By Chad Jennings, Aaron Gleeman and Tim Britton
The semester was about to end, and too many of our students still hadn’t finished their homework, much less taken their final exam. Giving them grades took a while.
But now that spring training is in full swing — and now that Jack Flaherty, Pete Alonso and Alex Bregman have signed new contracts — it’s time to assess each team’s offseason. The trade market remains open, and three of the top 40 players who made The Athletic’s MLB Free Agent Big Board are still available, but pitchers are throwing and hitters are swinging.
Baseball’s winter has come to an end.
It’s time to decide which teams aced the assignment, and which are going to have a tough time in summer school.
(Jennings graded the AL East, NL East and NL West; Gleeman graded the AL Central and AL West; Britton graded the NL Central. Payroll numbers are according to FanGraphs’ RosterResource.)
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2025 payroll estimate
$195 million
The Diamondbacks already had a solid rotation with Cy Young contender Zac Gallen at the top, but they added to it anyway by signing Corbin Burnes, the best starter on the free-agent market. To replace Christian Walker at first base, they traded for Josh Naylor. To restore right-handed balance, they re-signed Randal Grichuk (and signed notable minor-league deals with Garrett Hampson, Trey Mancini and Cristian Pache). To lengthen their bullpen and replace Paul Sewald, they signed veteran Kendall Graveman.
The Dodgers still stand alone in the NL West, but the Diamondbacks might have pushed themselves ahead of every other contender in the division. They have one of the deepest rotations in the game — especially if Jordan Montgomery bounces back — and top prospect Jordan Lawlar could soon join their young core of position players.
2025 payroll estimate
$74 million
Under pressure to spend some money, the A’s gave Luis Severino the largest contract in team history (three years, $67 million), signed José Leclerc for $10 million, traded for the $22 million remaining on Jeffrey Springs’ deal and locked in Brent Rooker to a $60 million extension. The end result is still a $74 million payroll that ranks 29th out of 30 teams, but that’s up 17 percent from 2024 and up 25 percent from 2023.
Presumably that spending “spree” will be enough to keep the MLBPA from filing a grievance — and that might be all that matters to owner John Fisher — but Severino wasn’t ranked among The Athletic’s top 20 free agents and the A’s failed to add any meaningful help for a lineup that finished 26th in runs scored last year. And where was this level of spending when the team was still in Oakland?
2025 payroll estimate
$212 million
The Braves didn’t have a great offseason, but maybe they didn’t need one. They added much-needed offense with new left fielder Jurickson Profar — who takes some pressure off Jarred Kelenic — but their other “key arrivals” were an all-glove utilityman (Nick Allen) and a Rule 5 reliever (Anderson Pilar). Not exactly blockbuster moves.
The more meaningful additions should be internal. Spencer Strider, Ronald Acuña Jr., Ozzie Albies, Sean Murphy and Austin Riley each spent significant time on the IL last year. Strider didn’t pitch at all, Acuña played just 49 games, Albies played 99 games, Murphy missed two months, and Riley missed the final month and a half. It’s hard to win without five horses, and getting those players back at some point — Acuña and Strider likely will need a few weeks — should be more important than anyone the Braves added this offseason. In fact, it might be enough to put the Braves back atop a strong NL East.
2025 payroll estimate
$161 million
The Orioles checked almost every offseason box, but the one miss is a big one. They doubled down on mid-rotation starters — Charlie Morton and Japanese standout Tomoyuki Sugano — but did not add an ace to replace Corbin Burnes (though, to be fair, a healthy Grayson Rodriguez could make a difference, and they traded for Zach Eflin last summer).
The team did replace its biggest offensive losses with a pair of right-handed power hitters (Tyler O’Neill and Gary Sánchez) and another right-handed platoon hitter (Ramón Laureano) who fit their left-leaning lineup nicely. The Orioles also signed Andrew Kittredge to maintain bullpen depth. Is all that — plus their talented young core — enough to keep pace in the AL East?
2025 payroll estimate
$210 million
Another offseason, another Red Sox search for starting pitching. Except this time, the team delivered. First came a blockbuster trade for Garrett Crochet (perhaps the best starter on the trade market), then a one-year deal with Walker Buehler (an upside play at the back of the rotation). Patrick Sandoval, who’s recovering from Tommy John surgery, also signed a free-agent deal and could be a factor in the second half.
What put the Red Sox offseason over-the-top was the late addition of Alex Bregman. The team’s left-leaning lineup needed a right-handed bat. Its infield had uncertainty at second base. A relatively young clubhouse had space for a veteran presence. The Red Sox got all of the above in Bregman, and they spent lavishly to get him, reasserting themselves as an offseason force.
There is still some uncertainty in the late innings, but Boston signed Aroldis Chapman and has Liam Hendriks returning from Tommy John surgery. Ultimately, Bregman and Crochet were enough to put the Red Sox back in the playoff hunt.
2025 payroll estimate
$191 million
Chicago made its most aggressive move in years by picking up Kyle Tucker from the Astros — probably the second-best player to change teams this winter. Plugging a healthy Tucker into Cody Bellinger’s old spot in the lineup is an upgrade that should push the Cubs beyond the 83-win plateau and toward the top of the NL Central. Another trade with Houston for Ryan Pressly helps the back end of the bullpen.
An outright A is within reach with maybe one more significant move. The Cubs were in on Alex Bregman late in the winter, and after coming up short there’s still some cash on hand to use. A homecoming for Dylan Cease, a veteran bat to add to the lineup mix or a bolstering of the bullpen are on the table, which could lift Chicago into serious contention in the National League as a whole.
2025 payroll estimate
$81 million
Chicago’s payroll has shrunk by roughly half compared to last season, dropping to 28th in MLB at about $80 million. But this White Sox offseason was never going to be about adding talent to the major-league roster following a record-setting 121 losses in 2024. They accomplished the primary objectives of getting a solid prospect haul from the Red Sox for Garrett Crochet and hiring a new manager in Will Venable.
However, they weren’t able to cash in Luis Robert Jr. for whatever value he has left, perhaps hoping that a healthy first half will generate a bit more interest at the trade deadline. Everything else is just window dressing for another loss-filled year of non-competitive baseball. White Sox fans probably wish “sim to next season” was an option in real life.
2025 payroll estimate
$116 million
The Reds’ biggest addition is at the top step of the dugout in Terry Francona. Long regarded as one of the sport’s finest managers, Francona gives Cincinnati a legitimate reason to expect internal improvement from one of the most intriguing collections of young talent in the sport.
Starting with the Francona hire, the Reds operated more aggressively this offseason. They brought back Nick Martinez via the qualifying offer before swinging deals with Kansas City (for starter Brady Singer) and San Francisco (for reliever Taylor Rogers). They were close with the White Sox on a trade for Luis Robert Jr., and perhaps that discussion will continue into the season. The position-player group is flexible, and the return of Matt McLain from shoulder surgery provides a much-needed defensive improvement wherever he lines up.
If everything clicks here, you don’t have to squint too hard to see Cincinnati as a real contender in the NL Central.
2025 payroll estimate
$96 million
Cleveland had a busy winter, re-signing the rehabbing Shane Bieber, trading away longtime core regulars Andrés Giménez and Josh Naylor and reuniting with Carlos Santana (again) to replace Naylor. But did the Guardians get better, or merely cheaper, in dropping to 25th in payroll at about $100 million? They’re betting on Luis L. Ortiz and Slade Cecconi paying future dividends, and few teams have a superior track record for developing arms.
It was creative and smart to take advantage of Toronto’s pursuit of Roki Sasaki to shed Myles Straw’s contract, but the impact is lessened by reinvesting that savings questionably or not at all. Similar to last offseason’s trade for reliever Scott Barlow, spending $7 million on the 34-year-old Paul Sewald, while a reasonable price for a setup man, seems like an odd splurge for a team with a $100 million payroll.
2025 payroll estimate
$123 million
Ryan McMahon made his first Opening Day roster in 2018, joining a Rockies team that had All-Stars in the infield, promising young arms in the rotation, and Charlie Blackmon in his prime. That team won 91 games and made the playoffs for the second year in a row. McMahon hasn’t won more than 74 games in a season since, and he probably won’t win that many this year, either. PECOTA projections expect the Rockies to be the worst team in baseball.
Rather than commit to a rebuild (like the Marlins) or begin meaningfully building around a young core (like the Tigers and Diamondbacks), the Rockies continue to make middling additions without future-focused trades. This winter’s “key additions” were a couple of utility infielders and a Triple-A first baseman. The Rockies also re-signed catcher Jacob Stallings. The result almost certainly will be a fourth straight last-place finish.
2025 payroll estimate
$144 million
Re-signing Jack Flaherty to a cheaper-than-expected two-year, $35 million contract after trading him for prospects at the deadline is a clear win for the Tigers, who made the playoffs without him last October and will try to return there with him — and Trey Sweeney — now. Landing Gleyber Torres for $15 million adds plenty of upside to a lineup in need of it, and Tommy Kahnle could be an underrated bullpen pickup for $7.75 million.
On the other hand, Alex Cobb’s one-year, $15 million contract requires a lot of wishful thinking to see more upside than risk given his recent injury history, and months of Alex Bregman speculation didn’t lead to a bigger splash. It’s possible Detroit will regret not pushing more chips into the middle coming off last season’s success, but the Tigers have done some pretty solid work in the meantime.
2025 payroll estimate
$218 million
Trading away Kyle Tucker and Ryan Pressly, and losing Alex Bregman, Yusei Kikuchi and Justin Verlander to free agency is an awful lot of big-name/ring-wearing talent departing in one offseason, even if the Astros got a quality, Isaac Paredes-led return from the Cubs for Tucker and added Christian Walker’s big bat to fill another lineup hole with a three-year, $60 million free-agent deal.
Enough key pieces of the title-winning cores remain to keep winning in 2025, but this is a team in transition, on the field and behind the scenes. After salary dumping Pressly, the payroll is down roughly $25 million from last season, and it’s tough not to view the collective offseason moves as knowingly taking a step backward. Houston might be stuck between the present and the future.
2025 payroll estimate
$132 million
Last offseason’s flurry of moves paid off with a 30-win improvement and a playoff appearance for the first time since the 2015 World Series run, but the Royals dialed things back considerably this winter. Their big splash came in November with the Brady Singer-for-Jonathan India challenge trade, and they later brought back Michael Lorenzen to fill the rotation hole created by sending Singer to Cincinnati.
Carlos Estevéz should pair nicely with 2024 trade deadline pickup Lucas Erceg as the new late-inning bullpen duo and Joey Wiemer could emerge as a second valuable piece of the Singer return from the Reds, but it feels like the Royals missed a prime opportunity to add another capable veteran bat (or two) to an outfield that ranked 28th out of 30 teams in collective OPS last season.
2025 payroll estimate
$202 million
Clearly, the Angels were motivated to move quickly, trading for Jorge Soler one day after the World Series and signing Yusei Kikuchi, Travis d’Arnaud, Kyle Hendricks and Kevin Newman in November. After a two-month pause, just before the start of camp they brought in 37-year-old Kenley Jansen to presumably be the closer, as well as former White Sox teammates Yoan Moncada and Tim Anderson as bounce-back candidates.
Kikuchi’s three-year, $63 million deal looks like a bargain relative to the rest of the free-agent pitching market, but the other moves are the usual hodgepodge from a front office that never seems to have a big-picture plan. Short of actually rebuilding, this was a reasonable enough offseason of treading water, and the Angels should have a few more appealing pieces to shop for prospects at the trade deadline if needed.
2025 payroll estimate
$376 million
For the second year in a row, the Dodgers won the offseason. They didn’t sign this winter’s biggest prize (Juan Soto went to the Mets), but they did spend aggressively in free agency, building a rotation that can go seven starters deep — even before Clayton Kershaw’s presumptive return — and a bullpen that has five experienced closers.
And did we mention they still have Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and reigning MVP Shohei Ohtani?
Our “key additions” list is just scratching the surface of the Dodgers offseason. It says nothing of re-signing Teoscar Hernández, Kiké Hernández and Blake Treinen, and it has no room for new second baseman Hyeseong Kim, new left fielder Michael Conforto and new reliever Kirby Yates. It also fails to mention the contract extension for play-anywhere Tommy Edman, and the expected return to health of Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin. It certainly doesn’t mention Ohtani’s return to pitching. It seems fair to question Betts’ viability as a shortstop, but the Dodgers have amassed such depth — especially on the pitching staff — that it might not matter where Betts plays.
2025 payroll estimate
$70 million
Well, at least they hired a manager.
The Marlins are in full rebuild mode, and they get a passing grade for committing to the plan, even if it’s an unsatisfying one. They traded away last year’s Opening Day starter (Jesús Luzardo) and one of their best hitters (Jake Burger). Now, only two players from last year’s Opening Day lineup are still with the team (Jesús Sánchez, Nick Fortes). Sandy Alcantara is going to return from a year lost to injury, look around the clubhouse, and have no idea who these people are.
Aside from hiring Clayton McCullough as their manager, the Marlins’ biggest major-league addition was bounce-back candidate Cal Quantrill. Otherwise, they added a Rule 5 catcher who’s never played above Double A (Liam Hicks), a 27-year-old third baseman who was DFA’d by the last-place Angels (Eric Wagaman), and traded for a faded prospect who might be able to help out at first base (Matt Mervis).
2025 payroll estimate
$117 million
The Brewers deserve some benefit of the doubt: Last winter, they dealt their perennial Cy Young contender and rolled wire-to-wire in the NL Central anyway. They have a mode of operation, and they stick to it — as evidenced by this winter’s trade of Devin Williams to the Yankees.
However, one would think the team is by now exhausted by first-round postseason exits. Since advancing to the NLCS in 2018, Milwaukee has qualified for but failed to advance in the playoffs five times. Its hopes of ending that stretch will rely on internal improvement; pitchers Tyler Alexander and Grant Wolfram are the only major-league free agents the club signed.
Even with the loss of Willy Adames, the Brewers still boast an enviable core of position players, headlined by William Contreras, Jackson Chourio and Christian Yelich. The rotation could be buoyed by a healthy return from Brandon Woodruff, who missed 2024 after undergoing shoulder surgery. Milwaukee should once again contend in the Central; its ceiling beyond that, though, appears limited.
2025 payroll estimate
$146 million
After three months of browsing in the bargain bin because of the outgoing ownership’s payroll constraints, the Twins signed Harrison Bader, Danny Coulombe and Ty France to one-year deals totaling $10.25 million just before camp opened. They’re all useful depth pieces, but the Twins made no other additions to the major-league roster and opted against bringing in a higher-upside replacement for Santana at first base.
No one in Minnesota is shocked by the offseason inactivity, and criticism should be directed more at ownership than a front office with very little spending room, but it would be hard to argue the Twins have made a meaningful effort to improve last season’s fourth-place roster that collapsed down the stretch. Bader at $6.25 million is the Twins’ most expensive pickup, via signing or trade, in the past 25 months.
2025 payroll estimate
$331 million
The Mets landed the biggest free agent on the market, and Juan Soto alone would have made this offseason a success. But they capped their winter by re-signing Pete Alonso, giving the team — with Francisco Lindor — one of the best top-of-the-lineup trios in baseball.
If there was a potential weakness to the Mets’ offense it was on the pitching side where the team re-signed Sean Manaea (banking on him maintaining his strong second-half performance) and added Clay Holmes (believing he can transform into a starter). Both could be strong moves, but they come with risks. Jose Siri (center field), Jesse Winker (left-handed hitter), Frankie Montas (rotation), A.J. Minter (bullpen) and Ryne Stanek (bullpen) were other offseason moves that plugged important holes for a team with World Series ambition.
2025 payroll estimate
$285 million
No. 1 on the to-do list was re-signing Juan Soto. When that didn’t work, the Yankees pivoted to significantly upgrading their rotation (Max Fried), making a couple of splashes on the trade market (Cody Bellinger, Devin Williams), signing Paul Goldschmidt to address a glaring weakness at first base, and rounding out their bullpen with Fernando Cruz and Tim Hill.
There is no replacing Soto, and the Yankees’ roster still has flaws — they’re going to have to hope for the best with either Oswaldo Cabrera or DJ LeMahieu at third base — but Fried and Gerrit Cole are a formidable duo atop the rotation, and they’ll have a full season of 2024 trade addition Jazz Chisholm Jr.. Add the potential of rookie outfielder Jasson Domínguez, and the Yankees did enough to remain World Series contenders.
2025 payroll estimate
$288 million
The Phillies did not have massive holes to fill, and their biggest move was to strengthen a rotation that was already awfully good. Their trade for Jesús Luzardo raises the ceiling of their back-end starters, lengthening the rotation even before top prospect Andrew Painter is called up to the majors.
The Phillies also completed their outfield with Max Kepler and got a new closer in Jordan Romano, but they’ve had the same core of players for a few years now, and they’ll continue to lean on that group. Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto will be eligible for free agency after this season, but there’s otherwise still time for this group to make at least a couple of more runs at a championship. The Phillies have been to the playoffs three seasons in a row, but they’ve been eliminated earlier and earlier each year.
2025 payroll estimate
$83 million
In Paul Skenes and Jared Jones, the Pirates have two ace-caliber starters in pre-arbitration — the team-building equivalent of having a very good quarterback on a rookie deal in the NFL. And yet, they remain reluctant to push more than a couple of chips into the center of the table.
Despite an offense that ranked 13th in the NL in runs and last in position player wins above replacement last season, Pittsburgh made only small moves to bolster its lineup. It doesn’t help that the biggest addition, first baseman Spencer Horwitz, is already on the shelf following wrist surgery. (While Horwitz is only slated to miss some time in April, many an offensive season has been undone by wrist issues.) That leaves the Pirates banking on further improvements by Joey Bart and Nick Gonzales and the return of prospect Endy Rodríguez.
2025 payroll estimate
$207 million
Until recently, the Padres’ “key additions” were a handful of minor-league deals, a Rule 5 pick, and re-signing catcher Elias Díaz. The Padres then signed a left-field platoon of Jason Heyward and Connor Joe, added a potential DH in Gavin Sheets (on a minor-league deal), and most recently added to their rotation with Nick Pivetta (who was the best free-agent starter still available) and Kyle Hart (who thrived last year in Korea).
But the lavish free-agent spending of recent offseasons is long gone, and the Padres might have more cost-cutting up their sleeves. Last spring, they made a mid-March deal to acquire starter Dylan Cease. This spring, they could trade Cease away. The Padres reportedly have also considered trading closer Robert Suarez as they try to limit spending while addressing a lack of depth — and, in some cases, a lack of proven everyday options — at multiple positions.
2025 payroll estimate
$176 million
Middle infield was the Giants’ most glaring need, and they addressed it in a big way by signing Willy Adames to a seven-year deal. Their other needs, however, were met with far less significant solutions.
Verlander is a future Hall of Famer, but he’ll play this season at 42 and had a 5.48 ERA in 17 starts last year. He’s a notable replacement for Snell, but a risky one. And while we list three “key additions” for each team, the Giants didn’t really have a third beyond Adames and Verlander (Joey Lucchesi and Lou Trivino signed minor-league deals). More significant boosts might come from having Tyler Fitzgerald for a full season at second base and getting Jung Hoo Lee back from a shoulder injury in center field. Is that enough to compete in the NL West? Statistical projections are not optimistic.
2025 payroll estimate
$152 million
So much for Jerry Dipoto’s transaction addiction. Seattle basically did nothing all offseason, with the biggest move being re-signing Jorge Polanco for $7.75 million and the biggest addition being Donovan Solano for $3.5 million. For a built-to-win team that faded from last season’s playoff picture by going 33-31 in the second half, it’s hard to make sense of the Mariners’ inactivity and overall plan.
Doing nothing of note to help a lineup that ranked 21st in runs last season is particularly confusing. Seattle is an extremely difficult place to hit, so the ugly raw numbers can paint a somewhat misleading picture, but Solano is a 37-year-old first baseman who hasn’t slugged above .425 since 2020 and Polanco needed a late push just to get his OPS above .650 last year. What a strangely passive offseason.
2025 payroll estimate
$148 million
The Cardinals commenced the offseason with a frank evaluation of the organization’s recent failures, outlining a multiyear plan to emphasize player development while turning over the front office. At the time, the presumption across the sport was that St. Louis would look to move on from several veteran pieces, even those under longer team control.
Instead, the Cardinals reported to camp with Nolan Arenado still the third baseman, Ryan Helsley still the closer and the rotation still stocked with Sonny Gray, Miles Mikolas and Steven Matz. St. Louis has been candid about its ongoing efforts to move Arenado, who nixed a deal to Houston back in December.
The good news is that retaining those players means the 2025 Cardinals should be better than what we all expected. The bad news is that probably isn’t good enough to contend in the NL Central — given their record last season and the lack of a single major-league acquisition this winter — and brings them no closer to improving the talent pipeline beyond this summer.
2025 payroll estimate
$90 million
In this case, the list of “key departures” is a bit misleading. The Rays ripped their roster apart at last year’s trade deadline — dealing Randy Arozarena, Isaac Paredes and Zach Eflin among others — and the Jeffrey Springs and Jose Siri trades of this offseason were simply a continuation.
The Rays did add two important free agents, first to address their most glaring need at catcher (Danny Jansen) and to add offense at a point of weakness (Ha-Seong Kim). Their biggest addition, though, could be ace Shane McClanahan returning from elbow surgery. The team should also have 21-year-old Junior Caminero on the Opening Day roster for the first time, plus fuller and healthier seasons from Shane Baz and Drew Rasmussen. Young defensive standout Jonny DeLuca is getting a chance in center field. After a down year, the Rays could have enough pitching to be back in the wild-card picture.
2025 payroll estimate
$222 million
While technically not an addition, re-signing starter Nathan Eovaldi for $75 million over three years was the Rangers’ biggest offseason move. They also beefed up the lineup with Jake Burger and Joc Pederson, brought in Kyle Higashioka to pair with Jonah Heim at catcher and added lots of veteran bullpen depth in Chris Martin, Shawn Armstrong, Jacob Webb, Robert Garcia and Hoby Milner.
But the Rangers also shed a lot of talent, including trading Lowe’s bat to get Garcia and losing free agents Kirby Yates, Max Scherzer, David Robertson, Andrew Heaney, Andrew Chafin and José Leclerc from a pitching staff that was 20th in ERA last year. After making huge splashes in recent offseasons, this winter was more about maintaining enough depth to resume contending if their big names come through with big years.
2025 payroll estimate
$250 million
The Blue Jays addressed their biggest needs — a big bat, a mid-rotation starter and a late-inning reliever — but did so in less-than-thrilling fashion.
They tried to get Juan Soto but settled for Anthony Santander. They were linked to Pete Alonso but didn’t get him. They improved their infield, but with glove-first Andrés Giménez. They got a late-inning arm, but only after Jeff Hoffman’s medicals spooked other teams. They were finalists for young phenom Roki Sasaki, but instead signed 40-year-old Max Scherzer. There still is no extension in place for either Vladimir Guerrero Jr. or Bo Bichette, each of whom is nine months from free agency. A simple checklist would suggest the Blue Jays did everything they needed to do. But did they actually do enough to turn a 74-win team into a World Series contender?
2025 payroll estimate
$110 million
The Nationals are young and interesting but clearly decided this was not the winter to make bold additions. Signing Josh Bell and trading for Nathaniel Lowe gave them a couple of guys who can hit homers — no Nats player had more than 20 last year —and versatile infielders Amed Rosario and Paul DeJong added some right-handed balance. Re-signing Trevor Williams and adding Michael Soroka, Jorge López, Shinnosuke Ogasawara and Colin Poche supplemented the thin pitching staff (though they still lack a closer and a true ace).
It was an active winter in the second and third tiers of free agency, and if young outfielders Dylan Crews and James Wood can live up to expectations in their first full seasons, then the Nationals could be onto something. They might not be ready to truly compete in the loaded NL East, but aren’t necessarily pushovers.
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(Illustration: Kelsea Petersen / The Athletic; Photos: Rich Storry / Getty Images; Maddie Malhotra / Boston Red Sox via Getty Images; Cliff Welch / Icon Sportswire / Associated Press)
