Creating MLB's Division-by-Division Superteams for the 2023 Season
With the 2023 season now in full swing, we set out to create division-by-division MLB superteams.
Let's set the stage with some parameters:
- Roster Construction: We selected a 26-man roster for each team, consisting of 13 position players and 13 pitchers who all reside within the same division.
- Payroll Limitations: To spice things up a bit, we instituted a payroll cap of $150 million for each team based on 2023 salaries (via Spotrac), which is roughly in line with the league-average team salary of $148.7 million. For pre-arbitration players whose salaries aren't public, we assigned the league-minimum salary of $720,000.
- Notes: Below each division's roster are a few notes explaining the logic behind certain picks, notable omissions and other useful tidbits.
The full roster and payroll breakdown for each superteam can be found here.
Let's get started.
American League East
1 of 6
Starting Lineup: 1. CF Cedric Mullins (BAL) 2. SS Bo Bichette (TOR), 3. RF Aaron Judge (NYY), 4. DH Rafael Devers (BOS), 5. 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (TOR), 6. C Adley Rutschman (BAL), 7. LF Randy Arozarena (TB), 8. 3B Matt Chapman (TOR), 9. 2B Gleyber Torres (NYY)
Bench: C Alejandro Kirk (TOR), 1B/3B Yandy Díaz (TB), SS Wander Franco (TB), OF/C Daulton Varsho (TOR)
Starting Rotation: 1. LHP Shane McClanahan (TB), 2. RHP Alek Manoah (TOR), 3. LHP Nestor Cortes (NYY), 4. RHP Drew Rasmussen (TB), 5. LHP Jeffrey Springs (TB)
Bullpen: RHP Michael King (NYY), RHP John Schreiber (BOS), LHP Cionel Pérez (BAL), RHP Pete Fairbanks (TB), RHP Jason Adam (TB), RHP Félix Bautista (BAL), RHP Clay Holmes (NYY), RHP Jordan Romano (TOR)
Total 2023 Salary: $147.8 million
Toughest decision: The first big decision to be made on the AL East roster was whether Aaron Judge ($40 million) and Gerrit Cole ($36 million) could both fit within the financial limitations since their combined salaries would account for more than 50 percent of the available money.
In the end, there were more quality starting pitchers than impact outfielders, so Judge made the cut and Cole did not.
Notable Salary Snubs: Aside from Cole, the Blue Jays' trio of George Springer ($24.2 million), Kevin Gausman ($21 million) and Chris Bassitt ($19 million) all had a strong case for a spot on this roster if there was no cap, but their salaries kept them off.
American League Central
2 of 6
Starting Lineup: 1. LF Steven Kwan (CLE), 2. DH Tim Anderson (CWS), 3. 3B José Ramírez (CLE), 4. SS Carlos Correa (MIN), 5. CF Byron Buxton (MIN), 6. LF Luis Robert Jr. (CWS), 7. 1B Vinnie Pasquantino (KC), 8. 2B Andrés Giménez (CLE), 9. C Christian Vázquez (MIN)
Bench: C/OF MJ Melendez (KC), 1B Andrew Vaughn (CWS), SS/3B Bobby Witt Jr. (KC), OF Andrew Benintendi (CWS)
Starting Rotation: 1. RHP Dylan Cease (CWS), 2. RHP Shane Bieber (CLE), 3. RHP Triston McKenzie (CLE), 4. RHP Brady Singer (KC), 5. RHP Pablo López (MIN)
Bullpen: RHP Joe Ryan (MIN), RHP Trevor Stephan (CLE), RHP Alex Lange (DET), RHP Scott Barlow (KC), RHP Jorge López (MIN), RHP James Karinchak (CLE), RHP Jhoan Duran (MIN), RHP Emmanuel Clase (CLE)
Total 2023 Salary: $148.9 million
Toughest Decision: Excluding Carlos Correa ($33.3 million) in favor of Bobby Witt Jr. ($720,000) as the starter at shortstop would have freed up a ton of extra money to work with, but it also would have robbed the lineup of one of its top bats and weakened the infield defense.
Notable Salary Snubs: Veteran Salvador Perez ($20 million) would have been the starting catcher on merit, and swapping him out for Christian Vázquez ($10 million) was the final shuffle to get this roster under the payroll cap. Young outfielder Eloy Jiménez ($10.3 million) was also a cap casualty.
American League West
3 of 6
Starting Lineup: 1. LF Julio Rodríguez (SEA), 2. RF Kyle Tucker (HOU), 3. CF Mike Trout (LAA), 4. DH Yordan Alvarez (HOU), 5. 3B Ty France (SEA), 6. 1B Nathaniel Lowe (TEX), 7. SS Jeremy Peña (HOU), 8. C Cal Raleigh (SEA), 9. 2B Kolten Wong (SEA)
Bench: C Jonah Heim (TEX), 1B/OF Seth Brown (OAK), IF Luis Rengifo (LAA), OF Adolis García (TEX)
Starting Rotation: 1. RHP Shohei Ohtani (LAA), 2. LHP Framber Valdez (HOU), 3. RHP Cristian Javier (HOU), 4. LHP Patrick Sandoval (LAA), 5. RHP George Kirby (SEA)
Bullpen: RHP Hunter Brown (HOU), RHP Matt Brash (SEA), LHP Brock Burke (TEX), RHP Jimmy Herget (LAA), RHP Bryan Abreu (HOU), RHP Paul Sewald (SEA), RHP Andrés Muñoz (SEA), RHP Ryan Pressly (HOU)
Total 2023 Salary: $145.2 million
Toughest Decision: Fitting Mike Trout ($37.1 million) and Shohei Ohtani ($30 million) both on the roster meant weakening the infield by leaving Corey Seager ($35.5 million), Alex Bregman ($30.5 million), Jose Altuve ($29 million) and Marcus Semien ($26 million) on the sidelines.
That left me to get creative at third base, where Ty France would be playing somewhat out of position, though the first baseman has lined up there occasionally in the majors.
Notable Salary Snubs: Aside from the aforementioned infielders, Jacob deGrom ($30 million) was by far the most notable salary snub. His shaky Opening Day start had nothing to do with him being left off the roster, as it was simply a matter of balancing the roster within the budget.
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National League East
4 of 6
Starting Lineup: 1. RF Ronald Acuña Jr. (ATL), 2. SS Trea Turner (PHI), 3. 3B Austin Riley (ATL), 4. 1B Pete Alonso (NYM), 5. 2B Jeff McNeil (NYM), 6. CF Michael Harris II (ATL), 7. DH Joey Meneses (WAS), 8. LF Jazz Chisholm Jr. (MIA), 9. C Sean Murphy (ATL)
Bench: C Garrett Stubbs (PHI), IF Luis Arraez (MIA), 2B/SS Bryson Stott (PHI), OF Brandon Marsh (PHI)
Starting Rotation: 1. RHP Sandy Alcantara (MIA), 2. RHP Aaron Nola (PHI), 3. LHP Max Fried (ATL), 4. RHP Spencer Strider (ATL), 5. LHP Jesús Luzardo (MIA)
Bullpen: RHP Edward Cabrera (MIA), RHP Erasmo Ramírez (WAS), LHP Dylan Lee (ATL), RHP Yunior Marte (PHI), RHP Andrew Bellatti (PHI), LHP A.J. Minter (ATL), RHP Seranthony Domínguez (PHI), LHP A.J. Puk (MIA)
Total 2023 Salary: $149.4 million
Toughest Decision: I knew going in that Max Scherzer ($43.3 million) and Justin Verlander ($43.3 million) were probably not going to fit the budget, but I had hoped to squeeze Zack Wheeler ($24.5 million) onto the roster. Sorting out the rotation was trickier than expected, but it's still a strong staff.
Notable Salary Snubs: This list extends far beyond the three pitchers mentioned above, with Francisco Lindor ($34.1 million), J.T. Realmuto ($23.9 million), Matt Olson ($21 million) and Raisel Iglesias ($16 million) among the other notable stars who simply did not fit the budget.
National League Central
5 of 6
Starting Lineup: 1. RF Bryan Reynolds (PIT), 2. CF Tyler O'Neill (STL), 3. 1B Paul Goldschmidt (STL), 4. 3B Nolan Arenado (STL), 5. LF Ian Happ (CHC), 6. SS Willy Adames (MIL), 7. DH Oneil Cruz (PIT), 8. C Tyler Stephenson (CIN), 9. 2B Tommy Edman (STL)
Bench: C William Contreras (MIL), 2B/SS Nico Hoerner (CHC), IF/OF Brendan Donovan (STL), OF Lars Nootbaar (STL)
Starting Rotation: 1. RHP Corbin Burnes (MIL), 2. RHP Brandon Woodruff (MIL), 3. RHP Hunter Greene (CIN), 4. RHP Freddy Peralta (MIL), 5. LHP Nick Lodolo (CIN)
Bullpen: LHP Justin Steele (CHC), RHP Michael Fulmer (CHC), LHP Hoby Milner (MIL), RHP Giovanny Gallegos (STL), RHP David Bednar (PIT), RHP Ryan Helsley (STL), RHP Alexis Díaz (CIN), RHP Devin Williams (MIL)
Total 2023 Salary: $146.0 million
Toughest Decision: This was probably the easiest roster to put together, though one decision that did take some consideration was shortstop, where Dansby Swanson ($14 million), Willy Adames ($8.7 million), Tommy Edman ($4.2 million) and Oneil Cruz ($720,000) were all viable candidates.
In the end, Swanson was trimmed to help fit the high-priced corner infield tandem of Nolan Arenado ($35 million) and Paul Goldschmidt ($26 million).
Notable Salary Snubs: The only major snub due to salary considerations was Willson Contreras ($10 million), who is the best catcher in the division. That said, a healthy season from Tyler Stephenson could vault him into the top tier at the position, so that was a trade-off I was willing to make.
National League West
6 of 6
Starting Lineup: 1. RF Mookie Betts (LAD), 2. LF Juan Soto (SD), 3. 3B Manny Machado (SD), 4. DH C.J. Cron (COL), 5. 1B Christian Walker (ARI), 6. C Will Smith (LAD), 7. CF Corbin Carroll (ARI), 8. 2B Jake Cronenworth (SD), 9. SS Ezequiel Tovar (COL)
Bench: C Joey Bart (SF), 2B/3B Miguel Vargas (LAD), OF Jake McCarthy (ARI), OF James Outman (LAD)
Starting Rotation: 1. RHP Zac Gallen (ARI), 2. LHP Julio Urías (LAD), 3. RHP Logan Webb (SF), 4. RHP Merrill Kelly (ARI), 5. RHP Dustin May (LAD)
Bullpen: RHP Nabil Crismatt (SD), RHP Justin Lawrence (COL), RHP Phil Bickford (LAD), RHP Steven Wilson (SD), LHP Alex Vesia (LAD), RHP Camilo Doval (SF), RHP Evan Phillips (LAD), LHP Josh Hader (SD)
Total 2023 Salary: $147.9 million
Toughest Decision: This was the hardest roster to assemble by far, and leaving Freddie Freeman ($27 million) on the sidelines was the most difficult snub. With 10 players making at least $5 million, this team had the most evenly distributed budget, and countless player combinations were considered before landing on the above roster.
Notable Salary Snubs: Yu Darvish ($25 million), Joe Musgrove ($20 million) and Clayton Kershaw ($20 million) all would have looked great in that starting rotation, while Xander Bogaerts ($25.4 million) would have been a clear upgrade at shortstop. However, it would have meant significantly weakening the overall roster to include any of those star players.
All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, while salary info comes via Spotrac.
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