Grading MLB's Top Offseason Acquisitions After 1 Month of Play
We're officially one month into the 2015 MLB season (happy May, everybody), which means it's time to draw sweeping conclusions about everything.
Just kidding!
A lot will change between now and October; that goes without saying. Strong starts will melt in the heat of August. Early slumps will be un-slumped.
Still, we've seen enough baseball to begin analyzing trends and to assess where things stand at this early juncture.
Such as: How are the offseason's big free-agent targets—the guys who grabbed headlines and commanded top dollar this winter—faring with their new teams?
Before we answer that, a few ground-rules. We're only examining free agents who switched squads. So no Matt Kemp (traded), Victor Martinez (re-signed) or Giancarlo Stanton (extended).
We're also sticking with the true marquee names. This is obviously subjective; you might want to toss Russell Martin, Melky Cabrera or David Robertson into the mix, for example, but they didn't quite make the cut.
Finally, grades are based solely on what players have done so far in 2015 relative to expectations. A good grade doesn't guarantee future success, just as a lower grade doesn't portend doom.
Alright, enough preamble. To the grades!
Max Scherzer, Washington Nationals
1 of 6
Yes, Max Scherzer took the loss Friday night against the New York Mets, lowering his record as a member of the Washington Nationals to 1-3. He also threw seven one-run innings and struck out 10.
It was a continuation of an excellent, hard-luck April, during which Scherzer posted a 1.26 ERA but got minimal run support from the sluggish Nats offense.
Bottom line: These Nationals will bust out of their early funk; they're simply too talented not to. And when they do, they'll be all too glad to have Scherzer, their $210 million man, pitching exactly like he has been.
Grade: A
Jon Lester, Chicago Cubs
2 of 6
Entering his start Friday against the Milwaukee Brewers, Jon Lester owned an unsightly 6.23 ERA. He'd coughed up 29 hits and surrendered 15 runs in 21.2 innings and was searching for his first win in a Chicago Cubs uniform.
Needless to say, that's not what the up-and-coming Cubs expected when they inked the ace left-hander to a six-year, $155 million deal.
Lester didn't erase his dreadful April on Friday. But he offered hope for the future, tossing seven shutout innings en route to a 1-0 win.
"I know he's not satisfied with what he's done so far, but I know that he feels good about the fact he keeps advancing in the right direction," manager Joe Maddon told Brian Sandalow of the Chicago Sun-Times.
Again, though, we're looking at that April, and it wasn't pretty.
Grade: D
Hanley Ramirez, Boston Red Sox
3 of 6
The Boston Red Sox's pitching remains a work in progress, to put it diplomatically. Yet, even after a 3-2 loss to the New York Yankees on Friday, Boston sits just two games back in the American League East.
That's due in large part to the offense, and specifically offseason additions Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval (more on Sandoval in a moment).
When Boston signed Ramirez to a four-year, $88 million deal, it was hoping his bat would justify a move from shortstop to left field, a traditional power position. So far, the answer is an unqualified yes.
Ramirez smacked 10 home runs in the season's inaugural month, tying a franchise mark set by David Ortiz. Add 22 RBI and an OPS that's hovering just under 1.000, and you've got a legitimate, fearsome middle-of-the-order masher.
Just ask the player whose April long-ball record he matched. "That guy, man, it's crazy how hard he hits the ball, isn't it? Oh, my goodness," Ortiz said recently, per Jennifer Toland of the Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, Massachusetts). "He reminds me of my younger days."
Grade: A
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James Shields, San Diego Padres
4 of 6
You know the story: Fresh off a World Series appearance with the Kansas City Royals, James Shields rolled into the offseason seeking a mega-deal to match his Big Game reputation.
Instead, he sat on the shelf—and sat, and sat, and sat.
When he finally signed with the San Diego Padres in February, it was for a respectable but unspectacular four years, $75 million.
So far, the Friars are getting their money's worth.
Shields has looked every bit the innings-eating ace he was in Kansas City and before that with the Tampa Bay Rays. Through six starts, he owns a 2.90 ERA in 31 frames. On Monday, he flashed the strikeout stuff, fanning 12 Houston Astros.
The Pads ultimately lost that game 9-4. In all, they've gone 2-3 in Shields' starts, which is about the only blemish on his record so far.
Grade: A-
Pablo Sandoval, Boston Red Sox
5 of 6
If Ramirez has been the man so far in Boston, Sandoval has been the Panda. Which is to say: He's hitting like the guy who made two All-Star teams and won three rings with the San Francisco Giants.
Sandoval posted an impressive .312/.398/.442 slash line in April, along with a couple of home runs and 11 RBI.
He collected just one hit in 19 at-bats from the right side, leading Bleacher Report's Jason Catania to ask if Sandoval should ditch switch-hitting altogether.
Other than that, he's been everything the Red Sox expected when they lured him away from the Bay Area with a five-year, $95 million deal. Which is to say: He's been the Panda.
Grade: B
Nelson Cruz, Seattle Mariners
6 of 6
There were some, myself included, who wondered if Nelson Cruz, who cracked an MLB-leading 40 home runs in 2014, was due for a regression.
Cruz's reply: An April power binge during which he launched 10 home runs, collected 22 RBI and posted a gaudy 1.096 OPS.
Seattle Mariners shortstop Brad Miller perfectly summed up his new teammate—whom Seattle inked to a four-year, $57 million pact—per Matt Pentz of The Seattle Times: "I'm glad he's on our side."
Grade: A
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