Spring training for Major League Baseball is a month away, with the Los Angeles Dodgers signing of Kyle Tucker expected to have a domino effect that should soon take the rest of the top MLB free agents off the board. So, as we near the moment when pitchers and catchers report, it’s worth reflecting on the offseason.
Let’s dive into who we think our the biggest losers of the MLB offseason.
Baseball Fans in 2027
An MLB lockout felt inevitable anyway, but Kyle Tucker signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers for $60 million per year all but guaranteed it. Plenty of owners had already privately expressed their frustration with the Dodgers’ wild spending, and that was before Los Angeles won the World Series in back-to-back years and then signed a fringe MVP candidate. Owners of small and medium-sized market clubs who have shaky futures with their regional sports networks are going to push hard for a salary cap, creating an ugly fight with the MLB Players Association when the CBA expires following the 2026 season. COVID-19 shortened the 2020 regular season to 60 games, and there is a very real possibility that we see fewer than 100 games played in 2027.
New York Yankees
We’re not going to knock the New York Yankees for refusing to get into a bidding war with the Dodgers for Kyle Tucker. There’s no way to justify that salary for a player of Tucker’s caliber. With that said, the franchise that used to be known as the ‘Evil Empire’ hasn’t made a single addition of significance during the MLB offseason. In fact, there now seems to be a real chance of the team losing Cody Bellinger to another club. That would create a massive void in the lineup for a club with a rotation that won’t have Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón or Clarke Schmidt to start the regular season. Meanwhile, the Baltimore Orioles have made significant improvements and the Toronto Blue Jays are going all-in. New York’s inaction this offseason is baffling.
San Francisco Giants
Based on the MLB offseason, you would be inclined to believe San Francisco Giants ownership is more focused on its real estate portfolio than improving the product that fans pay to see. The team’s biggest addition was Tyler Mahle, an oft-injured veteran hurler whose expected ERA (4.24) suggests his numbers last season (2.18 ERA) were a fluke. San Francisco did not want to commit 100-plus million to a starting pitcher, yet could not beat the winning offer for Tatsuya Imai (54 million over three years), who clearly dislikes the Dodgers. That is not even mentioning that nothing has been done to improve a lineup that ranked 25th in batting average (.235) and 22nd in OPS (.697) last season. It is a bad look for baseball when clubs in big markets seemingly are not even trying very hard to improve in the MLB offseason.
New York Mets
Similar to the Yankees, the New York Mets do not land on this list for failing to sign Kyle Tucker. Steve Cohen made a strong final offer (220 million over four years), and it just was not enough; that happens. Our issue with New York is that nothing adequate has been done to address a rotation that ranked 18th in ERA (4.12) last season, with a 5.09 ERA from July 1 through the end of the regular season. The Mets will be better defensively next season, but it feels like that might only be enough to win four or five more games.
Related: Winners, Losers from Kyle Tucker Sweepstakes
Cincinnati Reds
An MLB salary floor is coming; it is only a matter of time. The Pittsburgh Pirates started preparing for it this offseason, bringing in Ryan O’Hearn and Brandon Lowe to significantly increase run production. When Bob Nutting is outspending you, that is an indictment on your franchise and ownership. The Cincinnati Reds’ big move this winter was adding JJ Bleday, who was DFA’d by the Athletics. Cincinnati is going to come out of this offseason with next to nothing, and it is setting itself up long-term—after a lockout in 2027—to have to grossly overspend just to get above the eventual salary floor.
