Which team has improved their chances most in the MLB free agency scramble?
This free agency period has been astounding by any measure, with unprecedented money being spent on lineups, but some have benefitted more than others
When the 2022 MLB season ended, the free agency period promised to be a humdinger. With some of the biggest names in the game on the market, including stars like Aaron Judge and Justin Verlander, who were coming off of the seasons of their lives.
The money has been record-breaking, with more than $3 billion changing hands, and the shakeup to the league has been just as mind-boggling, and we are still only halfway through it.
There were teams headed into this market who needed to shore themselves up, and others who needed a full rebuild. So which team has fared the best out of the deal making?
San Diego Padres
While you can argue to shake up the list in any order that you would like, it is almost impossible to escape the fact that the clear winners in all of the negotiations has been the San Diego Padres. Already a solid team, falling at the final hurdle in the playoffs, they have surprised nearly everyone in the league by poaching Xander Bogaerts from the Red Sox on an eleven-year, $280 million contract.
Even with the possibility that Manny Machado will opt out after next year, and Juan Soto following after 2024, the Padres have perhaps the strongest left side of the infield in the entire game. All of the top four MVP finishers are in the same lineup: Machado, Soto, Tatis, and Bogaerts. There is no beating around the bush. The Padres carry power.
Philadelphia Phillies
The World Series runners up needed very few tools to push them over the hump, with as solid a lineup as any in the game. They addressed the stability in the middle of their rotation by picking up Taijuan Walker on a four-year, $72 million deal and landing southpaw reliever Matt Strahm on a two-year, $15 million contract.
But the real coup for Philadelphia came when they nabbed perhaps the best player on the free agency market in Trea Turner on a $300 million deal that will see him in red stripes for the remainder of his career. Turner slashed .298 / .343 / .466 last year and hit 21 home runs. He finished number eight in MLB with 27 stolen bases and was one of four elite-level shortstops on the market. His addition will give stability and speed to an already impressive batting order.
New York Yankees
Whatever you think of the Yankees dealings, you have to tip your hat to a team that manages to retain Aaron Judge, and all of the money and negotiating effort that entails, and then goes straight back into the fray by signing Carlos Rodón. Chutzpah.
The Yankees had one of the strongest lineups possible, and while they may prioritize power over average, they still had enough sense to sign Anthony Rizzo for $40 million, even if it is only for two years. Through so much of the negotiations, it felt as if they were all-in on their talisman Aaron Judge, almost to the exclusion of anyone else.
After they managed to sign Judge to a mammoth nine-year, $360 million deal, you would be forgiven for thinking that the Yankees were done negotiating. But no, they turned around and grabbed Carlos Rodón for six years and $162 million, in one fell swoop giving their rotation the same kind of uplift that Judge offers their offense.
You may argue that the Yankees are at the end of all of this precisely where they were just a few months ago, albeit with fewer worries about short-term player losses, but their pitching is as strong as any team in baseball and that alone is enough to give the Yankees a boost.
New York Mets
The Mets have been spending money like it is going out of style over the past few years and made a huge splash by signing Justin Verlander to a two-year, $86.7 million deal. Verlander was the pitcher that everyone wanted and will now reunite with former Detroit Tigers team mate Max Scherzer to give the Mets rotation some serious kudos.
They picked up Japanese ace Kodai Senga and while they may have lost Taijuan Walker and Jacob deGrom in the process, the Mets have beefed up a sometimes flabby batting order. Omar Narváez brought his talents to Flushing Meadow on a five-year, $75 million contract, and the Mets managed to re-sign Brandon Nimmo to an eight-year, $162 million deal.
Just a few missing pieces from winning the NL East last year, the Mets have managed to improve their chances greatly.