Highlighting the Best and Worst 2015-16 MLB Offseason Makeovers
It's difficult not to admire the aggressive approaches of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Boston Red Sox—two of the biggest spenders of the 2015-16 MLB offseason.
No one knows just yet how it will all shake out, but on paper, the upcoming campaign is looking awfully promising for those two franchises. At the same time, some clubs' offseason overhauls don't look nearly as impressive.
Let's take a trip around the league and explore which teams have orchestrated the best and worst winter rebuilds.
Makeovers are all about total transformations, not just refurbishing already-competitive teams. For the purpose of this exercise, only squads that weren't in contention (and weren't on the right side of .500) in 2015 were eligible for consideration.
To determine which front offices executed the best and worst makeovers, we took one central factor into consideration: how effectively the given brass addressed their most glaring weakness from 2015.
The outlook for each team's division also factored into the equation, and for a couple of American League hopefuls, that's bad news.
Best: Miami Marlins
1 of 5
2015 Record: 71-91
Key Additions: Manager Don Mattingly, hitting coach Barry Bonds, SP Wei-Yin Chen, IF Chris Johnson, RP Edwin Jackson and 2B Dee Gordon (contract extension)
Why This Makeover Will Prove to Be So Smart
For the Fish, Don Mattingly was the biggest get of the offseason.
The ex-skipper of the Los Angeles Dodgers was often the scapegoat at Chavez Ravine, but his resume speaks for itself.
In his final three seasons in Southern California, Mattingly's squad, which was supremely talented but also crowded with outsized egos, claimed three division crowns and averaged nearly 93 wins per campaign.
Now his task in South Beach will be to turn a 71-win afterthought into a serious contender in the Senior Circuit.
As Mattingly begins to build the Miami Marlins, he'll be able to call on a baseball genius in Barry Bonds, his new hitting coach. Mattingly offered his thoughts on the home run king turned instructor, per Chris Cwik of Big League Stew:
"The knowledge is there. You know he understands exactly, probably at a level that maybe not very many may understand, but also a guy that came through a pretty good teaching. His dad was a good teacher. Willie Mays was a pretty good teacher, he's his Godson. So he's from a good teaching background. And his attitude of wanting to be good. When Barry Bonds tells me he wants to be good at something, I think he's going to be good.
"
One Marlin who should really benefit from Bonds' teaching is Marcell Ozuna. According to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, Bonds and Mattingly went to bat for the center fielder, telling the brain trust not to trade the Dominican, who cracked 23 homers back in 2014. As Cafardo noted, Bonds and Mattingly think they can turn Osuna into a 30/30 guy.
The National League East will also prove to be a favorable climate for Mattingly, as only 60 percent of the division—the Marlins, New York Mets and Washington Nationals—is positioned to compete in 2016.
Thanks to the sneaky-good free-agent signing of Wei-Yin Chen (five years, $80 million), the Marlins now have an imposing one-two punch in Jose Fernandez and the lefty. Last year, Chen checked in with the seventh-best ERA (3.34) in the AL.
Then there's the Dee Gordon deal. The flyer isn't a new face for the Marlins, but it was shrewd to lock in one of the game's most dynamic table-setters. On a five-year, $50 million deal (with a $14 million club option for 2021), the reigning NL batting champ will be a tremendous value for Miami.
Worst: Seattle Mariners
2 of 5
2015 Record: 76-86
Key Additions: 1B Adam Lind, SP Hisashi Iwakuma (re-signed), OF Nori Aoki, SP Wade Miley, SP Nathan Karns, SP Joe Wieland, RP Steve Cishek, C Chris Iannetta, C Steve Clevenger, OF Franklin Gutierrez (re-signed), INF Luis Sardinas, OF Leonys Martin and RP Joaquin Benoit
Why This Makeover Will Fall Flat
Take one look at the above list of transactions and you have to wonder: Does Jerry Dipoto ever sleep?
According to Jayson Stark of ESPN, the Seattle Mariners general manager, who was only hired at the end of September, had already swung nine trades by the conclusion of the winter meetings in mid-December.
Dipoto's most significant upgrades have been to the relief corps, where he added Joaquin Benoit (2.34 ERA in 2015) and Steve Cishek, who salvaged his campaign following a summer trade to the St. Louis Cardinals (2.31 ERA in 27 games).
Those new arms are much needed, as the bullpen was a total liability in 2015, racking up the second-most losses (36) in the AL. But it wasn't just the pen that plagued the M's during the season that was.
It was also that lousy offense.
Even with Nelson Cruz taking a two-by-four to the circuit, the Mariners ranked 13th in the AL in runs. And here's a question: Of all the new hitters, which one is a real game-changer?
Adam Lind, who the Mariners really wanted, is the most compelling candidate.
"He's been a target of ours throughout the offseason," Dipoto said, per Greg Johns of MLB.com. "I've had many conversations with [new Milwaukee Brewers GM] David Stearns dating back to shortly after both of us got the jobs. Adam really suits us well."
Dipoto was referring to Lind's knack for dismantling right-handed pitching. In 2015, Lind posted an .883 OPS and launched all 20 of his homers off righties.
But Seattle is in trouble if it's counting on a platoon star to be the difference-maker in 2016.
The AL West is lining up to be remarkably challenging. The division-winning Texas Rangers have their core in tact, the wild-card winning Houston Astros are a year older and have added closer Ken Giles and the Los Angeles Angels are looming. Last season, the Halos' offense face-planted in the second half, but the club only missed October by a single game.
Dipoto has been the busiest man in baseball since landing in the Pacific Northwest, but there's a real possibility that the Mariners will be the fourth-best team in their division once again.
Best: Arizona Diamondbacks
3 of 5
2015 Record: 79-83
Key Additions: SP Zack Greinke and SP Shelby Miller
Why This Makeover Will Prove to Be So Smart
Tony La Russa and Dave Stewart are the two boldest execs in baseball.
This offseason, the Arizona Diamondbacks chief baseball officer and GM pilfered Zack Greinke from the Los Angeles Dodgers by dishing out a $206.5 million pile of cash and landed Shelby Miller in a monster trade with the Atlanta Braves.
Greinke is the obvious call as the team's new No. 1 guy.
"That's the easiest decision I've ever had to make," manager Chip Hale said, per MLB Network Radio.
But Miller, who has made at least 31 starts in each of the past three campaigns and sported a 3.02 ERA in 2015, will also make a significant difference in the desert.
The D-backs needed quality innings. Last season, the starting crew ranked 11th in ERA in the NL and 14th in innings pitched. The additions of Greinke and Miller will go a long way in rocketing Arizona up the leaderboard in both of those departments.
The three-time NL West defending-champion Dodgers and the reloaded San Francisco Giants will offer the D-backs all sorts of competition. But with the new starters atop the rotation, Arizona now has the best all-around roster.
The club already had the best offense, as the group ranked second in the NL in runs a season ago. Paul Goldschmidt was second in NL MVP voting and center fielder A.J. Pollock is the best player no one ever talks about. Per FanGraphs, Goldy had the fourth-best WAR in the bigs in 2015 and Pollock checked in at No. 8.
FanGraphs has tabbed Arizona to finish at 79-83 in 2016—the exact same record as last season—but with Greinke and Miller complementing a high-powered offense, it would be staggering if the team didn't smash that projection.
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Worst: Chicago White Sox
4 of 5
2015 Record: 76-86
Key Additions: 3B Todd Frazier, 2B Brett Lawrie, C Dioner Navarro, C Alex Avila and RP Tommy Kahnle
Why This Makeover Will Fall Flat
If you want to know why the Chicago White Sox finished 10 games south of .500 and 19 games off the pace in the division in 2015, look no further than their dismal offense.
Last season, the White Sox ranked last in the AL in runs, homers, OPS and slugging percentage.
GM Rick Hahn has attempted to remedy that problem by bringing in Todd Frazier, Brett Lawrie, Dioner Navarro and Alex Avila to jolt the lineup. Those new faces provide the White Sox with plenty of potential, but aside from Frazier (who cracked 35 yard shots in 2015), none of those guys offers a guaranteed impact bat.
Fortunately for the South Siders, an impact bat remains unsigned in the form of Yoenis Cespedes. As Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago and 670 The Score argued, the Detroit Tigers' signing of Justin Upton positions the White Sox to swoop in on the Cuban.
"This sets the stage for the White Sox to hit a home run on the free-agent market [by signing Cespedes]. Chicago could tweak a three-year offer to four seasons with an opt-out clause after the second and third years so that the sides can reach a middle ground."
That's just the kind of contract Hahn should be sending Cespedes' reps ASAP.
A three-four-five combo of Cespedes, Jose Abreu and Frazier would push the White Sox into the contender category in an AL Central that promises to be unforgiving in 2016.
Best: Boston Red Sox
5 of 5
2015 Record: 78-84
Key Additions: SP David Price, RP Craig Kimbrel, RP Carson Smith, SP Roenis Elias and OF Chris Young
Why This Makeover Will Prove to Be So Smart
For Dave Dombrowski, Boston's new president of baseball operations, this offseason's makeover has been all about quality—not quantity.
The Red Sox have only inked two free agents, but the club ranks third among all free-agent spenders ($230 million), according to the calculations of Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports.
Let's start with David Price, the $217 million man.
The lefty not only offers the rotation, which lugged around the third-worst ERA in the AL in 2015, a true No. 1, but he also brings some intangibles with him. As Christopher Smith of MassLive.com pointed out, Price "is known for being a tremendous mentor to young pitchers."
On the trade front, Dombrowski snapped up Craig Kimbrel, who has saved at least 39 games in each of the past five seasons and who has posted a 14.5 strikeout-per-nine ratio in his six-year run in the bigs.
The four-time All-Star is the deserving headliner of the winter, but don't over look the impact that Carson Smith will make on a bullpen that was also third-worst in ERA.
The righty, who Boston picked up in a swap with the Seattle Mariners, was electric a season ago. The reliever recorded a 2.31 ERA, worked 70 frames and piled up 92 strikeouts.
Dombrowski hasn't tinkered with the offense much, but really, what was he supposed to do?
"[The Red Sox are] well positioned. A lot of good young players," Theo Epstein, Dombrowski's counterpart with the Chicago Cubs, told Tim Healey of MLB.com.
As Healey noted, many of those guys—from Mookie Betts to Xander Bogaerts to Jackie Bradley Jr.—arrived at Fenway when Esptein was at the helm.
Last season, with Betts and Bogaerts leading the way, the Red Sox ranked fourth in the majors in runs. This offseason, lefty-masher Chris Young stands out as the most significant acquisition. In 2015, Young torched southpaws to the tune of a .327 average and a .972 OPS.
With the pitching staff solidified and the lineup good to go, the expectations are extremely high for Boston. FanGraphs projected the AL East squad to win the second-most games (92) in baseball. A 92-win campaign would make Dombrowski a front-runner for executive of the year in his first season in Boston.
Note: All stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and MLB.com. All salary information courtesy of Cot's Baseball Contracts on BaseballProspectus.com.
If you want to talk baseball, find me on Twitter @KarlBuscheck.
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