1 Sentence to Describe Every MLB Team Entering Spring Training 2023
With pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training this week and position players joining them in Arizona/Florida early next week, there's no time like the present to get caught up to speed on all the offseason comings and goings with one-sentence synopses on the current state of every team.
Each of these is, admittedly, quite the run-on sentence, clocking in at around 50 words per team. But we're trying to keep it short and sweet while touching on the outlook for all 30 franchises in 2023.
Though hope springs eternal this time of year, we promise not to sugarcoat situations that don't deserve it. Several teams are clearly headed for rebuilding seasons, and those spades will be called spades.
Teams are broken up by division and listed in alphabetical order within each division, starting in the AL East and finishing in the NL West.
American League East
1 of 6
Baltimore Orioles: Despite GM Mike Elias explicitly saying in August, "Our plan for this offseason has always been to significantly escalate the payroll," the Orioles did basically nothing to build upon their surprising 83-win season and still have the lowest payroll in baseball among teams not named the A's.
Boston Red Sox: Though they did sign Rafael Devers to a 10-year, $313.5 million extension, the middle-infield situation—with Xander Bogaerts gone to San Diego and Trevor Story (UCL) possibly out for the entire season—could be an outright disaster, while the starting rotation is extremely dependent upon Chris Sale and James Paxton staying healthy for a change.
New York Yankees: Didn't do anything to improve a lineup that often felt like "Aaron Judge or Bust" over the second half of last season, but they did lock up Judge on a nine-year, $360 million deal and added Carlos Rodón to what may now be the best starting rotation in the majors—even with Frankie Montas possibly out for the season.
Tampa Bay Rays: Barring injury, gone are the days of Tampa Bay using openers on a regular basis, as the Rays added free agent Zach Eflin to what was already a strong rotation of Shane McClanahan, Tyler Glasnow, Jeffrey Springs and Drew Rasmussen—though we shall see if that quintet is enough to make up for a lineup that ranked 25th in slugging before losing Ji-Man Choi, Kevin Kiermaier, David Peralta and Mike Zunino this offseason.
Toronto Blue Jays: Did some wheeling and dealing to shed a bit of salary—trading away Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Teoscar Hernández—but legitimately could/should improve upon a 92-win 2022 campaign after upgrading from Ross Stripling to Chris Bassitt in the starting rotation and signing a few intriguing veterans (Kevin Kiermaier, Brandon Belt and Chad Green).
American League Central
2 of 6
Chicago White Sox: Lost José Abreu, Johnny Cueto and others after a woefully disappointing 81-81 season, but added starter Mike Clevinger (maybe?) and outfielder Andrew Benintendi to what really should be a postseason-bound roster, provided it can stay healthier than last year's constantly banged up mess.
Cleveland Guardians: Save for the two-year, $33 million addition of Josh Bell at first base, Cleveland is running it back again with almost the exact same roster that won 92 games and the AL Central last year—a legitimate World Series contender, even with a payroll that is a fraction of what the Mets, Yankees and others are trying to pay for a ring.
Detroit Tigers: In what will be the final year of paying future Hall of Famer Miguel Cabrera a boatload of money for below-replacement-level production, 2023 should be a season for figuring out who the Tigers can rely upon in 2024 and beyond, as well as finding out whether Javier Báez and/or Eduardo Rodriguez—each of whom has a player option next offseason—will be part of the plan/payroll through at least 2026.
Kansas City Royals: Pretty clearly not planning to contend this season after trading away Michael A. Taylor and Adalberto Mondesi and making a pair of trades in which all they received was cash considerations, though the Royals did sign both Aroldis Chapman and Zack Greinke to one-year deals for some reason.
Minnesota Twins: After a very busy offseason—traded for Pablo López, Michael A. Taylor, Kyle Farmer and others; signed Christian Vázquez, Joey Gallo and eventually ended up bringing back Carlos Correa—the Twins are as all-in on winning right now as they have been in at least a decade.
American League West
3 of 6
Houston Astros: Despite losing Justin Verlander to the Mets and not adding anyone via free agency or trade aside from 1B/DH José Abreu, it's business as usual for the reigning champions, who will be one of the top threats—arguably the singular top threat—to win the World Series once again.
Los Angeles Angels: While the entire baseball world waits to find out where (and for how damn much) Shohei Ohtani signs as a free agent next offseason, the Angels added Hunter Renfroe, Gio Urshela, Tyler Anderson, Brandon Drury and Carlos Estévez in hopes of finally making the playoffs in what will probably be the final season with the Big Three of Ohtani, Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon.
Oakland Athletics: The 1962 New York Mets' post-1900 MLB record for losses in a single season (120) might be in some jeopardy after the A's traded away their two most valuable players from last season (Sean Murphy and Cole Irvin), neither of whom were scheduled to hit free agency until at least after the 2026 season.
Seattle Mariners: Traded for Kolten Wong and Teoscar Hernández and signed both A.J. Pollock and Tommy La Stella, hoping to shore up some holes and add some veteran leadership to what already was a solid, postseason-reaching-for-the-first-time-in-two-decades lineup that returns four players (Eugenio Suárez, Julio Rodríguez, Cal Raleigh and Ty France) who hit at least 20 HR in 2022.
Texas Rangers: Though they didn't do anything to improve/change a lineup that ranked fifth in the AL in scoring last year, the Rangers are a real postseason threat after drastically improving what was the 26th-most valuable (or 5th-least valuable) starting rotation in the majors, by signing Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi and Andrew Heaney and trading for Jake Odorizzi.
National League East
4 of 6
Atlanta Braves: Didn't make a single splash in free agency while losing Dansby Swanson, Kenley Jansen and others, but did make nine offseason trades—most notably getting Sean Murphy from Oakland and Joe Jiménez from Detroit—to bolster what is more or less (aside from Swanson) the same team that won 101 games and the NL East in 2022.
Miami Marlins: After trading for Luis Arraez and Matt Barnes and signing both Jean Segura and Johnny Cueto, the Marlins could be a sneaky-good afterthought in a division where Atlanta, New York and Philadelphia are each out-spending them to an absurd degree. If nothing else, the "Jazz Chisholm Jr. to the outfield" transition will be fun to watch.
New York Mets: Despite losing then winning then losing the Carlos Correa sweepstakes, the Mets have put together the most expensive payroll in MLB history, putting some serious "win the World Series or it's a bust of a season" pressure on the old, $43.3 million-per-year shoulders of Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander.
Philadelphia Phillies: Made the World Series for the first time since 2009 and has every intention of getting back there again this year after spending big for Trea Turner and Taijuan Walker while adding Craig Kimbrel, Matt Strahm and Gregory Soto in what has become an annual "revamp the bullpen" quest for this franchise.
Washington Nationals: With the franchise up for sale and stuck in no-man's land with two pricy starting pitchers (Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin) who provided no ROI last year, the Nationals will be spending the entire 2023 season trying to figure out when in the next half-decade it makes financial/roster sense to chase another title.
National League Central
5 of 6
Chicago Cubs: Swung big to bring in Dansby Swanson and Jameson Taillon and grabbed a bunch of "maybe they'll bounce back from terrible seasons" guys in Cody Bellinger, Trey Mancini, Eric Hosmer and Tucker Barnhart in creating the ultimate wild card team that could either win 95 games or lose 95 games.
Cincinnati Reds: In season No. 2 of a full-blown X-year rebuild, Joey Votto currently makes up more than 35 percent of Cincinnati's payroll in advance of what should at least be an entertaining campaign of figuring out whether young guys like Spencer Steer, Jose Barrero, Nick Lodolo and, eventually, top prospect Elly De La Cruz are building blocks for the future.
Milwaukee Brewers: Made a handful of trades in turning Hunter Renfroe, Kolten Wong and prospects into William Contreras, Jesse Winker, Owen Miller and Abraham Toro, but the net result is virtually no change in expectations for a team that should again vie for an NL Central crown—if the outfield duo of Garrett Mitchell and Tyrone Taylor is at least serviceable.
Pittsburgh Pirates: While they didn't have an individual "wow" signing or trade, and while the "Bryan Reynolds trade watch" remains a months-long saga that may persist for the first four months of the season, the Pirates made a ton of under-the-radar moves to get to a point where they realistically could contend in the NL Central.
St. Louis Cardinals: The reigning division champs—and clear preseason favorite to repeat—signed former Cub Willson Contreras and may add top prospect Jordan Walker to an Opening Day roster that should pack even more of a slugging punch than it did in 2022, despite bidding farewell to Albert Pujols and his 703 career home runs.
National League West
6 of 6
Arizona Diamondbacks: Turned their catcher/outfielder unicorn (Daulton Varsho) into both a starting catcher (Gabriel Moreno) and a starting outfielder (Lourdes Gurriel Jr.) via trade and will hopefully be getting Nick Ahmed back to full strength after the shortstop appeared in just 17 games last year, making the Diamondbacks an intriguing pick to post a winning record—especially if rookie pitcher Drey Jameson is the real deal.
Colorado Rockies: Colorado hasn't had a winning season since 2018, and after adding pretty much nothing—aside from the increased salary for Kris Bryant, German Marquez, Kyle Freeland, Daniel Bard and Ryan McMahon—to a roster that finished 43 games out of first place last season, it's unlikely that drought will be ending in 2023.
Los Angeles Dodgers: The Dodgers lost way more talent to free agency than they added this offseason, but don't hold your breath for some drastic fall from grace for what is still a loaded roster—that just so happens to now be in a much better position to hand Shohei Ohtani a blank check next offseason.
San Diego Padres: Who knows where they're finding all this money, but after signing Xander Bogaerts, extending Yu Darvish and re-signing Robert Suarez, the Padres have emerged as one of the top candidates to win it all with 10 guys making at least $10 million in 2023—which doesn't even include suspended-until-late-April $340 million man Fernando Tatis Jr., whose contract doesn't really start to spike until 2025.
San Francisco Giants: They don't have anywhere near the star power of the Dodgers or Padres after whiffing on Aaron Judge and deciding not to finalize that mega deal with Carlos Correa, but the Giants should be a factor in the NL West with a solid six-man rotation and a formidable four-man outfield.
