The Los Angeles Dodgers have likely won the winter, signing a two-time Most Valuable Player for $2 million per year for each of the next 10 seasons (and a bit more after that).
Seriously, no news will top what the Dodgers did this week, agreeing to a 10-year, $700 million contract (with $680 million deferred until 2034) with two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani. It is not only an unprecedented amount and structure of a contract, but it also allows the deep-pocket Dodgers to keep spending money this offseason.
And, even if they don’t do anything else massive, like signing reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell, they’ve already garnered plenty of headlines for this offseason.
They will continue to push forward, however. And so will plenty of other teams.
Here is a look at 10 others – in order of potential biggest impact – that could dictate the path of the rest of this offseason. We’ll remove the Dodgers from the list simply because they’ve already had enough fun in December.
1. New York Yankees
In any other offseason, trading for a 25-year-old megastar in a seven-player deal would be the primary headline. But not this year thanks to Ohtani and his $700 million deal.
Still, the Yankees prying outfielder Juan Soto (and Trent Grisham) from the San Diego Padres for five players, including underrated right-hander Michael King, is a blockbuster and should dramatically improve a New York offense that sagged in 2023.
Still, if the Yankees stop here and don’t add a significant starting pitcher (or two), then this offseason will be deemed a failure in the Bronx.
King arguably was their second-best starter last year behind the American League’s No. 1, Gerrit Cole. At the least, they must fill King’s void, whether it is with Snell or top Japanese product Yoshinobu Yamamoto or former Yankee Jordan Montgomery.
GM Brian Cashman took a step forward with Soto, he’s not going backward now. The Yankees are gonna Yankee this winter.
2. San Francisco Giants
With apologies to the Los Angeles Angels and our good friends north of the border in Toronto, no team and its fan base were hurt more by the Ohtani signing than the San Francisco Giants.
Let’s not forget the Giants won 107 games in 2021. Since then, they’ve finished at .500 in 2022 and 79-83 last season, falling to fourth in the National League West for the first time since 2018.
They haven’t advanced beyond the NLDS since winning it all in 2014. And that’s not acceptable for a rabid fan base that has had to watch the Dodgers roll every year.
So, the Giants need to counter this winter, not just to catch the Dodgers but to keep up with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Padres. That means adding a legitimate hitter and a top-of-the-rotation starter.
If they let the Dodgers grab Snell or Yamamoto, well, things will not be pretty in the Bay Area. Therefore, the Giants need to be among the top buyers going forward.
They made one major offensive move Tuesday, reportedly signing Korean outfielder Jung Hoo Lee, 25, to a six-year deal. Lee is more of a contact hitter, so the Giants could still pursue more thump such as Cody Bellinger. Regardless, they know they can’t sit out this offseason.
3. New York Mets
If you think team owner Steve Cohen is going to tread lightly this winter and be content with adding Luis Severino to the rotation, then I have a Blue Jays’ Ohtani jersey to sell you (I know, too soon).
Seriously, the Mets will make an expensive purchase and Yamamoto makes sense. There is no reason he doesn’t go to the highest bidder and, at 25, he is young enough to ride this pseudo-rebuild with the Mets.
Yamamoto shares an agent with fellow Japanese right-hander Kodai Senga, now a Met, so there is familiarity there. Cohen will always compete with the Yankees for attention, so outbidding them and everyone else for the most intriguing arm on the free-agent market must be enticing.
4. Texas Rangers
The Rangers are the defending champions and have a great mix of youth and veterans. They could use another starting pitcher, or they could simply re-sign Jordan Montgomery, who was wonderful for them in the second half and postseason.
Their other spot to fill is closer, where adding free agent Josh Hader would absolutely tip the AL scales their way heading into 2024.
There’s no better fit between a team and a free agent than Hader to the Rangers. They need to get it done.
5. Milwaukee Brewers
I’ve written this previously, and I am sticking with it. No team could alter this offseason more than the NL-Central-winning Brewers if they decide to break up their roster and deal away pending free agents Corbin Burnes and Willie Adames and, potentially, closer Devin Williams, who isn’t a free agent until after the 2025 season.
Adding those three to the trade block would dramatically affect most contenders’ plans and would provide the Brewers with a windfall of prospects.
The Brewers haven’t really shown their hand yet, re-signing 37-year-old lefty Wade Miley and doling out a record eight-year, $82 million extension to uber-prospect Jackson Chourio, a 19-year-old centerfielder who has yet to play a game.
These are on opposite spectrums, and the moves give little clarity as to whether Milwaukee is playing for the future or for 2024. Maybe the Brewers don’t know yet, but baseball is impatiently waiting.
6. Toronto Blue Jays
The Jays were in the Ohtani sweepstakes until the end. The question now is whether their boatload of cash was for Ohtani’s hands only or if they will now parcel it out to others.
The Jays’ window for competitiveness is currently open, so they must strike soon. As good as this roster is on paper, the Jays haven’t won a playoff game since 2016 and haven’t been to a World Series since winning it all in 1993.
Re-signing third baseman Matt Chapman would be a step in the right direction, especially as a way to maintain their strong defense.
The Jays need more, though, in such a tough division, and perhaps the best way to do that is to add another quality starter such as Yamamoto.
The one thing this club can’t do is stand pat, not after an aggressive run at Ohtani. An ingredient is missing in Toronto, and they need to figure out what it is this offseason.
7. Atlanta Braves
The Braves won 104 games in 2023, more than any other club in baseball, and then lost in the NLDS to the rival Phillies.
That obviously was not the goal for Alex Anthopoulos, who arguably has been the busiest general manager in baseball this offseason.
He has bolstered the bullpen, adding Reynaldo López via free agency and Aaron Bummer through trade. He’s also acquired outfielder Jared Kelenic and infielder David Fletcher through separate deals.
What the Braves should do now is add another starter to the rotation. That could be a solid, back-end guy via free agency for depth purposes or target someone of higher quality in a trade such as Burnes, Cleveland’s Shane Bieber, Tampa Bay’s Tyler Glasnow or Dylan Cease of the Chicago White Sox. They’d cost a lot in prospects, and the Braves like their minor-league stash.
8. Baltimore Orioles
The Orioles filled their second biggest need this month with the signing of closer Craig Kimbrel to a one-year, $13 million deal with a 2025 buyout.
Kimbrel, 35, is a solid fit because the Orioles were looking for a bridge until closer Félix Bautista (October elbow surgery) can return in 2025.
Even if Kimbrel isn’t particularly effective, he can take some pressure off Yennier Cano and potentially DL Hall and Tyler Wells as immediate closer candidates.
The question now is whether the Orioles will look for another stop-gap veteran rotation piece to replace Kyle Gibson or will add someone atop the rotation to join Kyle Bradish, Grayson Rodriguez and John Means.
If Orioles GM Mike Elias targets the latter, it will be through trade. No shot they spend major cash to sign one of the top pitchers on the market; they won’t win a significant bidding war.
The Orioles, however, have the minor-league inventory to land a Cease or Burnes if available and if Elias is willing to part with potential future stars.
9. Chicago Cubs
The Cubs are another big-market franchise that hasn’t had much success recently, not winning a playoff game since 2017.
Last year they took a step forward with an 83-79 campaign and have the financial wherewithal to boost the top of their rotation. That appears to be the primary focus, and they were in on the Ohtani sweepstakes.
Now that he’s off the board, the Cubs are in the mix for Yamamoto and 30-year-old lefty Shōta Imanaga, who started the final game of the 2023 World Baseball Classic for Japan.
The Cubs also are reportedly interested in a bat, especially if they can’t re-sign w, who had a rebound season with the Cubs in 2023. If they can’t keep him – and Bellinger is the best offensive player left on the free-agent market – Chapman could be a fit.
10. Boston Red Sox
It’s been two straight seasons in the basement of the American League East and the natives are wicked restless.
It has already been an odd offseason for the Red Sox, who traded outfielder Alex Verdugo, the centerpiece of the Mookie Betts deal with the Dodgers in 2020, to the Yankees this month. They then added outfielder Tyler O’Neil in a trade with the Cardinals.
New chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, who won a World Series title with the Red Sox as a reliever in 2013, is quite aware of the expectations in Boston.
He has also inherited a club that hasn’t aged gracefully in the brutal American League East and needs to improve offensively and on the mound.
Yamamoto appears to be a primary target, but the field is crowded with teams more ready to compete. That means they may have to overpay to convince one of the best pitchers available to come to Boston, something they haven’t had to do in years.