This past offseason was a historic one, at least in terms of the contracts signed. We saw two players change teams thanks to $200MM+ contracts and a total of eight deals worth $100MM+ handed out. A number of young pitchers changed addresses in blockbuster trades, and the new collective bargaining agreement drastically changed free agent compensation and the amateur talent markets.
Now that all 30 clubs have officially opened their season, let’s take a second to look back at the offseason to see which teams helped themselves the most. Our various trackers – Transactions, Free Agents, Extensions, Arbitration — are at your disposable with all sorts of filters to help narrow your search.
Oh gee, I wonder why they didn’t put the Braves on the list
I see a lot of votes for Another team not listed. Which are key teams that are missing from the list?
They Jays went from having one of the worst to one of the best bullpens…
Ahh very true. Thanks.
Jays were missing from the list as another poster has brought up. It’s theoretically possible they could win 90 games this season and that is a +9 over last year. More than several on that list, including the Cardinals that lost major pieces from FA and injuries that have almost no chance to even get close to what they did even in a weak division.
Edit:
Kelly Johnson thinks they are improved.. What a nice poke in the 9th..
The Cardinals don’t have a chance to get close to what they did last year? Many people believe this team is BETTER than last year.
Anyways, if we’re only talking about last year to this year it is the Angels.
No Pujols, Missing some key Rotational parts until later in the season and mainly? Curious how they will do with out their magic duet of Duncan and LaRussa who had several people over achieving for years. Not dicing, but those 2 would get more out of people than others did and expect that to stop now.
Astros.. People will still make fun of their players, but they can’t really make fun of their front office anymore…
Angels? They were already contenders to begin with. Marlins/Nationals are without a doubt the most improved teams. Last year, no one dared talk about these guys. Now you can’t turn on the television without hearing about either of them and their respective chances of winning the division.
Huh? Everyone was talking about the Nationals and Bryce Harper saying they will contend in 2013. Also, many people had the Narlins as their WC last year.
Just because you were already a fairly good team doesn’t mean you can’t still improve in a big way. The question is “most improved”, not “most likely to now compete in their respective division”.
I wouldn’t really compare adding Buehrle and Reyes to adding C.J. Wilson and Albert Pujols honestly, even if it does make the Marlins more of a contender. I would say you have more of an argument for the Nationals at least, getting Strasburg back as well as adding Gio and Jackson. And if Harper can get the call, who knows. The chance of either team overtaking the Phillies is still minimal though in my opinion.
Oh, you’re right. They’ve improved. I just think that the Marlins have improved more. Granted, yes, Reyes is a huge injury risk, but his speed, provided he’s healthy, should really improve that team.
I admit, maybe I just don’t think that Wilson is all that everyone says he is.
Mariners are greatly improved
Was that before they left Japan?
Believe me, the Minnesota Twins vastly improved themselves by simply getting rid of Drew Butera & Tsuyoshi Nishioka. They were both automatic outs in the lineup and NO team can win many games like that. And Nishioka was also horrible defensively. If you are not familiar with these two (I know the Twins don’t get too much attention as a “small market” club), study their numbers, you will agree that I am right.
I would say the Angels, simply because Morales seems to be healthy and if he can produce alongside Albert then the lineup is pretty brutal to deal with (even though Morales wasn’t technically an acquisition, he still improves the offense vastly). Going from Hunter/Wells in the heart of your lineup to Pujols/Morales will take a lot of pressure off the rest of the guys, and allow them to just hit without the feeling that they have to somehow carry the offense.
That plus adding C.J. as a fourth starter just solidifies the team even more.
Everyone is forgetting we’ve replaced Mathis with a catcher that is actually worthy of being in the major leagues.
I think the Astros was dramatically improved from a terrible team with no hope to a still… terrible team (or maybe a tad bit better), but with plenty of optimism after arrival of the new ownership and probably one of the smartest GM who really know what he’s doing.
Angels
Seriously, how did the Red Sox get better?
Or the Phillies?
Those choices must have been to smoke out the homers’ here…
Long run: Dodgers and Astros. The financial (and owner-control, for the Astros) implications of getting rid of Frank McCourt and Drayton McLane are far greater than the effects of any non-Bonds-in-his-prime player.
Short run: Angels. Albert Pujols will be a beast for at least another 3-4 years.
The question should have been “who is the 2nd most improved team?”. Adding Albert Pujols made them the most improved team. Adding CJ Wilson to an already star-studded rotation basically guaranteed them a nice playoff run.
The team that improved the most through new acquisitions are the Angels. Anytime you add a first baseman who is only surpassed by Lou Gehrig and Jimmie Foxx in greatness, plus your only real divisional competition’s ace, you had a very nice offseason for yourself.
I can’t truly say the Nationals or Marlins are vastly improved teams due to the offseason. They’re hedging on returns to health and form from key players, but that doesn’t mean they did anything to improve; their 40-man rosters are more or less similar to the ones they went in with last year.
Plus add in the fact that Morales is back after almost 2 years. His .300BA, 30 + HR’s, 100RBI’s will add fuel to the fire as well as CJ & Pujols.
I’m sure a lot of Phillies fans consider the team vastly improved with Howard out. Perhaps 3 months without him will change their views, but doubt it.
Are you kidding me? I don’t think anyone in Philly is glad about Howard being out of the lineup. No one in their right mind would rather have a trio of Laynce Nix, Ty Wigginton and 41 year old Jim Thome over Ryan Howard.
Marlins signed players to outrageous contracts. This will come back to bite them. They are in no way near contention and no matter what people say, the Nationals are better than them.