Grading Every MLB Team's Top Offseason Pickups After 3 Weeks
After an offseason spending spree like no other, there were a ton of new faces in new places to open the 2023 MLB season. Many of them were expected to help carry their new teams to new heights.
Three weeks into the season, how are those top pickups faring in their new threads? We've got way-too-early grades for the big acquisitions made around MLB.
A few ground rules before we dive in:
- A player only counts as an offseason pickup if he didn't end last season on his team's roster. For instance, re-signing Aaron Judge was huge for the New York Yankees, but he isn't eligible here.
- Not all acquisitions qualify as top pickups. There's no set-in-stone criteria for inclusion, but if a player wasn't expected to be a key contributor on his new team, he won't be listed here.
- There is no minimum for number of top pickups per team—though every team did have at least one—but there is a maximum of four. Several teams had five or six viable candidates after busy offseasons, but we decided to draw the line at four.
Teams are presented in alphabetical order.
Arizona Diamondbacks
1 of 30
Andrew Chafin, LHP (Free agent signed to one-year, $6.25 million deal)
Chafin imploded a bit in a non-save situation Tuesday night. But up until that point, he had logged seven scoreless innings, supplanting Scott McGough as the Arizona Diamondbacks' primary option in save situations. This southpaw deserved to be an All-Star in either 2021 or 2022. Perhaps he'll finally get that recognition now that he's more routinely pitching in the ninth inning.
Grade: A
Lourdes Gurriel Jr., OF/DH (Acquired via trade with Toronto Blue Jays)
Gurriel historically has been a slow starter, holding a career OPS of .650 in March/April compared to a .962 OPS in June. So by his standards, batting .258 with six extra-base hits through the first three weeks isn't too shabby.
Grade: C+
Evan Longoria, 3B (Free agent signed to one-year, $4 million deal)
It isn't quite Albert Pujols going back to St. Louis at 42 years old and suddenly slugging like an MVP again, but at 37, Longoria is having one of his best seasons at the dish. He's not an everyday third baseman anymore, but he's hitting .303 with a pair of home runs.
Grade: A-
Gabriel Moreno, C (Acquired via trade with Toronto Blue Jays)
When the D-Backs lost Carson Kelly to a fractured forearm late in spring training, they were left with little choice but to hand the reins to Moreno. He has done a fine job in that role. No one is comparing his immediate impact to what Adley Rutschman did for the Baltimore Orioles last season, but Moreno did hit his first home run of the season in Tuesday's 8-7 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.
Grade: B
Atlanta Braves
2 of 30
Nick Anderson, RHP (Free agent signed to a one-year, $875,000 deal)
A sneaky-good, bargain-bin pickup, Anderson saved six games for the Tampa Bay Rays with a 0.55 ERA in 2020 before missing most of 2021 and all of 2022 with an elbow injury. He looks good so far, though, playing a key role in what has been one of the best bullpens to date. Through 8.2 innings pitched, Anderson has 11 strikeouts and has issued no walks.
Grade: A-
Joe Jiménez, RHP (Acquired via trade with Detroit Tigers)
Long billed as Detroit's closer-in-waiting, Jiménez is finally pitching in a bullpen where it's actually common to have a lead to protect. And save for allowing a rare two-run home run to Jose Barrero last week, he has shown himself to be one of several reliable seventh/eighth-inning options for Atlanta.
Grade: B
Sean Murphy, C (Acquired via trade with Oakland Athletics)
In arguably the biggest trade of the offseason, Atlanta snagged Murphy and immediately signed him to a six-year, $73 million deal. Thus far, he has been worth every penny. He's batting .259 with four home runs while playing in just about every game. There have already been five games in which he reached base at least three times via a hit or a walk.
Grade: A
Baltimore Orioles
3 of 30
Adam Frazier, 2B (Free agent signed to a one-year, $8 million deal)
Frazier got out to a hot start with four extra-base hits in the season-opening series against the Boston Red Sox, but he has only eight total hits in the 15 games since then. He is at least enjoying Baltimore's permanent green light on the basepaths with three early stolen bases. However, for the second-highest paid player on the roster, he hasn't provided much return on investment.
Grade: C+
Kyle Gibson, RHP (Free agent signed to a one-year, $10 million deal)
Speaking of Baltimore's top-salaried guys, Gibson has gotten out to a 3-0 start to the season, thanks in part to 7.3 runs of support per game by the offense. In the wins over Texas and Oakland, he didn't need much help, as he recorded a quality start in both of those games. Compared to the other Opening Day starters around the majors, Gibson hasn't been great. But he has been solid for Baltimore.
Grade: A-
Cole Irvin, LHP (Acquired via trade with Oakland Athletics)
It sure felt like Baltimore fleeced Oakland when it got Irvin—who had a 4.11 ERA in 62 starts over the past two seasons—and Kyle Virbitsky for the low price of minor leaguer Darell Hernaiz back in January. However, Irvin was an early disaster for the O's, allowing 15 earned runs in 12.2 innings of work before getting optioned to Triple-A Norfolk. Maybe he can rally in the International League.
Grade: F
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Boston Red Sox
4 of 30
Kenley Jansen, RHP (Free agent signed to a two-year, $32 million deal)
This longtime closer has had more than his fair share of adventures on the mound in recent years, posting an ERA north of 3.00 in four of the past five seasons. But Jansen has been Mr. Reliable for Boston, tossing six scoreless innings for a win and four saves. If he can keep that up, the Red Sox might have a pulse in the loaded AL East.
Grade: A+
Corey Kluber, RHP (Free agent signed to a one-year, $10 million deal)
Pitching for his fifth team in five years, Kluber has struggled in Boston to the tune of a 0-4 record and a 8.50 ERA. He ranked among the best in the majors at avoiding walks last season, but he has been issuing both free passes and home runs at a substantially higher rate than usual this year.
Grade: F
Justin Turner, DH (Free agent signed to a two-year, $21.7 million deal)
For a 38-year-old playing every day, Turner's doing pretty well in Boston, boasting a .366 OBP. Keep an eye on his OPS, though, which has declined in six consecutive seasons. He has only one home run thus far, and the Red Sox will need him to deposit more balls over the Green Monster to be worth his contract.
Grade: B+
Masataka Yoshida, OF (Free agent signed to a five-year, $90 million deal)
A career .327 hitter in Nippon Professional Baseball, the Red Sox were hoping Yoshida would be Ichiro Suzuki 2.0, coming to America in his late 20s to immediately win a batting title, Rookie of the Year and AL MVP. Instead, they got a left fielder who is hitting .167 with one home run, almost entirely from the cleanup spot. He's seeing the ball well with eight walks against only five strikeouts, but he has had brutal BABIP luck.
Grade: C-
Chicago Cubs
5 of 30
Cody Bellinger, OF (Free agent signed to a one-year, $17.5 million deal)
Bellinger entered Wednesday on an eight-game hitting streak with a .394 batting average and a five-hit game during that stretch. We aren't going to jump the gun and say he's back to his 2019 NL MVP form, but it's certainly an encouraging sign from a player who had hit .203 over the past three seasons.
Grade: A
Trey Mancini, 1B/DH (Free agent signed to a two-year, $14 million deal)
While Bellinger has gotten out to a great start in his quest for redemption, Mancini has not. He has struck out in 18 of 60 plate appearances, batting .196 with only one extra-base hit. And with Seiya Suzuki back in the lineup after opening the season on the IL, playing time might start to get scarce for Mancini if he doesn't rally soon.
Grade: D-
Dansby Swanson, SS (Free agent signed to a seven-year, $177 million deal)
Swanson has yet to go yard after hitting 52 home runs over the previous two seasons, but that's about the only complaint one could have about the beginning of the Chicago chapter of his career. He has already tallied seven multi-hit games and had a .368 batting average through the Cubs' first 15 games. The slugging will come soon enough.
Grade: A-
Jameson Taillon, RHP (Free agent signed to a four-year, $68 million deal)
Given the level of competition that he's faced (the Milwaukee Brewers, Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Dodgers), Taillon's 4.50 ERA isn't bad. Allowing zero home runs in 14 innings of work against those three lineups is downright impressive. However, all he has to show for it is an 0-2 record and zero pitches thrown in the sixth inning or later. For $17 million per year, Chicago was presumably expecting more than it has gotten so far.
Grade: C-
Chicago White Sox
6 of 30
Andrew Benintendi, OF (Free agent signed to a five-year, $75 million deal)
Benintendi recorded at least one hit in 13 of his first 15 games, quickly becoming one of the White Sox's more reliable batters. He no longer slugs nor steals like he did back in 2017-18, but he hasn't committed an error since June 2021 and he's going to get on base around 34 percent of the time. On a roster that had minimal consistency/health last season, Benintendi should be key.
Grade: B
Mike Clevinger, RHP (Free agent signed to a one-year, $12 million deal)
In four spring training starts, Clevinger allowed five home runs with a 6.89 ERA. He was evidently saving his good pitches for when the games actually mattered, as he went five scoreless innings in his season debut against Houston before going six scoreless against Baltimore in his third start for Chicago. The White Sox have gotten out to a disappointing start to the year, but Clevinger has been one of their few players providing solid return on investment.
Grade: B+
Cincinnati Reds
7 of 30
Wil Myers, 1B/OF (Free agent signed to a one-year, $7.5 million deal)
Cincinnati made a bunch of minor moves this offseason, but Myers was the lone acquisition making at least $3 million in 2023. The presumed hope with this pickup was that Myers would have at least somewhat of a bounce-back year so they could trade him for a prospect or two before the deadline. But with the exception of one excellent game against the Philadelphia Phillies—he went 4-for-5 with two home runs, a double and five RBI—Myers has recorded only one extra-base hit while striking out in more than 30 percent of his plate appearances.
Grade: C-
Cleveland Guardians
8 of 30
Josh Bell, 1B/DH (Free agent signed to a two-year, $33 million deal)
Rarely a contender for top free agents, Cleveland surprisingly swung big to bring in the 2022 Silver Slugger among NL designated hitters. But Bell got out to a horrendous start to the year, batting .109/.250/.130 through his first 12 games. He turned a corner with five extra-base hits in the span of three games against one of his former teams (Washington), so maybe that'll be the start of a return to normalcy. Even with that recent flourish, though, he's batting .191 for the year.
Grade: D-
Mike Zunino, C (Free agent signed to a one-year, $6 million deal)
For the first time in his career, Zunino is productively getting on base. He entered the year with 146 career home runs, but he was a .200 hitter with a .271 OBP. Lo and behold, he's batting .289 with a .438 OBP for the Guardians. After a 2022 campaign in which Cleveland got next to nothing out of its catcher spot in the lineup, that's a noteworthy development.
Grade: A
Colorado Rockies
9 of 30
Pierce Johnson, RHP (Free agent signed to a one-year, $5 million deal)
With Daniel Bard (anxiety) just recently making his 2023 debut, Johnson—who previously had zero saves in his career—has assumed the role of closer for the Rockies. Although he did have three saves within his first four appearances, he hasn't exactly been stellar with a 5.40 ERA and a 1.95 WHIP. He'll need to get the walks under control to maintain a key role in this bullpen.
Grade: C-
Jurickson Profar, OF (Free agent signed to a one-year, $7.75 million deal)
Profar declined a $7.5 million player option to return to San Diego and almost lived to regret it, as he didn't sign with Colorado until March 19. In his new home, Profar has been slightly less productive than he had been over the past half-decade. He does have a pair of home runs, but his OPS (.624) is more than 100 points below where it was from 2018-22 (.730).
Grade: C-
Detroit Tigers
10 of 30
Matthew Boyd, LHP (Free agent signed to a one-year, $10 million deal)
A prodigal son of sorts, Boyd returned to Detroit where he pitched from 2015-21, including a 238-strikeout campaign in 2019. Thus far in his old stomping grounds, the 32-year-old southpaw has provided three barely-above-replacement-level starts with a 4.50 ERA and 1.50 WHIP. He looked crisp in spring training with 21 strikeouts in 13 innings of work. He has to bring that level of production to the regular season, though.
Grade: C
Michael Lorenzen, RHP (Free agent signed to a one-year, $8.5 million deal)
Lorenzen missed the first two weeks of the season with a groin injury before allowing six earned runs in four innings of work against the San Francisco Giants. No one should overreact based on one outing, but the whole point of this piece is knee-jerk reactions to about one-tenth of the season. What Lorenzen has given Detroit so far has not been encouraging.
Grade: D-
Nick Maton, 3B and Matt Vierling, OF (Acquired via trade with Philadelphia Phillies)
To get Gregory Soto into their bullpen, the Phillies gave up this pair of 26-year-old position players. Neither one has been particularly productive in Detroit, though. Maton is tied for the team lead with three home runs, but he's batting .151. Vierling is doing slightly better in the average department (.231), but he is "leading" the majors with three failed stolen base attempts. The Tigers don't have many other options, though, so expect Maton and Vierling to get every opportunity to work through it.
Grade: D+
Houston Astros
11 of 30
José Abreu, 1B (Free agent signed to a three-year, $58.5 million deal)
'Twas a low-key offseason from the World Series champions, who did little aside from scooping up this long-time Chicago White Sox first baseman. One of the big reasons why the reigning champs have sputtered out of the gates is that Abreu has been a dud so far.
A career .292/.354/.507 hitter in Chicago, Abreu is batting .266 with no home runs through 19 games in Houston. He has also already made a pair of errors at first base for what is presently the worst single-season fielding percentage of his career.
It bears mentioning that Abreu also started slow last season. He batted .197 and slugged .312 through his first 32 games before hitting .332 the rest of the way.
Grade: D-
Kansas City Royals
12 of 30
Aroldis Chapman, LHP (Free agent signed to a one-year, $3.75 million deal)
Save situations have been almost nonexistent for the Royals, but Chapman took advantage of one of them with a perfect two-strikeout ninth inning in an April 8 victory over the San Francisco Giants. The 35-year-old southpaw had a rough 2022 season with the New York Yankees, but he's looking like his old self early on with the Royals, sporting a year-to-date line of 7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 13 K. He could be a hot commodity at the trade deadline if he can even remotely keep it up.
Grade: A+
Jordan Lyles, RHP (Free agent signed to a two-year, $17 million deal)
In two of his four starts, the Royals have given Lyles zero runs of support. He allowed only one earned run in 8.0 innings of work in his most recent start against Texas, but Kansas City managed only one hit in that game. That's how you start out 0-3 despite a respectable 3.91 ERA. Like Chapman, Lyles could be an intriguing trade chip in a few months' time.
Grade: B
Los Angeles Angels
13 of 30
Tyler Anderson, LHP (Free agent signed to a three-year, $39 million deal)
After five consecutive seasons with an ERA north of 4.30, Anderson had a breakout year with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2022. He made 30 appearances (28 starts) with a 2.57 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP, and the Angels bet on his ability to replicate that. He did so in his first start, shutting out the Oakland A's for six innings. However, he got shelled by both Toronto and Boston, allowing five home runs between those two games. Maybe he can get back on track this weekend against Kansas City.
Grade: C-
Brandon Drury, UTIL (Free agent signed to a two-year, $17 million deal)
A breakout star for the first two-thirds of last season, Drury had a .520 slugging percentage in Cincinnati before dropping to .435 for his two months in San Diego. And he has further regressed in Los Angeles with a .185/.220/.296 triple slash through his first 16 games. Between his salary and his versatility in the field, Drury should remain a staple in the lineup even though the early returns haven't been great.
Grade: D-
Hunter Renfroe, OF (Acquired via trade with Milwaukee Brewers)
Capitalizing on Milwaukee's desire to shed some salary, the Halos brought in a right fielder who had hit at least 26 home runs in each of the past five 162-game seasons. Renfroe has gotten out to a great start in L.A. with four home runs and a team-best 16 RBI. He's also getting on base at a .359 clip after entering the year with a career OBP of .300.
Grade: A
Gio Urshela, IF (Acquired via trade with Minnesota Twins)
Yet another salary-shedding pounce by the Angels, they sent pitching prospect Alejandro Hidalgo to Minnesota to add Urshela to their infield. He was a .290 hitter with 54 home runs over the previous four seasons, and he started out hot in Los Angeles with a .346 batting average through his first 13 games. He has also made at least one start at all four infield positions with only one error thus far.
Grade: A-
Los Angeles Dodgers
14 of 30
J.D. Martinez, DH (Free agent signed to a one-year, $10 million deal)
A few days ago, the grade here would have been a C- at best. But in Tuesday's 5-0 victory over the New York Mets, Martinez went 4-for-5 with a pair of home runs and four RBI. Even though he is striking out way more and walking way less than he has for most of his career, that performance—his sixth multi-hit game of the season—was enough for a bump up one letter.
Grade: B-
David Peralta, OF (Free agent signed to a one-year, $6.5 million deal)
Bringing in Peralta late in somewhat of a salary-shedding offseason was a head-scratching move for the Dodgers, and he has not done much of anything for them, batting .184 with only four hits thus far in April. He started in left field in five of their first seven games, but even with Mookie Betts dabbling in the middle infield, Peralta has already been relegated to mostly pinch-hitting duties.
Grade: F
Noah Syndergaard, RHP (Free agent signed to a one-year, $13 million deal)
The 4.91 ERA and 0-3 record don't look great, but Thor has already tossed three quality starts in Dodger blue, stifling the Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago Cubs and New York Mets for a combined line of 18.0 IP, 15 H, 6 ER, 4 BB, 17 K. He just had a rough outing in the middle and got virtually no run support on any of those nights. Tony Gonsolin should be back from the IL soon, but don't expect Syndergaard to get bumped to a long-relief role when that happens.
Grade: B
Miami Marlins
15 of 30
Luis Arraez, IF (Acquired via trade with Minnesota Twins)
The Marlins traded Pablo López from their deep supply of young starting pitching, hoping to improve the offense by introducing Arraez's great career batting average into the mix. And while he has been outstanding as an individual—even recording the first cycle in franchise history—Miami's overall offense is still arguably the least potent in the big leagues. Arraez has a 1.071 OPS, but only seven runs and seven RBI to show for it.
Grade: A+
Matt Barnes, RHP (Acquired via trade with Boston Red Sox) and A.J. Puk, LHP (Acquired via trade with Oakland Athletics)
Less than satisfied with Tanner Scott's ninth-inning work in 2022, the Marlins went out and traded for a pair of possible closers. And while Barnes has done reasonably well in his middle-relief role, Puk has thrived as the closer. Pete Alonso homered off him in his fourth pitch for the Marlins, but he hasn't allowed an earned run since then with a win and three saves through eight innings of work.
Puk's Grade: A
Barnes' Grade: B
Jean Segura, IF (Free agent signed to a two-year, $17 million deal)
No one would classify Segura as a power hitter, but he typically has been a solid source of offense, posting an OPS of at least .720 in each of the past seven seasons. Miami is still awaiting his first extra-base hit, though, as he is both batting and slugging a meager .186 while starting all but two games at third base. He's struggling at the hot corner, too, with four errors already.
Grade: D-
Milwaukee Brewers
16 of 30
Brian Anderson, 3B/OF (Free agent signed to a one-year, $3.5 million deal)
During the early three-game sweep of the Mets, Anderson went 6-of-10 with three home runs and nine RBI. Since then, he has been nowhere near as impressive, batting .188 and slugging .229 over the past two weeks. But between that hot start and Luis Urías suffering a severe hamstring injury on Opening Day, Anderson has been and should remain a staple in Milwaukee's lineup.
Grade: B
William Contreras, C (Acquired via trade with Atlanta Braves)
To make room for Sean Murphy in Atlanta, Contreras went to Milwaukee in that big three-team trade. And while the 2022 All-Star who clubbed 20 home runs last season has yet to get a round-tripper for the Brewers, Contreras has the best batting average and best on-base percentage among the regulars in the starting lineup. He has also thrown out three of five stolen base attempts. Grade: A
Wade Miley, LHP (Free agent signed to a one-year, $4.5 million deal)
Miley spent most of last season on the IL, but posted a sub-3.40 ERA in each of 2021 and 2022. Milwaukee scooped up the 36-year-old at a low price point, not expecting a ton at the back end of the starting rotation. But he has been great thus far, tossing six scoreless innings against the Mets and seven scoreless against the Padres. He did allow three runs to the D-Backs in between, but hard to argue with a 1.50 ERA through three starts.
Grade: A+
Jesse Winker, DH/OF (Acquired via trade with Seattle Mariners)
In five years with Cincinnati, Winker hit .288 with an .888 OPS. And after a disappointing season in Seattle, Milwaukee was hoping a return to the NL Central would spark something in his bat. He does have nine RBI through 11 games played, however, his OPS is .700 and it's difficult to give a top grade to a DH with no home runs.
Grade: C+
Minnesota Twins
17 of 30
Joey Gallo, OF (Free agent signed to a one-year, $11 million deal)
Gallo just returned from an 11-day stint on the IL with a rib/intercostal strain, but he already has four home runs in just eight games played. Yes, he's still whiffing a ton. But if he can keep his batting average (currently .304) north of .200 for the first time since 2019, that would be a win for the Twins.
Grade: A-
Pablo López, RHP (Acquired via trade with Miami Marlins)
Luis Arraez is an early top contender for a batting crown in Miami, but Minnesota might have been the bigger winner of that trade, as López has been exceptional as the ace of this staff. Through four starts, he has a 1.73 ERA and a K/9 rate of 11.4. He went 5.1 scoreless innings on Opening Day and has racked up three straight quality starts since. Can't have a way-too-early AL Cy Young conversation without this guy.
Grade: A+
Michael A. Taylor, OF (Acquired via trade with Minnesota Twins)
Like Gallo, Taylor is striking out at one of the highest rates in the majors. But that's nothing new. Minnesota traded for him to get his great glove/range in center field and to benefit from his occasional pop at the bottom of the lineup. And with good defense, three home runs and an OPS hovering around .700, job well done.
Grade: A-
Christian Vázquez, C (Free agent signed to a three-year, $30 million deal)
Re-signing Carlos Correa was Minnesota's biggest offseason move, but this semi-longterm upgrade at catcher was also huge. Vázquez hit .271 from 2019-22 and was a key contributor for two of the past five World Series champions. While we'll have to wait to see if that postseason experience does anything to help Minnesota in October, he's already making a nice impact at the dish with a .325 average.
Grade: B+
New York Mets
18 of 30
José Quintana, LHP (Free agent signed to a two-year, $26 million deal)
Quintana pitched 1.2 innings in spring training before suffering a stress fracture in his rib. He underwent a bone graft surgery and is expected to be out until at least July; possibly the entire season.
Grade: F / Incomplete
David Robertson, RHP (Free agent signed to a one-year, $10 million deal)
If you factor in re-signing both Edwin Díaz and Brandon Nimmo and temporarily signing Carlos Correa, getting Robertson was, at best, New York's seventh-most noteworthy move of the offseason. But it quickly turned into arguably their most important move when Díaz suffered that knee injury in the WBC, as Robertson was one heck of a ready-made plan B at closer. To date, he has given the Mets 9.1 scoreless innings of work with four saves and two holds.
Grade: A+
Kodai Senga, RHP (Free agent signed to a five-year, $75 million deal)
The ghost fork is real, and it is spectacular. But it's surprising that Senga hasn't been a little more dominant than a 3.38 ERA and 1.44 WHIP, considering his three starts have come against the offenses of Miami (twice) and Oakland. He needs to get the walks (10 in 16.0 IP) under control before we can give him an A, but it has been a solid start to his MLB career.
Grade: B
Justin Verlander, RHP (Free agent signed to a two-year, $86.7 million deal)
The dream of both Max Scherzer and Verlander having a healthy 2023 campaign didn't even make it to Opening Day, as Verlander hit the IL with a shoulder injury on March 30. He still hasn't made his Queens debut, and it's sounding like he might not take the mound for the Mets until early May.
Grade: F / Incomplete
New York Yankees
19 of 30
Tommy Kahnle, RHP (Free agent signed to a two-year, $11.5 million deal)
Carlos Rodón, LHP (Free agent signed to a six-year, $162 million deal)
Re-signing both Aaron Judge and Anthony Rizzo were huge offseason moves for the Yankees, but they only made two noteworthy acquisitions—neither of whom has been able to pitch yet in the regular season. Rodón initially landed on the IL with a forearm strain, but it's a back injury that has further delayed his Bronx debut. Meanwhile, Kahnle has already been transferred to the 60-day IL with biceps tendinitis, meaning he won't be able to join the bullpen until at least late May.
Grade: F / Incomplete
Bonus: Franchy Cordero, OF (Free agent signed to a one-year, $1 million deal)
He's a bonus because no one would have considered Cordero a top offseason acquisition when the Orioles signed him to a minor-league deal in early December, nor when the Yankees grabbed him off waivers on March 29. However, he has been this year's Matt Carpenter for New York, racking up four home runs and 11 RBI in his first seven games played. And between Giancarlo Stanton being on the IL and both Aaron Hicks and Isiah Kiner-Falefa unable to hit anything, the Yankees have legitimately needed Cordero in the outfield on a regular basis.
Grade: A
Oakland Athletics
20 of 30
Shintaro Fujinami, RHP (Free agent signed to a one-year, $3.25 million deal)
Fujinami's first start? A disaster. Allowed eight earned runs while recording just seven outs in a blowout loss to the Angels. Start No. 2 was better, but still far from great, allowing five earned runs with just one strikeout. But the third start against the Mets was where we started to see some of the potential. He allowed two home runs, but did record a quality start. So while the 11.37 ERA is ghastly, at least Fujinami is trending in the right direction. Grade: D
Esteury Ruiz, OF (Acquired via trade with Milwaukee Brewers)
The A's also got Kyle Muller and a few other prospects in the Sean Murphy trade, but Ruiz was the one piece of that three-team deal with some semblance of legitimate promise for Oakland. And so far, he has been solid for an otherwise dreadful team. Ruiz is batting .302 with five stolen bases with respectable range/glovework in center. Basically, he has been what they were hoping Cristian Pache would have been for them. Grade: B+
Aledmys Díaz, IF (Free agent signed to a two-year, $14.5 million deal)
Jace Peterson, IF (Free agent signed to a two-year, $9.5 million deal)
Why did the tanking rebuilding A's sign a pair of veteran utility infielders to two-year deals worth a combined $24 million? That's a fantastic question without a good answer. And neither one has provided any real value, aside from playing nearly every day and allowing Oakland to keep some of its top prospects in the minors, delaying the start of their service-time clocks. Neither Díaz nor Peterson entered play Thursday hitting better than .200.
Grade: D-
Philadelphia Phillies
21 of 30
Craig Kimbrel, RHP (Free agent signed to a one-year, $10 million deal)
Kimbrel has always been a closer, but perhaps Philadelphia can extract some value out of him in a middle-relief role. He did record one save early in the season against Cincinnati, but he has three holds since then and appears to be behind José Alvarado in the ninth-inning pecking order. In his last five appearances, though, Kimbrel has gone 4.2 scoreless innings with eight strikeouts. He got shelled in his first appearance of the season, but he could be a key piece for a team that always seems to have bullpen woes.
Grade: B-
Matt Strahm, LHP (Free agent signed to a two-year, $15 million deal)
Strahm made just one start from 2020-22, doing so as an opener for San Diego in August 2021. So it might take some time to get him stretched out. That said, he went four scoreless against the Yankees in his first start of the season, then pitched five scoreless innings against the Marlins. He might return to a middle/long-relief role when Ranger Suárez is able to come off the IL, but he has been the bright spot in this starting rotation so far.
Grade: A
Trea Turner, SS (Free agent signed to an 11-year, $300 million deal)
Turner finally hit his first home run for the Phillies Wednesday night, but it's not like he was struggling up until that point. He's batting .321 with four stolen bases and great defense at shortstop. For at least the first one percent of that $300 million contract, he has been worth the price.
Grade: A-
Taijuan Walker, RHP (Free agent signed to a four-year, $72 million deal)
Walker walked a combined eight batters in his first two starts, failing to make it out of the fifth inning of either one. But he has gotten those self-inflicted wounds under control recently, issuing two free passes in each of his quality starts against the Reds and White Sox. He hasn't lived up to the billing of his contract yet, but he's doing OK.
Grade: C
Pittsburgh Pirates
22 of 30
Rich Hill, LHP (Free agent signed to a one-year, $8 million deal)
At 43, Hill is the oldest player in the majors this season. But that's not the only record he currently holds. Hill has also allowed more home runs (seven) than any other pitcher thus far this season. Which is highly unusual for him. From 2015-22, Hill allowed just 1.1 home runs per nine innings pitched.
Grade: D-
Andrew McCutchen, OF/DH (Free agent signed to a one-year, $5 million deal)
Evidently, McCutchen never should've left Pittsburgh. From 2018-22, he was a .242 hitter who averaged 25 home runs per 162 games played. But early in his return to the Steel City, he's batting .310 and has hit four home runs in the past two weeks. The 36-year-old has also stolen three bases, finding some sort of fountain of youth in one of those three rivers.
Grade: A+
Carlos Santana, 1B/DH (Free agent signed to a one-year, $6.75 million deal)
After three straight seasons with a sub-.700 OPS, Santana appears to also be sipping from McCutchen's fountain of youth, batting .261 with eight extra-base hits. He had 15 home runs in 79 games played with Seattle in 2022, but did so while hitting below the Mendoza Line. The 37-year-old could provide some real value to this surprisingly good team if he keeps that average up.
Grade: A-
San Diego Padres
23 of 30
Xander Bogaerts, SS (Free agent signed to an 11-year, $280 million deal)
San Diego has gotten out to a disappointing start to the year, but that's certainly not the fault of their biggest offseason acquisition. Bogaerts is hitting .342 with four home runs. And the decision to make him the shortstop and shift Fernando Tatis Jr. to the outfield looks like a good one so far, as Bogaerts currently has the best fielding percentage of his career.
Grade: A+
Seth Lugo, RHP (Free agent signed to a two-year, $15 million deal)
Over the past five seasons, Lugo recorded more saves (16) than starts (12), but you wouldn't know it from how well he pitched out of the gates, going 13 innings and allowing just two runs between his first two starts. He got roughed up a little bit in his third start, needing 93 pitches just to record 11 outs against the Brewers. Still, hard to argue with a 2.70 ERA 16.2 innings into his return to a starting role.
Grade: A-
Michael Wacha, RHP (Free agent signed to a four-year, $26 million deal)
It has been a mixed bag of early returns from Wacha, who struck out 10 Braves in six scoreless innings of work before getting lit up for seven earned runs by the Brewers in his next outing. Still unclear whether the Padres are getting the 2020-21 version of Wacha with a 5.39 ERA or the much better version that we saw last year in Boston.
Grade: C
San Francisco Giants
24 of 30
Michael Conforto, OF (Free agent signed to a two-year, $36 million deal)
Conforto had the worst slugging (.384) season of his career in 2021 before missing all of 2022 with a shoulder injury, but he has returned in a big way with four home runs in his first 14 games played for San Francisco. The .233 batting average leaves something to be desired, but it's good to see there's still pop in that bat.
Grade: B+
Mitch Haniger, OF (Free agent signed to a three-year, $43.5 million deal)
Haniger has yet to play for San Francisco after suffering an oblique injury during spring training. But he has begun his rehab assignment and should be back relatively soon.
Grade: F / Incomplete
Sean Manaea, LHP (Free agent signed to a two-year, $25 million deal)
Manaea had a brutal 2022 season in San Diego, posting a 4.96 ERA and a bWAR of negative-0.8. But he still got a respectable contract offer from the Giants, where he has made two starts with a 2.89 ERA and 12 strikeouts. Granted, those starts came against Kansas City and Detroit, and San Francisco failed to win either game. We'll see how he fares when the competition improves.
Grade: C+
Ross Stripling, RHP (Free agent signed to a two-year, $25 million deal)
Stripling had an impressive 2022 campaign in Toronto, mostly in a starting capacity. But after making one disappointing start at Yankee Stadium, the Giants have put him in a long-relief role—where things haven't gone any better. In 7.1 innings out of the bullpen, Stripling has a 7.36 ERA, pitching exclusively in games that the Giants lost. Sure seems like a waste of one of the higher-salaried players on the roster.
Grade: D
Seattle Mariners
25 of 30
Teoscar Hernández, OF (Acquired via trade with Toronto Blue Jays)
Seattle sent reliever Erik Swanson and pitching prospect Adam Macko to Toronto to add Hernández to the lineup, and so far so good on this trade. He had just one hit in his first five games before blasting a pair of home runs in a win over the Angels. Since the start of that game on April 4, Hernández is hitting .293 and has driven in 10 runs.
Grade: B+
Kolten Wong, 2B (Acquired via trade with Milwaukee Brewers)
With Adam Frazier leaving as a free agent, Seattle traded Jesse Winker and Abraham Toro for one year of Wong before he also hits free agency. But with the way things are going so far, he might not even last that long with the Mariners. The second baseman entered Thursday batting .098 with no extra-base hits and no stolen bases.
Grade: F
St. Louis Cardinals
26 of 30
Willson Contreras, C (Free agent signed to a five-year, $87.5 million deal)
Similar to Dodgers DH J.D. Martinez, Contreras was trending toward a much worse grade until getting off the schneid with a two-homer performance Tuesday night. The former Cub was batting just .196 with no home runs and only one extra-base hit through his first 14 games played in St. Louis. However, he has caught fire as of late with four consecutive two-hit performances, bumping his numbers to a much more respectable .274/.357/.452. And while no one is comparing his defensive impact to that of retired Yadier Molina, Contreras has impressively thrown out five of nine attempted base-stealers.
Grade: B+
Tampa Bay Rays
27 of 30
Zach Eflin, RHP (Free agent signed to a three-year, $40 million deal)
The former Phillie looked good in his first two starts—albeit against Detroit and Oakland, so, maybe take his 3.27 ERA with a grain of salt?—before landing on the IL with a back strain. He should be available to return this weekend, though. And Tampa Bay needs to hope he can start routinely working at least a little deep into his starts with Jeffrey Springs out for the year and Tyler Glasnow's return from the IL not expected for another month or so. The bullpen will need all the relief it can get.
Grade: C+
Texas Rangers
28 of 30
Jacob deGrom, RHP (Free agent signed to a five-year, $185 million deal)
The 3.48 ERA is unusually high for deGrom, but that is almost entirely the product of a bumpy start on Opening Day against the Phillies. Even with that on the ledger, he has an impressive 13.9 K/9 rate and a 1.29 FIP that ranks No. 1 among qualified pitchers. And though he was only credited with one of the wins, Texas has won each of his four starts to date. Hard to complain about what he has given the Rangers so far.
Grade: A-
Nathan Eovaldi, RHP (Free agent signed to a two-year, $34 million deal)
Speaking of pitchers whose FIP suggests they should have a much lower ERA, Eovaldi has one of the largest gaps between ERA (5.40) and FIP (2.26) in the majors—making him a classic "buy low" candidate for all of my fellow fantasy baseball players. Eovaldi has a K/BB ratio of 6.0 and has allowed just one home run. He has just been terribly unlucky from a BABIP perspective.
Grade: B
Andrew Heaney, LHP (Free agent signed to a two-year, $25 million deal)
Heaney got lit up for seven runs in his first start with Texas, but he hasn't allowed an earned run since, shutting down the Royals and Astros for five innings each in those blowout wins. He has always had good strikeout stuff, but the two concerns with this lefty are health and homers. He allowed 29 four-baggers in 129.2 innings pitched in 2021 and missed more than half of 2022. Thus far, things are looking OK on both fronts.
Grade: B-
Toronto Blue Jays
29 of 30
Chris Bassitt, RHP (Free agent signed to a three-year, $63 million deal)
Bassitt's Toronto debut was a nightmare, allowing nine earned runs with no strikeouts in a loss to the Cardinals. Since then, though, the starting pitcher who entered the year with a career ERA of 3.45 has settled in nicely, tossing three consecutive quality starts, including carrying a shutout into the seventh inning of his most recent start in Houston. The ERA (5.40) is still a bit unsightly, but three good outings out of four is impressive.
Grade: B
Brandon Belt, 1B (Free agent signed to a one-year, $9.3 million deal)
Belt sputtered through an injury-plagued 2022, finishing that season with career-worst marks in batting average (.213) and OPS (.676). And things are looking even worse three weeks into his time with the Blue Jays. Belt did have a three-hit game in a win over Detroit on April 11. Take that game out, however, and he's 3-for-35 with no RBI and 19 strikeouts.
Grade: D-
Kevin Kiermaier, OF (Free agent signed to a one-year, $9 million deal)
Toronto was hellbent on improving its outfield defense this offseason, trading away Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Teoscar Hernández and replacing them with Kiermaier and Daulton Varsho. And the Kiermaier portion of that transformation has worked out even better than expected. The solid defense in center was a given, but his .315 batting average at the bottom of the lineup has been a pleasant surprise, considering he was a .248 hitter in his career with Tampa Bay.
Grade: A
Daulton Varsho, OF (Acquired via trade with Arizona Diamondbacks)
Varsho spent most of 2022 in either center or right, but now he's mostly in left with occasional starts in center. Regardless of where you put him in the outfield, though, he has Gold Glove potential and a cannon for an arm. Pairing him with Kiermaier has been a major upgrade. Toronto was rather hoping for some more home runs from Varsho, though. He averaged one for every 21.9 trips to the plate last year, but he is 1-for-75 in that department thus far. Couple that with a .234 batting average and it's a good thing he's a strong defender.
Grade: B-
Washington Nationals
30 of 30
Jeimer Candelario, 3B/1B (Free agent signed to a one-year, $5 million deal)
Through 18 games, the Nationals have hit just eight home runs as an entire team. But at least their new third baseman is responsible for three of them. Candelario had one of those homers and four total hits in Sunday's victory over Cleveland, bringing his batting average up to .284. Fresh off a 2022 season in which he only had a .272 on-base percentage, that's a solid start for the 29-year-old on something of a "prove it" contract.
Grade: B+
Trevor Williams, RHP (Free agent signed to a two-year, $13 million deal)
After spending 1.5 seasons in mostly a relief role, Williams has made a seamless transition back into a starting gig. No quality starts yet, but he has gone at least five innings in each outing with a cumulative ERA of 3.52. Some lot of good it's doing the 5-13 Nationals, but if he continues to pitch well, his favorable contract would be mighty intriguing on the trade block.
Grade: B
Statistics current through the start of play Thursday, unless otherwise noted. Contract details courtesy of Spotrac.
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