Biggest Winners and Losers of the MLB Offseason's 1st Month
As the first month of the 2014-15 MLB offseason comes to a close, we put what was one of the busiest Novembers in recent memory in the rearview.
A pair of nine-figure extensions, two blockbuster trades and a number of significant free-agent signings have all come down prior to the winter meetings, the time when the offseason generally kicks into full swing.
So as we reflect on a busy first month, here is a quick look at some of the biggest winners and losers of the offseason so far.
Loser: Pittsburgh Pirates
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After 20 straight losing seasons, the Pittsburgh Pirates finally broke through and reached the postseason in 2013, and they followed that up with another playoff appearance this past season.
They have a wealth of young offensive and pitching talent, but they were hit hard by free agency this offseason, with Russell Martin, Francisco Liriano and Edinson Volquez all hitting the open market.
Martin already found a new home in Toronto, while Liriano and Volquez are both expected to ink multiyear deals elsewhere after resurrecting their careers in Pittsburgh.
The team made a push to re-sign Martin, but it could not compete with the Blue Jays and Chicago Cubs and their big-money offers.
Losing him leaves the team with Francisco Cervelli, Chris Stewart and Tony Sanchez making up the team's catching options, and that loss could be felt beyond his contributions at the plate to the pitching staff as a whole.
Losing Liriano and Volquez means that Gerrit Cole will be counted on to step into the role of staff ace, while returning veteran A.J. Burnett will need to bounce back from a rough one-year stint in Philadelphia. Both Jeff Locke and Vance Worley will need to be solid once again.
There is still enough talent on the roster for this team to contend, but failing to re-sign Martin was a blow, and the pitching staff is now a question mark.
Winner: Arizona Diamondbacks
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This offseason is the first with Tony La Russa and Dave Stewart at the helm for the Arizona Diamondbacks, and they have already begun retooling the roster.
They pulled off a trade for Rays right-hander Jeremy Hellickson early on this offseason, shipping a pair of prospects to Tampa Bay for the former American League Rookie of the Year winner.
The 27-year-old is 13-15 with a 5.00 ERA over the past two seasons, but his 4.20 FIP suggests he has thrown the ball better than his numbers indicate. He represents a nice buy-low option for a Diamondbacks team that appears to be using the volume approach to putting together a five-man rotation.
However, the big splash came this past week when the Diamondbacks emerged from a deep field of interested teams to sign Cuban slugger Yasmany Tomas to a six-year, $68.5 million deal.
Most estimates had the 24-year-old pegged for a deal north of $100 million, so the Diamondbacks may have walked away with the steal of the offseason if he can turn his vast power potential into production at the MLB level.
It also gives the team some intriguing trade chips, as someone from the group of Mark Trumbo, A.J. Pollock, David Peralta, Ender Inciarte and Cody Ross figures to be moved.
Loser: Hyeon-Jong Yang
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Viewed by some as the top pitcher currently in the Korean Baseball Organization, left-hander Hyeon-jong Yang was posted by the Kia Tigers on Nov. 17.
With players from the KBO still subject to the blind-bid posting system, the winning bid for the southpaw wound up being somewhere in the neighborhood of $1.5 million, according to C.J. Nitkowski of Fox Sports.
Yang won the Choi Dong-won Award this past season, the Korean equivalent of the Cy Young. He was 16-8 with a 4.25 ERA and 1.400 WHIP in 28 starts, with that ERA sitting roughly a half-run lower than the league average in the hitter friendly KBO.
Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News described the type of pitcher Yang profiled as at the big league level: "Yang projects as a No. 3 starter in the big leagues, though according to a scout that has seen him throw, he could develop into a No. 2. With a fastball that sits between 92-95 mph, Yang throws four pitches—fastball, curveball, slider and changeup—using his slider as his out pitch."
Considering that type of potential, the Tigers were understandably looking for more than $1.5 million with the posting fee, and they ended up rejecting the bid.
That means the 26-year-old is stuck in the KBO for at least another season, where he is almost certain to earn less than he would have received had he been allowed to make the jump to MLB.
Winner: Russell Martin
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The best free-agent catcher on the market by a landslide, Russell Martin was immediately one of the most coveted players as soon as free agency kicked off.
After producing a 9.9 WAR over the course of his two-year, $17 million deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Martin was given a qualifying offer to begin the offseason, but that did not stop the Toronto Blue Jays and Chicago Cubs from both pursuing the 31-year-old aggressively.
In the end, the Blue Jays won out with a five-year, $82 million deal, with that $16.4 million annual salary representing the fourth-highest total ever for a catcher, according to Cot's Baseball Contracts.
"I've never been as comfortable with a signing as I've been with this one, just because of everything he brings," GM Alex Anthopoulos told reporters. "This was more work than I've ever done. A lot of miles in the car, flights, a lot of time on the phone, a lot of days away from home sitting in the office. Definitely the hardest I've ever worked on pursuing a free agent."
It's hard to sum up just how much he has meant to the Pirates over the past two seasons, but the Canadian-born backstop was rewarded handsomely in the early stages of free agency.
Loser: San Francisco Giants
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The San Francisco Giants have made it a point to retain their own talent in free agency on their way to three World Series titles in five years.
Hunter Pence, Buster Posey, Marco Scutaro, Aubrey Huff, Angel Pagan, Madison Bumgarner, Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum, Javier Lopez and Jeremy Affeldt all signed extensions to remain with the team.
However, that philosophy was put to the test this offseason with the free agency of third baseman Pablo Sandoval, and when the dust settled, he wound up landing with the Boston Red Sox.
According to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, the Giants offered up the same five-year, $95 million deal that Sandoval signed with the Red Sox, so they made every effort to bring back the star third baseman.
In the long term, it may be for the best that the Giants didn't retain him, as he is a prime candidate to slide into the designated hitter role midway through that five-year deal.
That being said, it does leave the Giants with a glaring hole at third base and in the middle of the order, which is where Sandoval came through with one big hit after another in the postseason.
Winner: Chicago White Sox
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Despite a 73-89 finish to the 2014 season, the Chicago White Sox appear to be on the rise, and they have only gotten better this offseason.
Their biggest areas of need were bolstering the bullpen and adding a second power bat to pair with Jose Abreu in the middle of the lineup, and they have already made a pair of signings to address those issues.
Adam LaRoche was signed to a two-year, $25 million deal after posting an .817 OPS with 26 home runs and 92 RBI for the Washington Nationals last season. He replaces Adam Dunn at the DH spot and should provide an immediate boost in production.
Their other big addition was left-hander Zach Duke on a three-year, $15 million deal. That came on the heels of a fantastic season in Milwaukee, where he posted a 2.45 ERA, 1.125 WHIP and 11.4 strikeouts per nine innings over 74 appearances.
Add to that rumors of the team making a serious run to acquire right-hander Jeff Samardzija from the Oakland A's, according to Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times, and it is clear that it is serious about taking that next step toward contention.
The White Sox have filled their biggest holes without breaking the bank and appear ready to make a splash if the opportunity presents itself. There's not much more you can ask for from a team in the early stages of the offseason.
Loser: Oakland Athletics
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Things may look better for the Oakland Athletics once Billy Beane's entire offseason plan comes to fruition, but at this point, it's hard to call them anything but offseason losers.
Their first big move came when they gave longtime Kansas City Royals designated hitter Billy Butler a three-year, $30 million deal.
Not only was a third year risky for a player whose production was way down this past season, but signing a DH-only player limits the versatility of a roster that has gotten the most out of all 25 players over the past few seasons thanks in part to a flexible DH situation.
This past weekend, they shipped star third baseman Josh Donaldson to the Toronto Blue Jays for Brett Lawrie and a trio of prospects.
The 24-year-old Lawrie still has all the potential in the world, but he has struggled to stay healthy, and it's hard to see him outproducing Donaldson in the immediate future.
Pitching prospects Kendall Graveman (27 GS, 14-6, 1.83 ERA in minors in 2014) and Sean Nolin (20 GS, 4-7, 3.43 ERA) could both contend for rotation spots, and 18-year-old shortstop Franklin Barreto (.311/.398/.481, 33 XBH, 29 SB) has as high of a ceiling as any shortstop prospect in the game, but is that enough to move Donaldson?
It's hard to justify moving one of the best all-around players in the game, one who is still a bargain at a projected $4.5 million in arbitration this coming season, without landing an elite-level prospect.
Pitchers Aaron Sanchez and Daniel Norris are the Blue Jays' top two prospects, and without one of those players being included, it's hard to call Oakland a winner.
Again, there is a good chance the A's are not finished dealing, and it remains to be seen how things will stand once the entire offseason shakes out, but they look like losers at this point.
Winner: Giancarlo Stanton
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When you sign the largest contract in pro sports history, a massive 13-year, $325 million deal, it's hard to be considered anything but one of the biggest winners of the offseason.
That's exactly what 25-year-old Giancarlo Stanton did.
"It's an exciting day for Miami, my fans, our fans," Stanton said at the press conference to announce the deal. "This is not a lottery ticket. This is the start of work and a new job. It's a huge responsibility, and one I'm willing to take."
The deal represents a big step forward for the Marlins as a franchise, as they were perhaps best known for the fire sales that immediately followed their 1997 and 2003 World Series titles but now appear committed to finding sustainable success.
The backloaded deal will only pay Stanton $30 million over the next three seasons, leaving the team with plenty of financial flexibility to build a contender around its superstar.
It also gives Stanton an opportunity to opt out six years into the deal as a 30-year-old, though he would be leaving $218 million on the table if he did that.
All stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference, unless otherwise noted.
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