AL grades: Which team had the best offseason?
With baseball’s offseason dealings all but complete, Paste BN Sports examines the moves of all 30 teams. The grades for the American League:
Grade A+
Boston Red Sox: In early November, new Red Sox executive David Dombrowksi made his first big rebuilding move and acquired All-Star closer Craig Kimbrel in a trade with the San Diego Padres for four prospects. Almost two weeks later, the Red Sox spent $217 million for ace David Price, who significantly upgrades their rotation. Together, the two instantly transformed the Red Sox into a contender in the AL East.
Detroit Tigers: It’s clear what Tigers owner Mike Ilitch expects from this season. With an unlimited payroll, general manager Al Avila, who took over the role after the departure of Dombrowski, went out and signed outfielder Justin Upton to a six-year, $132.75million deal and pitcher Jordan Zimmermann to a five-year, $110 million contract. They also rebuilt their bullpen with the acquisitions of closer Francisco Rodriguez and setup men Mark Lowe and Justin Wilson.
Grade: A
Houston Astros: After a surprising 2015 run, the Astros look to contend again. They addressed their biggest concern from the postseason — their bullpen. The club traded for closer Ken Giles and re-signed reliever Tony Sipp to a three-year deal. They also signed free agent pitcher Doug Fister to a one-year, $7 million contract. Fister is a good bounce-back candidate to join Cy Young Award winner Dallas Keuchel in the rotation at a bargain price.
New York Yankees: Surprisingly, the Yankees have not signed a free agent. But they improved dramatically on the trade market. In a stunning move, the Yankees acquired All-Star closer Aroldis Chapman from the Cincinnati Reds, giving them arguably the best bullpen in the majors. Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller will set up the flamethrower. Starlin Castro, obtained from the Chicago Cubs, could best serve as a super-utility player who can play second, third and shortstop.
Grade: B-
Texas Rangers: The Rangers had a quiet offseason after getting within one game of the AL Championship Series. They did improve their bullpen with the acquisition of power reliever Tom Wilhelmsen. He has plenty of experience as a closer, but he’ll come in as a right-handed specialist. The big splash actually came in July when GM Jon Daniels acquired Cole Hamels. Colby Lewis was re-signed to provide depth in the rotation that includes Derek Holland and Yu Darvish, when he returns from Tommy John elbow surgery.
Seattle Mariners: A new era is set to begin in Seattle under GM Jerry Dipoto. The Mariners underwent a complete makeover, from the front office to the coaching staff to the 25-man roster. Dipoto showed immediately he wasn’t afraid to part with several key members of the 2015 roster, and shipped many of them out — SS Brad Miller, 1B Logan Morrison, DH Mark Trumbo, OF James Jones, RHPs Danny Farquhar and Wilhelmsen. In return, the Mariners got RHP Nathan Karns, LHP C.J. Riefenhauser, OF Leonys Martin, 1B Adam Lind and C Steve Clevenger, among others, who’ll play for first-year manager Scott Servais.
Grade: C
Baltimore Orioles: The Orioles pulled the trigger days before their first full-squad workout and agreed to terms with right-handed pitcher Yovani Gallardo. The acquisition filled a glaring hole -- the need for a front-end starter. But the biggest transaction was re-signing first baseman Chris Davis to a seven-year, $161 million deal. GM Dan Duquette also re-signed Darren O’Day to fortify the bullpen. And Hyun-Soo Kim, a Korean Baseball Organization import, could bring stability to left field.
Cleveland Indians: The Indians made it through the offseason and kept their young core of starting pitchers (Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Danny Salazar and Trevor Bauer) intact. They had one of the best rotations, but the Tribe struggled to score. With the addition of outfielder Rajai Davis and first baseman Mike Napoli and a speedy recovery for Michael Brantley (shoulder), they hope to rectify that.
Chicago White Sox:
GM Rick Hahn went into this offseason hoping to improve the offense, which ranked 28th or worse in runs two of the past three seasons. All-Star third baseman Todd Frazier and second baseman Brett Lawrie were added into the mix. Frazier’s RBI totals have risen each season since he reached the majors, and Lawrie set career highs in homers (16) and RBI (60) in 2015.
Kansas City Royals: Given their limited budget, the defending World Series champions spent more than $175 million this offseason. Alex Gordon, the face of the franchise, agreed to the richest contract in team history ($72million over four years). GM Dayton Moore then signed right-handed pitcher Ian Kennedy to a risky five-year, $70 million deal to fill out the rotation. Joakim Soria returns with a three-year, $25 million deal to replace Ryan Madson in the bullpen. And, as expected, the club lost outfielder Alex Rios, reliever Greg Holland and two second-half rentals, second baseman Ben Zobrist and right-hander Johnny Cueto, to free agency.
Toronto Blue Jays: The Blue Jays returned to relevance and reached the ALCS for the first time in 22 seasons. While the loss of Price hurts, the Jays have several key figures to keep the club intact for another October run. They added J.A. Happ to the rotation and retained Marco Estrada. A healthy Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez should offset the loss of Price. Drew Storen, acquired in a trade, and David Aardsma give the bullpen a facelift.
Grade: C-
Los Angeles Angels: It didn’t take long for Billy Eppler to make his first impactful move as the new general manager. Eleven days after the World Series ended, the Angels acquired Gold Glove shortstop Andrelton Simmons in a trade with the Atlanta Braves. Eppler then added Yunel Escobar to replace free agent David Freese at third base. But while the club improved defensively, it didn’t address its struggling offense, which includes the best hitter in the major leagues, Mike Trout.
Minnesota Twins: The Twins are hoping to produce back-to-back winning seasons after four consecutive years in the AL Central basement. They have plenty of young talent with the likes of Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano. This offseason they added Byung-Ho Park, who slugged 52 and 53 home runs, respectively, in his final two seasons in the Korean league. But don’t expect him to repeat that in the majors. Catcher John Ryan Murphy permanently replaces Joe Mauer, who won’t catch again.
Grade: D
Oakland Athletics: Coming off a disappointing season in which the Athletics finished last in the AL West, GM Billy Beane again made some bold but confusing moves. The bullpen ranked last in the AL with a 4.56 ERA and second-to-last with 25 blown saves. To rectify that, Beane signed reclamation project Ryan Madson to a three-year, $22million deal and added John Axford, Marc Rzepczynski and Liam Hendriks to bolster the bullpen. Beane’s decision-making and spending (Billy Butler’s three-year, $30 million last offseason) has been questionable dating to the Yoenis Cespedes trade midway through 2014 and dealing AL MVP Josh Donaldson before the 2015 season.
Tampa Bay Rays: The only significant move the Rays made this offseason was the trade that sent Karns, outfield prospect Boog Powell and Riefenhauser to the Mariners for Miller, Morrison and Farquhar. The club also received catcher Hank Conger from the Astros for cash.