A Refresher on MLB's Top Offseason Storylines Amid Free-Agent Frenzy
After 99 days of lockout that brought the MLB offseason to a standstill, it's easy to forget just how busy the free-agent market was in the days leading up to the shutdown.
With another flurry of activity expected in the coming days, now is the perfect time for a quick recap of everything that went down before the lockout was implemented.
From the Texas Rangers spending $500 million on two players to the New York Mets going all-in after a disappointing 2021 season, we've broken down the 10 biggest storylines from the first month of the MLB offseason as a quick refresher.
Last Year's AL Playoff Teams Have Been Eerily Quiet
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The Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, Houston Astros, New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays made up the American League postseason field in 2021.
Here's a look at who those five teams have added to their 40-man rosters so far this offseason:
- BOS: SP Rich Hill, SP Michael Wacha, CF Jackie Bradley Jr., SP James Paxton
- CWS: RP Kendall Graveman
- HOU: RP Hector Neris
- NYY: None
- TBR: SP Corey Kluber, RP Brooks Raley
Meanwhile, the Detroit Tigers (Javier Baez, Eduardo Rodriguez), Los Angeles Angels (Noah Syndergaard, Michael Lorenzen), Seattle Mariners (Robbie Ray, Adam Frazier), Texas Rangers (Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Jon Gray) and Toronto Blue Jays (Kevin Gausman) have all added impact talent to their rosters.
There's still plenty of time for those five teams to make a splash, but for now, it feels like the gap has closed a bit between the contenders and the also-rans in the American League.
Two Huge Under-the-Radar Additions for the San Diego Padres
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The San Diego Padres signing right-hander Nick Martinez to a four-year, $20 million contract in November did not exactly dominate the headlines, but it has a chance to be one of the best under-the-radar moves of the offseason.
Little more than organizational depth shuttling between Triple-A and the minors during his time with the Texas Rangers, Martinez has spent the past four years pitching in Japan. Last year, he was one of the most dominant starters in the Japanese League.
The 31-year-old went 10-5 with a 1.62 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 146 strikeouts in 149.2 innings, and he also pitched for Team USA in the Olympics, posting a 1.64 ERA with 16 strikeouts in 11 innings.
We've seen pitchers like Miles Mikolas, Merrill Kelly and Josh Lindblom return from stints in the Japanese League to varying levels of MLB success. Slotted into the No. 5 spot in the San Diego rotation, Martinez has a chance to exceed expectations in his MLB comeback.
Beyond additions to their roster, the Padres have also added a new manager, poaching Bob Melvin from the Oakland Athletics. After former manager Jayce Tingler seemingly lost the locker room during the team's second-half swoon last year, Melvin is the type of steadying presence that could help them take that next step.
The Seattle Mariners Have Found Their Staff Ace
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With a five-year, $115 million deal from the Seattle Mariners, left-hander Robbie Ray joined an exclusive group of pitchers who joined a new team the year after winning the Cy Young Award.
Catfish Hunter (OAK to NYY), Mark Davis (KC to SD), Greg Maddux (CHC to ATL), Trevor Bauer (CIN to LAD) all jumped ship in free agency, while David Cone (KC to TOR), Pedro Martinez (MON to BOS), Roger Clemens (TOR to NYY) and R.A. Dickey (NYM to TOR) were moved in blockbuster trades.
Ray, 30, rebounded from a disastrous 2020 season to lead the AL in ERA (2.84), WHIP (1.05), strikeouts (248) and innings pitched (193.1).
Meanwhile, the Mariners finished 19th in the majors with a 4.61 ERA from the starting rotation. They used 15 different starters and only had three pitchers eclipse 120 innings on the year.
There's a lot of young pitching talent in the Seattle system, but the Ray signing gives them a bona fide ace to anchor the staff and take some of the pressure off those up-and-comers.
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Don't Sleep on the Detroit Tigers
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The Detroit Tigers were perennial contenders in the early 2010s, but they've struggled through five straight losing seasons following a 77-85 finish in 2021.
The tide finally seems to be turning.
Jeimer Candelario, Casey Mize, Tarik Skubal and Rule 5 find Akil Baddoo look like potential long-term pieces, and there's more homegrown help on the way with uber-prospects Spencer Torkelson and Riley Greene both expected to debut at some point in 2022.
The front office has taken an aggressive approach this offseason to building around a young core that is still taking shape, starting with the high-profile addition of dynamic shortstop Javier Baez on a six-year, $140 million deal.
Veteran catcher Tucker Barnhart was acquired to lend his Gold Glove receiving skills to a young pitching staff, while former Boston Red Sox left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez will slot in alongside Mize at the top of the rotation after agreeing to a five-year, $77 million contract.
This is a team that could surprise some people in 2022, and that will only be the start.
The Los Angeles Angels Are Betting on Noah Syndergaard
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A lack of consistent starting pitching has been the Los Angeles Angels' undoing throughout the Mike Trout era. Year-in and year-out, the front office has attempted to patch a bullet hole with a Band-Aid, signing guys like Matt Harvey and Trevor Cahill to one-year deals and hoping for the best.
They have again taken the short-term fix approach this winter but at a much higher price point.
Noah Syndergaard signed a one-year, $21 million contract after declining a qualifying offer from the New York Mets, and he'll look to rebuild his value after missing most of the past two years recovering from Tommy John surgery.
The 29-year-old will slot in alongside Shohei Ohtani at the top of a rotation that will also include some combination of Patrick Sandoval, Jose Suarez, Griffin Canning, Reid Detmers, Janson Junk and fellow free-agent signing Michael Lorenzen.
Is that enough starting pitching talent to make the Angels viable contenders?
Cedric Mullins, Bryan Reynolds Both Available, but at a Price
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With Mike Trout, Byron Buxton and Luis Robert all missing significant time, there's a legitimate case to be made that Bryan Reynolds and Cedric Mullins were the best center fielders in baseball in 2021.
Reynolds, 27, rebounded for an ugly 2020 season to hit .302/.390/.522 with 35 doubles, 24 home runs and 90 RBI in a 6.0-WAR season for a 101-loss Pittsburgh Pirates team.
Mullins, also 27, became the first 30-homer, 30-steal player in Baltimore Orioles history, hitting .291/.360/.518 for a 135 OPS+ with 37 doubles, 91 runs scored and 5.7 WAR on a 110-loss team.
Both players are controllable through the 2025 season, so they could conceivably be building blocks rather than trade candidates, but it sounds like both teams are at least willing to hear offers for the best player on their roster.
Jon Heyman of MLB Network reported in November that the Orioles are listening to offers for Mullins, though the asking price is "extremely high" as expected, while the Pirates entertained trade proposals from a number of teams on Reynolds at the deadline last year before ultimately holding onto him.
Will anyone pay the steep prospect price it will take to pry one of them loose?
The Oakland Athletics Are Open for Business on the Trade Market
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Last month, MLB Trade Rumors put together their list of the 14 players most likely to be traded once the lockout was lifted, and more than a third of that list was made up of Oakland Athletics players.
It all comes down to money for the small-market Athletics, and here's what the five players included on that list are projected to earn in arbitration:
- 1B Matt Olson: $12 million
- SP Sean Manaea: $10.2 million
- 3B Matt Chapman: $9.5 million
- SP Chris Bassitt: $8.8 million
- RP Lou Trivino: $2.9 million
After posting a 153 OPS+ with 39 home runs and 111 RBI in a 5.8-WAR season, Olson would be a game-changing addition to any team, and he's more than just a rental with club control through the 2023 season.
Chapman is also a free agent after 2023, while Manaea and Bassitt are set to hit the open market next winter. Trivino has the most control of the group with arbitration eligibility through 2024.
Don't be surprised if more than one of those guys is playing elsewhere when Opening Day rolls around in a matter of weeks.
The Chicago Cubs Might Not Be Rebuilding After All
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After trading away Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and Javier Baez at the deadline along with some other secondary pieces, it certainly looked like the Chicago Cubs were headed for another long, painful rebuild.
Then again, maybe not.
Just before the lockout, Marcus Stroman signed a three-year, $71 million deal with the Cubs that includes an opt-out after two seasons. That certainly doesn't feel like the type of move a team would make if it doesn't think it can contend in the short-term.
They also made a sneaky good waiver claim of veteran starter Wade Miley, took intriguing fliers on Clint Frazier and Harold Ramirez, and added veteran Yan Gomes to take some of the pressure off Willson Contreras behind the plate.
The time and money are there for the North Siders to make another big splash in the coming days, and adding someone like Carlos Correa or Trevor Story to the mix would erase any doubt about this team's intention to contend.
There's a New $500 MIllion Middle Infield in Texas
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Despite selling off many of their veteran pieces over the past few years, including offseason trades of Lance Lynn and Elvis Andrus last winter and a summer deadline deal that sent Joey Gallo to the New York Yankees in exchange for prospects, the Texas Rangers have been one of the offseason's loudest teams.
On Dec. 1, they signed two of the free-agent market's biggest stars, inking shortstop Corey Seager to a 10-year, $325 million deal and second baseman Marcus Semien to a seven-year, $175 million pact.
The pair combined for 11.0 WAR in 2021, with Seager posting a 145 OPS+ in an injury-shortened 95 games and Semien launching 45 home runs and winning Gold Glove honors in a season that netted him a third-place finish in AL MVP balloting.
On a smaller scale, the Rangers have also signed right-hander Jon Gray to serve as the de facto ace of the staff and veteran outfielder Kole Calhoun to serve as the starting right fielder.
They might not currently have the pitching to be serious contenders in 2022, but this Rangers team put the pedal to the metal on their rebuild this winter.
Max Scherzer Headlines an Impressive List of New York Mets Newcomers
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If you thought last winter's blockbuster deal to acquire Francisco Lindor and his subsequent 10-year, $341 million extension qualified as a flashy offseason, well, that was just the appetizer.
After a disappointing 77-85 finish in Steve Cohen's first year as the team's owner, the New York Mets appeared to be taking an all-in approach in the early stages of free agency.
Future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer became baseball's highest-paid player when he inked a three-year, $130 million deal, and assuming Jacob deGrom is back to 100 percent after dealing with arm issues last year, the Mets could boast one of the greatest one-two punches in MLB history.
Outfielders Starling Marte and Mark Canha were also signed to join Brandon Nimmo in the grass. Marte will give the top of the lineup a new dynamic after hitting .310/.383/.458 with 47 steals last year, while Canha has long been an underrated source of on-base ability and power.
Third baseman Eduardo Escobar rounds out New York's early offseason haul on the heels of a 28-homer, 90-RBI season, and he also provides some defensive versatility with the ability to play second base on a regular basis if needed.
That would be quite the offseason for most teams, but it feels like there's more to come.
All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference.
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