We’ve been waiting to unveil our final offseason grades … and waiting … and waiting. We can wait no longer. Even though Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery and J.D. Martinez remain unsigned among the major free agents, and useful players such as Michael Lorenzen, Adam Duvall and Tommy Pham are still out there, it’s the middle of spring training. The Dodgers and Padres open in Korea in less than two weeks. We have to roll this out and move on.
As a reminder, we’re grading on a bit of a curve: We don’t expect the Pirates or Guardians to spend like the Dodgers or Yankees. But we do expect something, some sign that a club owner cares even a tiny little bit about winning. Granted, it was a strange offseason, with a risky top end of the free agent market beyond Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto — and the Dodgers landed both. Throw in concerns over the financial fallout from the Diamond Sports Group bankruptcy case, and the 12 teams contracted with Diamond for the regional sports networks had a convenient excuse not to increase payroll.
OK, let’s get to it. You know the biggest winner …
Is this the greatest offseason a team has ever had? It’s difficult to argue against it, although time — and what happens in October — will ultimately answer the question. For now, let’s settle on the most ambitiously aggressive (and most expensive) offseason. What makes this potentially the best of all time is the long-term ramifications: Ohtani is signed for 10 years, Yamamoto for 12 and Glasnow was extended through 2028 — and all are potential aces, although Ohtani won’t pitch until 2025. No team faces more pressure this season, however, and the regular season will be merely a fun prelude to October.
