50 Biggest Deals Of The 2014-15 Offseason

We previously re-lived the 50 biggest stories of the 2015-16 offseason on a looooong Twitter thread. People seemed to like the concept but some were less than enthused by the cluttered Twitter feed. This time, we’ll do it in a post.

If you need a refresher on the 2014-15 market, you can peruse these background materials:

• MLBTR Top 50 Free Agents
• All 12 Players Decline Qualifying Offer
• 2014-15 Team-by-Team Offseason Outlook
• 2014-15 Team-by-Team Offseason In Review

Here’s how the fifty biggest moves (in my view) ultimately played out, with links to the original MLBTR posts:

• 11/10/14 Mets Sign Michael Cuddyer “Essentially, by turning down the qualifying offer, Cuddyer guaranteed himself an additional $5.7MM and a second year.”
• 11/14/14 Tigers Sign Victor Martinez “He was reportedly the Tigers’ top priority this offseason, and the team characteristically struck quickly … “
• 11/17/14 Cardinals Acquire Jason Heyward From Braves For Shelby Miller “A blockbuster in every sense of the word … “
• 11/18/14 Blue Jays Sign Russell Martin “The contract is a major commitment to a catcher who will turn 32 years old in February … “
• 11/19/14 Athletics Sign Billy Butler “A rough 2014 season reduced his value but certainly could not detract entirely from his solid track record and young age.”
• 11/25/14 Red Sox Sign Pablo Sandoval “Sandoval, 28, had spent his entire seven-year Major League career with the Giants, becoming a fan favorite due to his “Kung Fu Panda” persona and his clutch bat.”
• 11/25/14 Red Sox Sign Hanley Ramirez “It’s clear that the Red Sox are looking to amass as many top bats as possible in the increasingly pitching-dominated league.”
• 11/25/14 White Sox Sign Adam LaRoche “Left-handed power has been a priority for the Sox this offseason, and LaRoche will bring just that to the table … “
• 11/28/14 Blue Jays Acquire Josh Donaldson “This deal’s franchise-changing implications are evident on its face.”
• 12/3/14 Braves Sign Nick Markakis “For Atlanta, the move marks yet another fascinating plot point in an offseason of change.”
• 12/3/14 Blue Jays Acquire J.A. Happ From Mariners For Michael Saunders “Both teams have been aggressive in adding talent early in the offseason, and this move seems to set up additional action for each.”
• 12/4/14 Mariners Sign Nelson Cruz “He arguably provides the Mariners with the best power upgrade money could buy on the free agent market.”
• 12/5/14 Yankees Acquire Didi Gregorius In 3-Team Deal With Tigers, Diamondbacks “The Yankees, Diamondbacks and Tigers have officially announced a three-team trade sending shortstop Didi Gregorius from the D-Backs to the Yankees, right-hander Shane Greene from the Yankees to the Tigers, and left-hander Robbie Ray and infield prospect Domingo Leyba to the Diamondbacks.”
• 12/5/14 Yankees Sign Andrew Miller “Miller will pair with Dellin Betances — an electric breakout story himself — at the back of the Yankee bullpen, giving manager Joe Girardi a pair of dominant late-inning options.”
• 12/8/14 Indians Acquire Brandon Moss “The Indians will gladly roll the dice on a recovery, especially since the club will have a chance to decide whether to tender Moss after the season.”
• 12/9/14 White Sox Acquire Jeff Samardzija “Samardzija was born in Indiana, grew up a White Sox fan, and of course played most of his previous big-league career with the Cubs, so his return to Chicago will represent a homecoming.”
• 12/9/14 Diamondbacks Sign Yasmany Tomas “The 70-grade raw power is the right-handed hitter’s calling card. His other tools appear largely to be average or slightly below, and it remains unclear precisely what position Tomas will play and how his defensive ability will shake out.”
• 12/10/14 White Sox Sign David Robertson “Some observers felt that the White Sox were in need of a rebuild this winter, but they apparently believe very strongly that they can win in 2015.”
• 12/11/14 Tigers Acquire Yoenis Cespedes From Red Sox For Rick Porcello “With generally equivalent contractual situations between the two players — Porcello will cost slightly more, but comes with the possibility of a qualifying offer — this deal is a fairly straightforward talent swap.”
• 12/11/14 Dodgers, Marlins Agree To 7-Player Trade “With the Dodgers reportedly open to dealing Gordon and the Marlins open to trading from their surplus of young arms, the two made sense as trade partners, especially with Miami rather thin in the middle infield.”
• 12/11/14 Dodgers Acquire Howie Kendrick “The Angels were said to be targeting young pitching for much of the offseason, and they’ve now landed one of the game’s top prospects in Heaney.”
• 12/11/14 Marlins Acquire Mat Latos “Though Latos has had some recent arm issues, he is an excellent performer when healthy.”
• 12/11/14 Tigers Acquire Alfredo Simon “Simon comes with plenty of questions as to whether he can repeat his effort.”
• 12/12/14 Cubs Sign Jason Hammel “Signing Hammel would help them stabilize the middle of their rotation, but presumably would not preclude them from continuing to pursue an ace like Lester.”
• 12/12/14 Red Sox Acquire Wade Miley “While Miley isn’t the durable lefty the Red Sox were hoping to land during the Winter Meetings, Miley is at least younger and far cheaper than Jon Lester … “
• 12/12/14 Astros Sign Luke Gregerson “The deal may be surprising at first glance, but only if you have not been paying attention to how good Gregerson has been.”
• 12/14/14 White Sox Sign Melky Cabrera “The move continues an offseason transformation for the White Sox … “
• 12/15/14 Twins Sign Ervin Santana “By acting more quickly this time around, he was able to secure the multi-year pact he was looking for.”
• 12/15/14 Yankees Sign Chase Headley “Even if Headley’s 2012 was the offensive peak of his career — and his numbers since that time suggest that it was — the switch-hitter can still bring plenty of value as an average to above-average bat capable of playing elite defense at third base.”
• 12/15/14 Pirates Sign Francisco Liriano “For an organization that has seen its fortunes change over the last two years, the investment in a major free agent represents both a continuation and departure.”
• 12/15/14 Astros Sign Jed Lowrie “The 30-year-old Lowrie will serve as Houston’s shortstop in the early stages of the contract — presumably until top prospect Carlos Correa is ready to take over the position.”
• 12/16/14 Cubs Sign Jon Lester “In Chicago, Lester will front the rotation of an emerging Cubs team that was on the lookout for top-level pitching to complement their outstanding core of young hitting.”
• 12/16/14 Dodgers Sign Brandon McCarthy “A four-year guarantee would’ve seemed like a fantasy for McCarthy as recently as last summer when he had a 5.01 ERA through 18 starts with Arizona.”
• 12/18/14 Padres Acquire Matt Kemp “The trade was just one of several major transactions for the Dodgers during a frenzied Winter Meetings.”
• 12/19/14 Padres Acquire Wil Myers In Three-Team Trade With Rays, Nats “Unpacking this deal is not easy, but it certainly begins with Myers — not only the marquee piece of this trade, but also the key player in the deal that sent James Shields to the Royals two years ago.”
• 12/19/14 Padres Acquire Justin Upton “New Padres GM A.J. Preller has completely reshaped his club’s offense in about one week’s time … “
• 12/19/14 Marlins Acquire Martin Prado ” The Marlins will receive Prado, Phelps, and cash in exchange for Eovaldi, Jones, and German.”
• 12/23/14 Giants Sign Jake Peavy “While the level of production he showed in the season’s second half is very likely to come back down to Earth, there’s no doubt that a full-time move to AT&T Park and the NL West will be of benefit to Peavy’s numbers.”
• 12/31/14 Dodgers Sign Brett Anderson “Anderson is still only 26 years old and has generally been quite effective when healthy. But he has not thrown over 100 innings since 2010 … “
• 1/10/15 Athletics Acquire Ben Zobrist“The Rays’ haul is considerable, as one would expect given Zobrist’s considerable talents.”
• 1/14/15 Astros Acquire Evan Gattis “By adding Gattis, the Astros are adding another big right-handed bat to a lineup that already features two of them … “
• 1/16/15 Pirates Sign Jung Ho Kang “Some scouts do think that Kang can be a regular in the Majors.”
• 1/19/15 Rangers Acquire Yovani Gallardo  “In terms of performance, Gallardo has had his ups and downs but is undoubtedly a quality arm.”
• 1/19/15 Cubs Acquire Dexter Fowler From Astros For Valbuena, Straily “It’s a win-now move for both teams, with the Cubs trading from depth to upgrade their outfield and the Astros getting a new third baseman and adding rotation insurance.”
• 1/22/15 Nationals Sign Max Scherzer “The Nationals have officially agreed to sign the market’s top starting pitcher to join a rotation that already ranked among the league’s best.”
• 2/11/15 Padres Sign James Shields “The deal continues an enormous offseason makeover for the Padres … “
• 3/12/15 Red Sox Sign Yoan Moncada “Moncada, a 19-year-old switch-hitting infielder, is the most sought-after international prospect in recent history.”
• 3/24/15 Dodgers Sign Hector Olivera  “The Dodgers outbid several teams for Olivera’s services, as the Padres, Marlins, Braves, Giants, Mariners, Yankees, Twins and A’s were said to have varying degrees of interest.”
• 4/5/15 Padres Acquire Craig Kimbrel, Melvin Upton “The Padres are beginning the 2015 season with yet another blockbuster trade … “
• 4/27/15 Rangers Acquire Josh Hamilton “Today’s trade brings to a close a tenure with the Angels that was marred not only by this most recent controversy, but also by injuries and a failure to live up to the lofty expectations that came along with his hefty five-year, $125MM contract.”