The MLB offseason is all but over, and spring training games will soon commence.
How do you feel about that news? Well, your reaction might hinge on which team you root for. Our friends in San Diego are probably champing at the bit to see Xander Bogaerts on the field in a Padres uniform. Same for fans of the Texas Rangers, who can’t wait to see Jacob deGrom take the mound for the first time.
But if your team wasn’t quite so active, your reaction to the sudden onset of spring training might be something like, “Wait, what? That’s it?”
Obviously some teams were more active than others. Some spent a lot, some spent virtually nothing. But no team checked off every single item on the offseason wish lists their fans conceived in November.
In a tradition we started a year ago, we’re going to look at one possible outstanding item on each team’s to-do list. But we’re not going to grumble about these items. Instead we’re going to channel the likely mindset behind the unfinished business and explain why the heck your team didn’t bother to make the move you thought it needed to make.
Why the heck didn’t the Diamondbacks add more to the rotation?
The soothing response: We have to leave some room for the kids.
We have had one of baseball’s better one-two rotation punches emerge over the past couple of seasons in Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly. Madison Bumgarner is another rotation fixture, even if he hasn’t been able to rekindle his Frisco magic here in Arizona. So why not go heavy on some front-line pitching to make this group the foundation of a push up the standings? While we did re-up with Zach Davies on a one-year deal, major splashes were not to be found, and for good reason. In short, help is on the way.
Drey Jameson dazzled over a four-start debut in 2022, going 3-0 with a 1.48 ERA and is No. 96 on Kiley McDaniel’s Top 100 prospects list. Even higher is No. 32 Brandon Pfaadt, who reached Triple-A last season, posted a startling 24.8% K-minus-BB percentage and will be in big league camp this month. And Ryne Nelson hung right with them in Triple-A while posting numbers (1.47 ERA over three starts) just as eye-popping as those Jameson put up during his debut. Young pitchers are never a sure thing, but there are lots of reasons to think our rotation fortunes are going to make a steep upward climb in the near future.
Why the heck didn’t the Braves get Dansby Swanson re-signed?
The soothing response: We think Vaughn Grissom can cover the position nicely.
Or, to expand our response, even if Vaughn’s glove doesn’t hold up, we have Orlando Arcia around. Look, we know Swanson was a stalwart, having held down one of the most important positions on the field for six seasons. We know he’s coming off a monster 5.7 bWAR season. But the reason we didn’t feel we needed to stretch ourselves to re-sign him is that we like what we have. You saw what Grissom did with his bat as a rookie — a .792 OPS over 41 games that was even better than Swanson (.776), though he faded at the end. Well, he was a rookie and that happens.
The concern here is defense, because there is a line of thought out there that Grissom won’t stick at shortstop. You might have read that he has been working with infield guru Ron Washington this winter and Wash told MLB.com that Grissom is good to go. Grissom will have a chance to start at short this season. But that said, don’t sleep on Arcia, who was the regular shortstop for several years on some very good Brewers teams. We know he is a plus defender, and during his time in Atlanta, he has become a fair hitter as well.
We’ll all miss Swanson. But we will be just fine at shortstop.
Why the heck didn’t the Orioles get any elite free agents?
The soothing response: The rebuild is coming together, but we’ll be better positioned for a big splash down the line.
We took a big step forward last season. But we were outscored and got a major boost from the bullpen and the projections still don’t see us ready for prime time. You can see it coming together though, right? Adley Rutschman is everything you thought he would be and Gunnar Henderson looks like another star — and that’s just the beginning. The puzzle is coming together. But let’s get the major pieces in place and then figure out which ones are still missing. If things go as well as we hope, there won’t be many.
Why the heck didn’t the Red Sox get middle-of-the-order hitters?
The soothing response: This process has us better positioned to … oh, never mind. I got nothing.
First of all, thanks for not asking about the rotation. Or the middle of the infield. Or our general lack of success in free agency. Or Mookie Betts. Or Xander Bogaerts. Or … what was the question again?
Why the heck didn’t the Cubs get more impact free agent bats?
The soothing response: We’re building a robust team culture here.
Look, Dansby Swanson is an impact bat, or at least he has been an impact bat — for a shortstop — basically every other year. He’s due to have two in a row, right? And Cody Bellinger is a recent MVP who, by age, is in the prime of his career. We firmly think the Dodgers gave up on him too soon, and if we’re right, that’s a major impact bat. And Trey Mancini and Eric Hosmer might have their best production behind them, but they are winning players who fit in any clubhouse.
And let’s not forget — we’ve got some young hitters who are getting pretty close to setting up shop at Wrigley Field. Brennen Davis, Matt Mervis, Pete Crow-Armstrong. The projections still have us as a bottom-10 offense, and losing Willson Contreras is a blow. But this has a chance to be a deep, balanced offense fueled by young players and veterans alike with plenty to prove.
Why the heck didn’t the White Sox get more quality depth?
The soothing response: Regression is our friend.
We entered last season with sky-high expectations. Some people picked us to win it all. We expected to make a run at doing just that. But many, many things went wrong and we are all disappointed by that. Still, we will point to our final record — 81-81 — as evidence that we are a deeper squad than we get credit for.
Think of all the front-line players who either struggled, were injured or both in 2022. Yasmani Grandal. Yoan Moncada. Tim Anderson. Luis Robert. Eloy Jimenez. Lance Lynn. Lucas Giolito. And despite that, we still finished break-even and maintained postseason hopes into the middle of September. We can expect better things from those players we just listed and others, and some of those who helped keep us respectable in 2022 are still behind them.
Why the heck didn’t the Reds get better rotation depth?
The soothing response: The program works.
We’re in a transitional period. Call it a rebuild if you want but we can’t hide from the fact that we lost 100 games last season. Yet the pitching part of our operation continues to be a standout, even as we’ve lost or dealt away a number of outstanding starters over the past couple of years. So while those stars have been replaced by lesser-known talents like Luis Cessa and Luke Weaver, we ask that you bear with us.
We have a trio of young starters already established in the rotation in Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo and Graham Ashcraft. That’s really exciting. We have other starters in the pipeline, like Brandon Williamson and Chase Petty. This winter, we were just trying to add some veterans to stop the gap, doing so while hoping Derek Johnson’s pitching program can help them build value.
Why the heck didn’t the Guardians get a frontline catcher?
The soothing response: Value shows in mysterious ways.
We tried! We can’t confirm or deny any rumors but there were talks and there were good catchers who changed teams, like Sean Murphy, and we were looking to upgrade the position. We ended up with Mike Zunino, who has been a steady performer for the good Rays teams of recent vintage.
OK, we get it. Zunino isn’t going to stir images of Sandy Alomar Jr., which you don’t need anyway since he coaches first base for us these days. We won with what we had last year and Zunino offers the same kind of defense we got from Austin Hedges but has more power at the plate. We might not have taken a step forward at the position, but we certainly didn’t take a step back.
And besides, we’ve saved the best news for last: Bo Naylor debuted in the majors last year, made our postseason roster, and it’s only going to get better.
Why the heck didn’t the Rockies get … anybody?
The soothing response: Ownership believes in what we have, or something.
We hear you. Last year, we lost 94 games, up from 87 the year before. Our big free agent signee, Kris Bryant, played just 42 games and never homered at Coors Field. We’re not rebuilding exactly and yet this winter, all we did was add depth candidates and a decent second-chance prospect in Nolan Jones. There are some other interesting prospects on the way, even if McDaniel has our system in the middle of the pack. Where is this explanation going? Heck, we don’t know. Anyway, if you feel down, try to grab a copy of Emil Cioran’s “The Trouble With Being Born.” Now there’s someone with real problems.
Why the heck didn’t the Tigers get a makeover after their rebuild hit a brick wall?
The soothing response: We have a promising new GM in Scott Harris and he will sort this out.
It’s bleak. We can’t deny it. We asked our fans to be patient through years of rebuilding and, at last, in 2021 it appeared we were on the verge of a breakthrough. To build on that excitement, we went out and aggressively signed two of the top free agents on the market in Javier Baez and Eduardo Rodriguez. And then we went out and lost 96 games. Not great. We’re not sure what’s going to happen from here but we feel like we are closer to the team we were in 2021 than the one you saw in 2022. And to determine the degree to which we need to reset and/or reload, we hired Harris, one of the most accomplished young execs in the game who now looks to take the next step by running his own front office for the first time. We have plenty to prove to our weary fans but we think we have the right people in place.
Why the heck didn’t the Astros get a contract agreement with their championship general manager?
The soothing response: Impermanence is an immutable fact of existence and this window ain’t even close to being closed.
James Click is a smart guy and did some good things as Astros GM. But this machine was in place before he arrived in Houston and it’s going to keep churning now that he’s gone. The constant through all of the success in recent years has been our owner, Jim Crane, who has recognizable former players like Reggie Jackson and Jeff Bagwell giving him advice as he participates energetically in the team he owns. Those guys are in the Hall of Fame, you know. What could go wrong with an owner taking an active part in the team in which he has invested so much? Besides, our new GM, Dana Brown, is highly respected around the game.
Why the heck didn’t the Royals get free agents with more promising track records?
The soothing response: The new voices are singing from every corner, so just quiet down and wait for that harmony to kick in.
We assume here that you are referring to the major league deals we signed with pitchers Jordan Lyles and Ryan Yarbrough, and not those of Zack Greinke and Aroldis Chapman, because those guys have awfully good track records. But Lyles and Yarbrough slot into the rotation, for now, and so it’s fair to wonder what’s up here as both pitchers have yielded runs at rates worse than the league average.
This is about depth. We have struggled to finish off the development of young starters who were supposed to serve as the foundation of our rebuild. Those pitchers are still around and we still think Daniel Lynch, Kris Bubic, Jackson Kowar and others can turn the corner. But this is a new approach, one familiar to our new manager, Matt Quartaro, who in Tampa Bay observed the art of helping players focus on what they do well, then putting that player primarily in spots where those strengths are of use.
Many of the names on the 2023 roster are familiar but the voices around them have changed and that’s important. This new approach is how teams in the smaller markets can compete.
Why the heck didn’t the Angels get more for the bullpen?
The soothing response: Hey, we’re deeper elsewhere, so let this take shape and the bullpen will come together.
It’s going to be a challenge. We know that. There were a lot of things that needed to be addressed with last year’s roster, problems that have seemingly surfaced on an annual basis. We have stars but when those stars have gotten injured, which has happened far too often, a lack of overall depth has seen the air come out of our contention balloon year after year.
To change that, we worked hard this offseason to build depth. We still need Mike Trout, Anthony Rendon and Shohei Ohtani to enjoy good health. But now we have more options around them, in the lineup and on the bench. Our starting pitching started to round into form last year and with the targeted addition of Tyler Anderson, our rotation is capable from one to six and we have solid options behind the core group.
The bullpen? Fangraphs projects us to have baseball’s worst relief staff and that’s a problem. If all goes well, we at least now can focus our improvements on that position group. If the other parts of the roster work as we hope, it’ll be a matter of cycling through options until we land on something that works. But if the stars get hurt again, what, really, does it matter?
Why the heck didn’t the Dodgers get all of the best free agents?
The soothing response: There is no chance we’re missing the postseason, so let it ride, reset the books, and maybe say hey to Shohei.
My gosh, we have spoiled you folks, haven’t we? Over the past 10 years, we’ve spent a gazillion dollars, annually landing premium free agents and top available trade targets while still maintaining a fecund minor league system. We’ve won the division nine times and it would have been 10 had the Giants not edged us out with a franchise-record 107 wins in 2021. We’ve won four pennants and a championship.
We’re going to be in the playoffs. Maybe we don’t top the projections as we usually do, but no one thinks we’re going to miss the postseason. We have some younger players to work in and it’s a good time to bridge the gap until the next version of our powerhouse by resetting our payroll a little bit and avoiding the worst of the penalties the CBA throws at high spenders. When we hit midseason and other teams start to fall by the wayside, we can target some additions for the stretch run and make sure we’re October-ready.
It’s been a quiet winter for us, it’s true. But we’re still the Dodgers. We’re still playing for it all and that’s not going to change anytime soon. And next winter, there are some pretty exciting free agents worth pursuing, including one notable two-way player who, until now, has plied his trade in a different sector of Southern California.
Why the heck didn’t the Marlins get a cleanup basher?
The soothing response: The pitching is our foundation and if we can hang in until July, there are always trade opportunities.
We’d love to go out and sign the Aaron Judges of the world, but we have to stay in our lane and take advantage of the opportunities that come our way. In free agency, we landed a player in Jean Segura who is coming off a World Series appearance and fits perfectly as a contact guy near the top of our order. In the trade market, we landed the modern-day Tony Gwynn in Luis Arraez by taking advantage of the depth we’ve built in the starting pitching department.
During the latter stages of the winter, we’ve deepened the bullpen by adding Matt Barnes and A.J. Puk. Pitching is going to be our passport to contention and we have a postseason-worthy staff. The offense now has an identity with those two veteran table setters atop the lineup. We do need our power guys to perform at the upper end of their probabilities, like Jorge Soler and Avisail Garcia and Garrett Cooper, and if they do, we’ll have enough power. Even so, if our pitching is as good as we hope, we’ll hang in the race until midseason. Then we still have enough pitching depth to pursue a middle-of-the-order bat near the trade deadline.
Why the heck didn’t the Brewers get a lineup balancer?
The soothing response: Is this your oblique way of talking about batting average? What century are you from?
We are built to prevent runs. You know this. You’ve seen it work for several years now. We have great starting pitching and always seem to find productive options for the bullpen, which has always had a star-level closer at the back of it. We choose our position players for defensive acumen first and then look for hitters with power and patience, platooning them if we have to.
This has worked. In our market you can’t have everything and as an organization we’ve decided not to sweat team batting average. Our offenses have been a little feast and famine and that hasn’t always been a great look once we’ve gotten into the postseason. But be patient. Our foundation remains strong and we have a surge of young hitters like Jackson Chourio and Sal Frelick on the way.
We can win with what we have but we also have every reason to think we will get better, organically, as we progress. That’s a good spot to be in, is it not?
Why the heck didn’t the Twins get a star DH?
The soothing response: We’ve got depth and that spot will help us keep everyone fresh and involved.
You can just see it. So can we. You take our revamped roster, with its rebuilt rotation and a position group that has two bona fide stars in Carlos Correa and Byron Buxton, and also has depth and versatility, and you plug in a vintage Nelson Cruz and it all seems to come into focus.
We love Nelson in Minneapolis but his production has been on the wane, so that’s not a fix even though he was a free agent. Everyday DHs are a luxury, not a necessity, and there just aren’t very many of them. When you don’t have one, you use that spot to keep your other players rested and in rhythm, important especially for us because our best players have tended to miss a lot of time with injury.
Would we love to have that 40-homer basher in the middle of all this? Sure. But let’s get back into contention first and if we need to go hunting for a high-level power bat, we can do that later.
Why the heck didn’t the Mets get that ivory back-scratcher Steve Cohen had been wanting?
The soothing response: We can’t buy all the things, even though we’ve come pretty close.
Our owner has been very generous when it comes to putting our roster together, but even Mr. Cohen has his limits. We saw that with our hesitancy to finish off our deal with Carlos Correa. As it is, we’re already lapping the field in payroll and recasting the provisions of the CBA as mere thought exercises rather than any kind of tangible barriers to spending. We might not have signed all the players, but we came pretty close. And that ivory thing, aren’t you thinking of Montgomery Burns?
Why the heck didn’t the Yankees get one of the star free agent shortstops?
The soothing response: Have you read our prospect reports?
There is a certain mindset out there that we, the New York Yankees, can just go out and buy the best available free agents every winter. We could do that, of course, and in the past, we’ve often taken that approach. And we’ve seen it lead to bloat and underperformance, along with a few titles. Around a decade ago, we decided the way to go was to balance our economic heft with a state-of-the-art farm system. We are certain the titles from that approach will come. Eventually.
Anyway, sure, signing Carlos Correa, Xander Bogaerts, Dansby Swanson or Trea Turner would have given our fans a healthy dopamine hit this winter, especially after they grumbled all last season about Isiah Kiner-Falefa. But we didn’t need to throw our money at the star shortstops because we have been growing our own. We are certain that one of Oswald Peraza, Oswaldo Cabrera or Anthony Volpe will win you over and that will happen sooner than later.
Why the heck didn’t the Athletics get a new narrative?
The soothing response: We are coming closer to bringing this ballpark situation to a resolution. It definitely won’t drag into the 22nd century.
You’ve heard this before, we know, so we thought it would be fun to have ChatGPT finish off this statement: “The exact timeline for the construction of a new stadium for the Oakland Athletics is unclear. As of my knowledge cutoff of September 2021, the team was still in the process of seeking approval for a proposed stadium site at the Howard Terminal waterfront location in Oakland. However, various challenges and negotiations with local government and community stakeholders are ongoing, so the timeline for when construction could start or when the stadium could be completed is currently unknown.”
Wow. The AI nailed it. And regarding that “knowledge cutoff,” that is now about 16 months behind us. Alas, not much has changed since then. But it will, someday. Right?
Why the heck didn’t the Phillies get a fifth starter?
The soothing response: Oh boy, you’re digging deep to come up with something, aren’t you?
We love this question. All hail Dave Dombrowski. We love the question because when you look at our roster and this is what you come up with, it’s a pretty good sign that we’ve come a long way. To answer the query: Our rotation is in great shape with a veteran foursome of Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, Taijuan Walker and Ranger Suarez. The options behind that quartet are solid, folks like Bailey Falter and Cristopher Sanchez.
But the real answer to this is the exciting one: We didn’t want to block Andrew Painter. The not-quite-yet-20-year-old righty is one of the top-10 prospects in the game, according to Kiley McDaniel, and he’s got a real chance to win this job in spring training. Even if it doesn’t happen that soon, the wait shouldn’t be long and the last thing we wanted was to sign someone who would be in his way.
Why the heck didn’t the Pirates get younger free agents?
The soothing response: It’s all about laying a foundation for the younglings.
We’d like this process to go faster, too. But it can’t be rushed. The first wave of internally developed players has reached Pittsburgh and so we’ve signed veteran stabilizers like Rich Hill, Carlos Santana and Andrew McCutchen to help give Oneil Cruz, Ke’Bryan Hayes and Mitch Keller space to find themselves at the big-league level.
We also have what we hope is a groundswell of prospects behind that first wave but we have to give them time. In the meantime, we brought back McCutchen. Does that remind you of anything? Like when we were good?
Why the heck didn’t the Padres get Jurickson Profar to come back?
The soothing response: Winter ain’t over yet.
Just a couple of days ago, we noticed that no one had signed Michael Wacha so we figured, what the heck? Put him on our tab. Same thing might happen with Profar, who we know so well. We might look at our depth chart and start to get itchy about the fact that we have to wait three weeks or so after the season begins before Fernando Tatis Jr. can return from suspension and decide, again, what the heck? Put Profar on our tab. In for a penny, in for a pound, right?
Why the heck didn’t the Giants get a star free agent?
The soothing response: We tried, we came close and it’ll happen one of these offseasons, but in the meantime, we are as deep as a Pacific Ocean sunset.
We know how this was supposed to go. We wrote the script. First, get the payroll under control. In the meantime, overhaul the scouting and development processes, make 11 transactions per day, build a coaching staff with more members than the House of Representatives, give Gabe Kapler five options for every situation, etc.
Then, after all that, leverage the fact that we’re the freaking Giants to finish the puzzle with a couple of superstar free agents. And that didn’t exactly work out. We went all-in on Aaron Judge, but he decided to stay in the Bronx. We came close with Carlos Correa, but that fell through. We lost Carlos Rodon, so we actually ended up with one fewer superstar than we had last season.
Still: All of that other stuff we put in place has led to us being highly competitive. And the money is still there to make the big strike when the chance arises. It’ll happen at some point. We just hope that in the meantime we haven’t fallen hopelessly behind the Dodgers, Padres and, gulp, the Diamondbacks in our own division.
Why the heck didn’t the Mariners get a new left fielder?
The soothing response: It’s too soon to wave the white flag on Jarred Kelenic.
After last season’s breakout, we understand we are no longer in the business of developing players at the big-league level. We are in the business of erasing the factoid that sets us apart from every other active franchise — that we’re the only one that has never reached a World Series.
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…
No, no. I’m OK. But I’ll take that tissue. Must be dusty in here.
Kelenic hasn’t hit soft stuff at the big-league level. He’s shown he can hit big league fastballs and when he makes solid contact, the ball jumps off his bat. The core skill set that had us so excited about him is intact. We’re also not blind to the fact that over 147 big-league games, Kelenic’s average is .168 and last season was worse than the season before.
But we also know he’s still only 23 years old and we feel like he’s one key adjustment in pitch recognition away from putting it together. Even if you’re not buying that, know this: We are trying to win, and the leash on any struggling player will be short.
Why the heck didn’t the Cardinals get a legit No. 1 starter?
The soothing response: I’m rolling my eyes. You see what my eyeballs are doing? They are rolling.
You are always asking us about this, and we just keep winning and winning. Our fans keep turning out. The best fans in baseball, you may have heard. We keep re-signing star players we trade for. We are favorites to win our division yet again. We also keep losing in October, but that’s beside the point. That has nothing to do with this. Next question, please.
Why the heck didn’t the Rays get more attention for being a complete squad that looks really strong on paper?
The soothing response: Lack of attention has never stopped us before.
Thank you, intern, for that intriguing question. We absolutely agree with your premise. We have put together an awfully strong roster and, as per usual, it doesn’t feel like very many people have noticed. We have depth no one else really matches, but we have some star-level performers as well. Think of it like this: If Wander Franco makes the leap we are certain he will make at some point, we could have the American League’s best hitter and pitcher (joining Shane McClanahan) at the same time. Maybe if that happens, someone will finally take notice.
Why the heck didn’t the Rangers get another outfielder?
The soothing response: Hold my beer.
Thanks. That Lone Star was getting warm anyway. One weird side effect of investing heavily in free agency is that the focus can quickly shift to what you didn’t do instead of what you did.
Last year we signed Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Martin Perez and Jon Gray. This winter it was Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, Perez (again) and Andrew Heaney. In two years, we’ve purchased an entire starting rotation and a star-studded middle infield. And you’re really going to complain about left field? Hey, give me that Lone Star back.
Free agency isn’t quite over, first of all. Lots of people have noted that one-time Rangers super-prospect Jurickson Profar is still available, so stay tuned. Otherwise, we’ll roll with Josh Smith and lightning-quick Bubba Thompson and be just fine. It’s all going to come down to the system being productive enough to fill out the roster around all of these free agents. Because, frankly, we’re not sure we can keep spending like this.
Why the heck didn’t the Blue Jays get a platoon partner for Kevin Kiermaier?
The soothing response: Is that the worst you could come up with?
Boy, it’s looking pretty good, isn’t it? The roster we’ve put together still has to perform given how competitive our division is, but you’d be hard-pressed to find any obvious holes there. So it makes sense you’d zero in on the idea we could have a righty-hitting partner to pair with Kiermaier.
Frankly, we could use a tad more depth in center field in general, as we’d prefer to keep George Springer on the corner and Kiermaier is coming off an injury-plagued age-32 season. His offensive struggles are pretty well embedded at this point — he has hit under .230 in four of the past five seasons — and we might need a little more coverage at that position.
But again: When you can look at a roster and zero in on that kind of micro-need, you’re in awfully good shape.
Why the heck didn’t the Nationals get the clock to turn back to 2019?
The soothing response: Well, if Stephen Strasburg gets back on the mound, despite a recent setback, every five or six days you can pretend like the good old days never ended.
Remember how Howie Kendrick plunked one off that right-field foul pole in Houston? How the stadium fell silent as the ball traveled and that “ping” echoed all through the place? Yeah, that was awesome.
What was it you were asking? Never mind. We don’t want to think about it.