The Biggest Regret Each MLB Team Will Have from 2024-25 Offseason
The Baltimore Orioles won 91 games last season, which sounds good until you consider it was 10 less than the previous year and forced them to settle for a wild-card spot a year after winning the AL East.
One of the major undoings of the 2024 Orioles was their bullpen, as they lived to regret not having a better plan after losing Félix Bautista for the season following Tommy John surgery.
Craig Kimbrel might be a future Hall of Famer, but he ran out of gas in the second half and was released in September. Baltimore finished the regular season with a 4.22 bullpen ERA, likely costing them at least a few more victories.
So, what will executives live to regret this season? We've broken down the biggest regret each MLB team will have from the 2024-25 offseason.
AL East
1 of 6
New York Yankees: Losing Juan Soto
Perhaps it's unfair to say the Yankees will regret this because, according to MLB.com's Mark Feinsand, Brian Cashman and company's final offer to Juan Soto was a 16-year, $760 million deal.
But the 26-year-old ultimately accepted a 15-year, $765 million deal with the crosstown-rival Mets.
And while the Yankees pivoted to acquiring the likes of Max Fried, Cody Bellinger, Paul Goldschmidt and Devin Williams, there's no way they will be able to replace the production of Soto, who hit 41 home runs with 109 RBI and an 8.1 WAR in what turned out to be his lone season with them.
Perhaps near the end of Soto's contract the Yankees will be thankful not to still have him on the books.
For at least a decade's worth of summers, though, they'll probably find themselves longing for the days of the four-time All-Star being an anchor in their lineup.
Baltimore Orioles: Not operating with more sense of urgency
With the return of Félix Bautista, the Orioles should have a better bullpen in 2025, but other areas of their roster could dip.
Baltimore lost Anthony Santander in free agency to the division-rival Toronto Blue Jays. There's a real chance he never tops his 44-home run season from a year ago, but the Orioles will struggle to replace his production from last year.
Tyler O'Neill is a gifted player, but he hasn't played more than 113 games since the 2021 season.
Still, if the Orioles get a major step forward from one of the gifted young players in their organization such as Jackson Holliday, Coby Mayo, Heston Kjerstad or Samuel Basallo, they should still have a strong lineup in 2025.
However, their rotation has unquestionably gotten worse after losing Corbin Burnes, who logged 194.1 innings last season. They replaced the four-time All-Star by signing Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano, who are 41 and 35 years old, respectively.
Grayson Rodriguez is already trying to work back from elbow discomfort, while Kyle Bradish (Tommy John surgery) won't be back until the second half of the season, if at all, in 2025.
Letting Santander go was one thing, but general manager Mike Elias and new owner David Rubenstein should have made keeping Burnes a bigger priority.
They likely have a limited number of years to win with Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman, and they aren't operating with a sense the sense of urgency needed to win a title.
Boston Red Sox: Building bullpen around two old relievers
With the additions of Garrett Crochet and Alex Bregman, excitement around the Red Sox is as high as it's been in at least half a decade.
If you're looking for a potential Achilles' heel, though, it's probably that their bullpen is built around Liam Hendriks and Aroldis Chapman.
Hendriks has recovered from stage 4 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and Tommy John surgery, making him one of the best stories in baseball. But he's pitched in just five games over the past two seasons and is 36 years old.
Meanwhile, the Red Sox signed Chapman to a one-year, $10.75 million deal in free agency. He has had remarkable longevity for someone who throws as hard as he does.
However, the seven-time All-Star is now 37. And while he's still a useful piece in a bullpen, he's got a 3.45 ERA over the last two seasons. He's far from the pitcher he was at the height of his powers.
Between Justin Slaten and Garrett Whitlock, the Red Sox do have some other capable arms in Alex Cora's bullpen.
Given the advanced ages of Hendriks and Chapman, though, there's always a chance they will hit a wall. It's also possible they are effective for much of the season but run out of gas late on or as the playoffs roll around.
Tampa Bay Rays: Not trading Brandon Lowe after picking up his option
It perhaps wasn't surprising that the Rays exercised the $10.5 million club option on Brandon Lowe's contract, because when he's healthy, that rate is a bargain.
But the 30-year-old has played in just 281 of a possible 486 games over the past three seasons. For a team that Spotrac has projected to carry a $72.6 million payroll in 2025, $10.5 million is a significant chunk of change to dedicate to someone who hasn't been able to stay healthy for three straight years.
So, while we're not suggesting the Rays should have declined Lowe's option, they probably should have picked it up, traded him and reallocated that money to someone with a better track record of staying healthy.
Toronto Blue Jays: Failing to get a deal done with Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
The Blue Jays made some notable additions in the offseason, acquiring Santander, Max Scherzer, Jeff Hoffman and Andrés Giménez. But it feels like Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s impending free agency will be a black cloud that hangs over their season.
If Toronto gets off to a slow start, there will be much speculation about which team he's going to be traded to in the summer. Even if the Blue Jays have a tremendous season, it's going to come with a feeling that the success could be fleeting because Guerrero seems more likely to depart than come back in free agency.
According to Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman of The New York Post, the 26-year-old rejected a contract offer from the Blue Jays that was worth close to $500 million, but included deferrals. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic says Guerrero wanted a deal that had a present-day value of at least $500 million. And so, no deal ever got done. The player even said the two sides weren't particularly close.
The price to sign Guerrero next offseason will almost certainly be higher than it was this winter. So, either the Blue Jays will wind up paying more money to retain him or lose the face of the franchise.
They probably should have just met his asking price.
AL Central
2 of 6
Cleveland Guardians: Failing to acquire another veteran starter
The Guardians did bring back former AL Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber on a two-year, $26 million deal, but he won't be ready for the start of the season following Tommy John surgery last April.
So, right now, manager Stephen Vogt's rotation is Tanner Bibee and a bunch of question marks. Will Ben Lively match the career year he had in his age-32 campaign last season? Can Triston McKenzie recapture the form that made him look like a budding star when he posted a 2.96 ERA over 191.1 innings in 2022? What will Cleveland ultimately get from Luis L. Ortiz, Gavin Williams and John Means?
The Guardians always seem to find a way to make their pitching work, but they did so last year on the back of one of the greatest bullpens of all time. Ask yourself how likely the arm barn is to come close to matching its 2024 results:
Emmanuel Clase: 47 saves, 0.61 ERA over 66 games, third-place AL Cy Young Award finish
Cade Smith: 1.91 ERA over 74 games
Hunter Gaddis: 1.57 ERA over 78 games
Tim Herrin: 1.92 ERA over 75 games
Cleveland is great at developing pitching. But considering it was one of the final four teams standing, would it have hurt to make a starting pitching addition that isn't going to open the season on the injured list?
Kansas City Royals: Not improving the outfield
Kyle Isbel is a tremendous defensive center fielder, but he posted a .654 OPS last season. When you add in MJ Melendez (.674 OPS) and Hunter Renfroe (.689 OPS), the Royals had one of the least productive offensive outfields in baseball last season.
And yet, they project to have that same trio in the outfield on Opening Day. Perhaps Jonathan India and/or Michael Massey will see some time in the outfield in 2025. But this is a team that really needed to add an impact bat in the outfield, and it failed to do so.
Don't get it twisted, the Royals have a strong starting rotation led by the one-two punch of Cole Ragans and Seth Lugo.
Their lineup also has its own great duo with Bobby Witt Jr. and Salvador Perez, though you can argue the Royals were too reliant on those two offensively last season.
The same dynamic figures to be present in 2025.
Detroit Tigers: Failing to sign Alex Bregman
After a Cinderella run into the postseason last year and past the Houston Astros in the ALWCS, the Tigers had a lot of momentum heading into the offseason.
However, it felt like they needed to make a couple of impact veteran additions to A.J. Hinch's lineup to maximize their potential in 2025.
They added Gleyber Torres on a one-year, $15 million deal, a worthwhile gamble on the former top prospect. But that feels a little underwhelming as the top offensive addition of the winter.
For much of the offseason, the Tigers appeared to be the most likely landing spot for Alex Bregman, who would be reuniting with Hinch.
Instead, Detroit let the 30-year-old go to the Red Sox on a three-year, $120 million deal, a pact that includes an opt-out after the first season.
If this had been a six-year deal, it would have made sense to pass. But for three years—and perhaps only one if he opts out next offseason—Bregman made a ton of sense for the Tigers, because he would have added another big bat to their lineup and a veteran presence on a young team.
Kerry Carpenter and Riley Greene are two building blocks in the lineup. Former No. 1 pick Spencer Torkelson is still only 25. Colt Keith and Jace Jung are two players who could develop into stars for Detroit.
However, it just seems there would be a much rosier outlook nationally on the Tigers if they had signed Bregman to supplement all the young pieces.
Minnesota Twins: Continuing to build team around injury-prone stars
The projected lineup for the Twins in the winter looked pretty good. The problem is there's a good chance it's not together often once the season gets going.
Arguably, the three best position players on the Twins, in no particular order, are Byron Buxton, Carlos Correa and Royce Lewis.
Buxton—perhaps the most injury-plagued player in baseball—led all three with 102 games played last season. Correa was limited to 86 games, while Lewis played in 82.
Granted, Correa was tremendous when he was on the field, posting a 4.3 WAR in just over half a season. Lewis homered 16 times and drove in 47 runs in just 292 at-bats. If you project those numbers out to a full season, both would be All-Stars.
The problem is Buxton, Correa and Lewis all have injury histories that date back much further than last season. Lewis already has a left hamstring strain that will force him to miss the start of the season.
As great as the glimpses of them together are, history tells us that building around them isn't wise because they often aren't available.
Chicago White Sox: Not signing more veterans who could be flipped at the deadline
It feels like there's nowhere to go but up after the White Sox's dreadful 41-121 campaign a year ago. MLB Pipeline says they have the No. 6 farm system in baseball, which was bolstered by the Crochet trade in the winter. Things could be looking up on the South Side.
But even if the White Sox are just normal bad this year, they still will likely lose over 100 games. That means they could be looking to flip some of the veterans on their team by the summer.
Perhaps there will be trade interest in players such as Brandon Drury, Mike Tauchman, Michael A. Taylor and Martín Pérez. But are any of them going to bring back more than a warm body even if they are playing well?
It seems the White Sox should have been going after veteran rebound candidates this offseason, like Torres and Ha-Seong Kim. Those are the type of players who could at least get you an intriguing lottery ticket from a contender in the summer. And it's not like the White Sox have too many good players for it to have made sense to sign a more notable veteran.
AL West
3 of 6
Houston Astros: Trading Kyle Tucker
If there was a player worth backing up the truck for, it was Kyle Tucker. Instead, ahead of his contract year, the Astros traded him to the Chicago Cubs.
A shin fracture limited the three-time All-Star to 78 games last year, but he was performing at an MVP level, hitting 23 home runs with a 4.2 WAR in less than half a season. Over the three seasons prior to that, he posted an .870 OPS. He's one of the 10 best position players in baseball. And he's still only 28.
Isaac Paredes was a nice piece to recoup in the Tucker trade, as his swing should fit great with the Crawford Boxes at Daikin Park. But if Tucker wins NL MVP for the Cubs, it's going to be hard to stomach giving up at least one peak season from him.
Some guys are worth going beyond your financial comfort zone for.
Seattle Mariners: Failing to add another big bat
How did the Mariners respond to their offense preventing them from reaching the postseason last year despite having potentially the best starting rotation in baseball? By making zero notable additions to the lineup this winter.
Granted, president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto did acquire Randy Arozarena and Victor Robles last year, and those two helped the M's to score the third-most runs in September. By that point, though, it was too little too late.
With a full season of Arozarena and Robles—mixed with potential bounce-back campaigns from Julio Rodríguez, J.P. Crawford, Mitch Haniger and Mitch Garver—the Mariners may have enough internally to be a playoff team in 2025.
However, there's at least as good of a chance that their offense again wastes an elite pitching staff.
Texas Rangers: Not doing more in the bullpen
The three relievers who pitched the most games for the Rangers a season ago were David Robertson (68), José Leclerc (64) and Kirby Yates (61). None of those three are currently employed by the team.
Granted, Robertson is going to turn 40 in April, Yates will turn 38 before Opening Day and Leclerc wasn't effective last season. So, there was some logic in not doubling down on that bullpen.
The problem is that the Rangers pivoted and signed 38-year-old Chris Martin, who appears to be their closer right now. They also added other free-agent arms who are on the wrong side of 30 in Luke Jackson, Hoby Milner, Jacob Webb and Shawn Armstrong.
Lefty Robert Garcia—who had a 2.38 FIP that was much lower than his 4.22 ERA last season—was a sneaky pickup in a trade with the Washington Nationals.
However, it feels like the Rangers replaced quality with quantity in the bullpen this offseason.
Athletics: Honestly, not much
MLB and club owner John Fisher should regret how they handled the exit from Oakland and the fact that the A's will now spend at least three seasons playing at a Triple-A ballpark in Sacramento without any finalized plans for moving to Las Vegas.
From a baseball sense, though, it was a fruitful offseason. Sure, they overpaid, but signing Luis Severino improved the pitching staff, as did trading for Jeffrey Springs. They took a flier on Leclerc, while inking Brent Rooker and Lawrence Butler to extensions.
Yes, the cynical part of you is right when it says this offseason the A's tried to A) avoid a grievance from the MLBPA for not reinvesting revenue sharing into payroll and B) look desirable as they try to get a new stadium in Vegas.
However, this is the best offseason the franchise has had in a long time.
Los Angeles Angels: Not having a better plan on the right side of the infield
In the least shocking development of the spring, Anthony Rendon underwent left hip surgery in February, which could prevent him from playing at all this season.
The Angels were pretty active this offseason in adding veterans to Ron Washington's team, acquiring Jorge Soler, Travis d'Arnaud, Yusei Kikuchi, Kyle Hendricks and Kenley Jansen. But the right side of their infield still looks pretty underwhelming with Kevin Newman penciled in as the starting shortstop and Yoán Moncada at third base.
Moncada did once look like a budding star for the White Sox, so it's possible the one-year, $5 million gamble on him proves to be a shrewd investment. But he's played in just 208 games the last three seasons, so the more likely scenario is he ends up on the IL next to Rendon. Newman will try to hold things down until Zach Neto returns from offseason shoulder surgery.
NL East
4 of 6
Philadelphia Phillies: Failing to add another impact right-handed bat
Based off of the strong spring he's had, the one-year, $10 million deal the Phillies gave Max Kepler might prove to be a wise investment.
Still, the 32-year-old joins a team that projects to have five left-handed hitters—him, Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, Bryson Stott and Brandon Marsh—in the Opening Day lineup.
Particularly with Weston Wilson set to open the season on the injured list with an oblique strain, the Phillies could be in a pinch when they face tough left-handed pitchers like Chris Sale early on.
Even if Kepler has a bounce-back season, there's a good chance president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski is going to again find himself looking for another impact right-handed bat in advance of the July 31 trade deadline.
Atlanta Braves: Declining Travis d'Arnaud's option
In theory, the Braves can't possibly have worse injury luck than they did a season ago. And considering Brian Snitker's squad still won 89 games in 2024, it's scary to think what they could do if injuries don't derail their season this time around.
With that said, catcher Sean Murphy is going to open the season on the injured list with a cracked left rib. This comes after he was limited to just 72 games a season ago by a left oblique strain he sustained during the first series of the year.
Even when the 30-year-old was an All-Star in 2023, the Braves limited his workload to 108 games, which they were able to do because they had another starting-caliber catcher in Travis d'Arnaud.
Well, D'Arnaud is now in Los Angeles with former Braves third base coach Ron Washington. Rather surprisingly, the Braves declined the $8 million club option they had on him for 2025. Considering d'Arnaud hit 15 home runs and drove in 48 runs a year ago, he seemed like the perfect insurance policy on Murphy. Instead, the Braves are going to move forward with Drake Baldwin and Chadwick Tromp to begin the season.
New York Mets: Not adding another workhorse starter
The Phillies and Braves certainly have an argument, but the Mets have a strong case for having the NL East's best lineup after signing Juan Soto this past offseason.
The problem as they try to win a division that sent three teams to the postseason last year is they clearly don't measure up to the Phillies and Braves in terms of their starting rotation.
Clay Holmes, a converted reliever, is going to be the Opening Day starter. Sean Manaea won't be ready for the start as he works back from a right oblique injury.
Kodai Senga is coming off of a season in which he made just one regular-season start. Frankie Montas has a lat strain that may sideline him until after the All-Star break. David Peterson had an impressive season a year ago, posting a 2.90 ERA over 21 starts, so he could well be someone who takes down 150-plus innings this year.
For all the spending that the Mets have done, though, they feel short in terms of having a frontline starter capable of pitching 180-plus innings. Manaea may well return from the IL and pitch as well as he did a year ago.
But how much better would we feel about the Mets if president of baseball operations David Stearns had reunited with Corbin Burnes this winter in free agency?
Washington Nationals: Refusing to take a bigger swing
The NL East has three teams with World Series aspirations in 2025, and the Nationals will be without righty Josiah Gray for most or all of this season as he recovers from Tommy John surgery. Next offseason, they should have a clearer picture on their TV rights and ownership situation.
There are reasons why it may have made sense for Washington to wait one more year before re-emerging as a major spender. But with Patrick Corbin's money now off the books and the Opening Day lineup likely to include James Wood, CJ Abrams, Dylan Crews and Luis García Jr., it would have been nice to see the Nationals add a major veteran to signal their rebuild is over.
Sure, they brought Josh Bell back for a second stint in D.C. and acquired Nathaniel Lowe in a trade with the Texas Rangers. But instead of making one or both of those transactions, they should have filled the Pete Alonso market and offered him a lucrative five-year contract.
Even with Alonso, Washington may have only been a .500-ish team in 2025. But he's still only 30 and would add thump and a veteran presence to what is a team brimming with young talent.
Miami Marlins: Well, pretty much everything
The Marlins—who reached the playoffs just two years ago—are going to be one of the most non-descript MLB teams we've seen in 2025.
They already were that in the second half of last season, and they felt compelled to trade Jake Burger to the Rangers this winter after he posted a .901 OPS after the All-Star break.
Mind you, the 28-year-old won't even be eligible for arbitration until 2026, and he can't become a free agent until after the 2028 season. This isn't to say he's a franchise cornerstone, but MLB Pipeline doesn't have one of the three prospects that Miami received from Texas ranked in the top 15 prospects coming into the year. So why trade him?
The Fish did get back Starlyn Caba—a slick-fielding shortstop who is now the No. 4 prospect in their system—from the Phillies for Jesús Luzardo. Still, it feels like they sold low on him.
Luzardo can't be a free agent until after 2026. He's coming off of an injury-riddled season, but he had a 3.48 ERA between 2022 and 2023 and is only 27. What was the rush to trade him over the winter?
Marlins fans can look forward to the return of former NL Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcántara, who missed all of last season recovering from Tommy John surgery. They can also probably start the clock until he is traded away to an organization that is trying to win.
NL Central
5 of 6
Milwaukee Brewers: Failing to have a better succession plan for Willy Adames
It was understood for most of the 2024 season that Willy Adames would likely depart in free agency, and he landed a seven-year, $182 million deal from the San Francisco Giants.
The Brewers probably weren't going to replace the 32 home runs and 112 RBI he produced last year with just one player. Still, it feels like the right side of their infield is underwhelming heading into the 2025 season.
Joey Ortiz hit 11 home runs and posted a .726 OPS last year as Milwaukee's primary third baseman after being acquired from the Orioles in the Burnes trade. He'll shift to shortstop this year, which isn't a surprising development. The Brewers will be hoping he was only scratching the surface of his offensive potential last year.
The real issue is that Oliver Dunn—a 27-year-old with 104 career MLB plate appearances—is now penciled in as their starting third baseman.
Perhaps the Brewers weren't going to match the offer the Giants put forward for Adames, but they needed a better succession plan at third base if Ortiz was going to slide to shortstop.
St. Louis Cardinals: Not trading Ryan Helsley
It would have been a tough pill for Cardinals fans to swallow if they traded closer Ryan Helsley over the winter following a season in which he won the Trevor Hoffman Award as the NL's best reliever.
But given the Cardinals are taking a step back in 2025 with their eyes on the future and are looking to replenish their farm system, trading him after a 49-save season probably would have been the right move for the organization.
Instead, the Cardinals will carry the injury risk of a 30-year-old who regularly throws at or near 100 mph into a season while not expecting to compete for a World Series.
Even if Helsley doesn't get hurt, the Cardinals will get a lesser return at the trade deadline or if he leaves in free agency than they would have received if they traded him this offseason.
Chicago Cubs: Setting themselves up to look cheap if they don't retain Kyle Tucker
The Cubs made one of the best moves of the offseason flipping Isaac Parades, Hayden Wesneski and Cam Smith to the Astros for Kyle Tucker.
They were a team with a lot of good players, but they needed a superstar to anchor their lineup. They now have that with Tucker.
But there is a sense this is going to be a one-year arrangement. It's like the Cubs—who play in one of the biggest markets in the sport and have a stadium that's a cash cow because it's a tourist attraction—are a mom-and-pop shop.
As the Yankees found out last year with Juan Soto, there's no guarantee that when you acquire a star in their final year before free agency that you'll be able to retain them. But there wasn't the same sense of defeatism around the Yankees last spring about their chances to keep Tucker for the long term.
If Tucker has a monster year and then the Cubs aren't willing to pony up to retain him in free agency, the Ricketts family is going to be perceived, probably correctly, as being cheap.
Cincinnati Reds: Not getting a little more certainty in their lineup
New manager Terry Francona is inheriting a talented roster, although there's not a lot of certainty in their major offseason moves:
- Will Brady Singer be as effective starting in the pitching hellscape that Great American Ballpark is?
- Can Austin Hays bounce back after a nightmarish 2024 season led to him being non-tendered by the Phillies?
- Will a change of scenery see Gavin Lux achieve the star potential he was once thought to have?
This is on top of some uncertainty from the pieces the Reds already had. Matt McLain is coming back after missing all of 2024 recovering from shoulder surgery. Jeimer Candelario underwhelmed in the first season of a three-year, $45 million deal. Even Elly De La Cruz, for as electric as he is offensively, still has a ton of questions defensively after a 29-error season.
If there's anyone capable of getting the most out of a talent group, it's Francona. But there are a lot of question marks on the Cincinnati roster heading in 2025.
Pittsburgh Pirates: Having Bob Nutting as owner
How are the Pirates responding to Paul Skenes winning NL Rookie of the Year and finishing third in senior-circuit Cy Young Award voting? Well, by carrying a $77 million payroll into 2025.
They did re-sign franchise icon Andrew McCutchen for his age-38 season, while also acquiring Tommy Pham, Spencer Horwitz, Tim Mayza and Andrew Heaney. Pittsburgh made some moves this winter, but they just feel underwhelming for a team that realistically probably has a limited number of years to try to win a title with Skenes at the top of a rotation that also includes Jared Jones and Mitch Keller.
Ultimately, this comes down to owner Bob Nutting. If there was ever a time when he should be spending beyond his comfort zone, this is it. And if he's not capable of doing that, he should sell the Pirates.
NL West
6 of 6
Los Angeles Dodgers: Not signing more of a sure thing in the middle infield
Are the Dodgers the heavy favorites to win the World Series for a second year in a row? Yes. But is it a foregone conclusion that they will win it all in 2025? No.
Mookie Betts is going to open the season as Los Angeles' shortstop, with Tommy Edman likely at second base. It's an arrangement that feels like it could be unsustainable if the Dodgers don't get what they are expecting out of Michael Conforto, Andy Pages and James Outman in the outfield.
Keep in mind, Outman posted a minus-0.3 WAR last year after a breakout 2023, and if he doesn't rebound, Edman will probably end up back in center field at least on a part-time basis.
The Dodgers did sign Hyeseong Kim out of South Korea this offseason with the thought that he could be part of the middle infield solution. But the 26-year-old is going to open the season at Triple-A after struggling offensively in Cactus League play.
Overall, the Dodgers are in a great spot heading into 2025, as they are probably even better than the team that won the World Series last year. But with the possibility that one, or both, of Betts and Edman ends up back in the outfield at some point in 2025, you'd like to have more of a sure thing at shortstop or second base.
San Diego Padres: Having more talent go out than come in
Led by Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., Dylan Cease and Jackson Merrill, the Padres still have quite a few superstar-type talents.
However, they finished second to the Dodgers in the NL West last season and then lost to them in five games in the NLDS. And they probably got worse in the offseason.
Key additions: Nick Pivetta, Jason Heyward, Connor Joe, Jose Igleasias
Key subtractions: Tanner Scott, Jurickson Profar, Ha-Seong Kim
The Padres have hardly reverted to being a so-called small-market team, but it's clear since the death of owner Peter Seidler that his family members, who are fighting over control of the team, probably aren't going to spend the way he did in the later years of his life.
Arizona Diamondbacks: It's hard to find anything
The Diamondbacks aren't the favorites to win the NL West because they are in the same division as the Dodgers. But you could make the case that if they were in any other division in baseball, they could probably win it.
They did lose first baseman Christian Walker in free agency, but they pivoted by acquiring Josh Naylor after a 31-home run for the Guardians last season. He'll join a lineup with Corbin Carroll, Ketel Marte and Eugenio Suárez.
Meanwhile, the Diamondbacks had bad injury luck last season in their starting rotation with Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly and Eduardo Rodríguez. But this is a top-five rotation after also adding Burnes on a six-year, $210 million deal. Imagine if a slimmed-down Jordan Montgomery has a bounce-back season.
Arizona is, arguably, a top-five roster, and it should improve both internally and externally from last season. There's not a ton to complain about from its offseason.
San Francisco Giants: Getting nostalgic with Justin Verlander
New president of baseball operations Buster Posey likely wishes he got the chance to catch Justin Verlander at the height of his powers. So, he did the next best thing by signing the three-time AL Cy Young Award winner this offseason.
The problem is the Giants gave the future Hall of Famer $15 million following a season in which he posted a 5.48 ERA, with a neck injury limiting him to just 17 starts and clearly affecting him when he was on the mound.
Is it possible a healthy Verlander bounces back in 2025? Sure, it wouldn't be the first time in his illustrious career that he seemed done and came roaring back. But he's a 42-year-old who has logged more than 3,400 innings in his career.
The more likely scenario is that Father Time has finally caught up with him.
Colorado Rockies: Continuing to just participate
Under owner Dick Monfort—who recently made the case for MLB adopting a salary cap—it feels like the Rockies are content to just participate every season.
Franchise icon Charlie Blackmon retired after the 2024 season, a campaign in which the Rockies went 61-101. The only notable addition they made this offseason was signing Thairo Estrada, a bounce-back candidate who was a solid second baseman for the division-rival Giants a few years ago.
It was a fine move, but the Rockies did nothing that moved the needle this winter.
The Rockies have six consecutive losing seasons, including a pair of 100-plus loss seasons. And yet, manager Bud Black is back for a ninth season on the job and the roster hasn't been altered much.
It doesn't feel like there's any sense of urgency to win in Colorado.
