in the wild-card picture. While technically not an addition, re-signing starter Nathan Eovaldi for $75 million over three years was the Rangers' biggest offseason move. They also beefed up the lineup with Jake Burger and Joc Pederson, brought in Kyle Higashioka to pair with Jonah Heim at catcher and added lots of veteran bullpen depth in Chris Martin, Shawn Armstrong, Jacob Webb, Robert Garcia and Hoby Milner. But the Rangers also shed a lot of talent, including trading Lowe's bat to get Garcia and losing free agents Kirby Yates, Max Scherzer, David Robertson, Andrew Heaney, Andrew Chafin and José Leclerc from a pitching staff that was 20th in ERA last year. After making huge splashes in recent offseasons, this winter was more about maintaining enough depth to resume contending if their big names come through with big years. The Blue Jays addressed their biggest needs — a big bat, a mid-rotation starter and a late-inning reliever — but did so in less-than-thrilling fashion. They tried to get Juan Soto but settled for Anthony Santander. They were linked to Pete Alonso but didn't get him. They improved their infield, but with glove-first Andrés Giménez. They got a late-inning arm, but only after Jeff Hoffman's medicals spooked other teams. They were finalists for young phenom Roki Sasaki, but instead signed 40-year-old Max Scherzer. There still is no extension in place for either Vladimir Guerrero Jr. or Bo Bichette, each of whom is nine months from free agency. A simple checklist would suggest the Blue Jays did everything they needed to do. But did they actually do enough to turn a 74-win team into a World Series contender? The Nationals are young and interesting but clearly decided this was not the winter to make bold additions. Signing Josh Bell and trading for Nathaniel Lowe gave them a couple of guys who can hit homers — no Nats player had more than 20 last year —and versatile infielders Amed Rosario and Paul DeJong added some right-handed balance. Re-signing Trevor Williams and adding Michael Soroka, Jorge López, Shinnosuke Ogasawara and Colin Poche supplemented the thin pitching staff (though they still lack a closer and a true ace). It was an active winter in the second and third tiers of free agency, and if young outfielders Dylan Crews and James Wood can live up to expectations in their first full seasons, then the Nationals could be onto something. They might not be ready to truly compete in the loaded NL East, but aren't necessarily pushovers. GO DEEPER 2024-25 MLB Top 40 Free Agent Big Board: Pete Alonso returns to Mets, Alex Bregman goes to Red Sox GO DEEPER Which MLB front offices, managers and teams are under the most pressure? Insiders weigh in GO DEEPER MLB insiders predict the players most likely to get traded in spring training (Photo of Blake Snell: Ross D. Franklin / Associated Press)
