Spring training is, in the most technical sense, still the offseason.
The games don’t count yet. Teams continue to significantly revise their rosters. A handful of free agents remain unsigned and try to use the exhibition games — and the injuries that can take place in them — to their advantage. And clubs’ strong winters can be mitigated by tough springs.
So that’s why I think it’s a good time now for our offseason winners and losers (yes, even though the season has technically begun with the Dodgers’ two-game sweep of Arizona in Australia). I typically like to wait until all of the compensation free agents have signed, but just like the actual teams and the regular season itself, we can’t wait any longer for Stephen Drew and Kendrys Morales.
Here we go. I approach this process as close to a zero-sum game: I’ll divide these into the two leagues, and then for each league, I’ll have eight winners and seven losers or vice versa. It’s not simply a matter of whether your team improved. It’s whether your team gained ground or lost ground on the rest of the league, looking at both the short term and the long term.
These are listed in alphabetical order within each category.
American League
Winners
1. Baltimore: The Orioles waited out the free-agent market until the prices for Ubaldo Jimenez and Nelson Cruz came down to a very reasonable level. Trading Jim Johnson represented a good idea, though we’ll see about replacing Johnson with Tommy Hunter.
2. White Sox: The White Sox did well in separate trades with Arizona for third-base prospect Matt Davidson and center fielder Adam Eaton (the latter actually being a three-way deal with the Angels), and Cuban first baseman Jose Abreu looks like a keeper.
3. Kansas City: The Royals built on their best season (first winning season, for that matter) since 2003 by signing second baseman Omar Infante, acquiring Norichika Aoki in a trade with Milwaukee and overpaying for free-agent starting pitcher Jason Vargas to replace the departing Ervin Santana.
4. Angels: The Angels strengthened their starting rotation, an absolute necessity, by acquiring Hector Santiago and Tyler Skaggs in a three-way trade with Arizona and the White Sox. I’m not as excited about getting David Freese to play third base.
5. Minnesota: The Twins paid a lot to improve their starting rotation with free agents Phil Hughes and Ricky Nolasco, as well as re-signing their own free agent Mike Pelfrey. Those guys should help.
6. Yankees: Three of their four big-name acquisitions —Â Carlos Beltran, Brian McCann and Masahiro Tanaka —Â have enjoyed encouraging springs; the fourth, Jacoby Ellsbury, has not shockingly been slowed by an injury. Most encouraging of all, however, may be a big-name acquisition from two years ago who has yet to throw a pitch for them. Can Michael Pineda sustain what he has displayed in Grapefruit League action?
7. Seattle: If you add the best free agent on the market, you belong in the winners’ column. And Robinson Cano is indeed a Mariner, as is Fernando Rodney. Nevertheless, this organization still seems like a mess.
8. Tampa Bay: The Rays boosted their bullpen with new closer Grant Balfour and their catching corps with Ryan Hanigan, and they retained a) first baseman James Loney by re-signing him and b) David Price by not trading him —Â to the surprise of most other clubs.
Losers
1. Boston: The defending World Series champions bid farewell to Drew (for now), Jacoby Ellsbury and Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and they picked up A.J. Pierzynski and Edward Mujica as well as spring-training revelation Grady Sizemore. Not real impressive, but most industry folks think the Sawx be fine thanks to their robust farm system.
2. Cleveland: The Indians let Jimenez go to Baltimore without a fight, getting a draft pick by doing so, and they signed former Milwaukee closer John Axford to do the same for them while replacing Drew Stubbs with David Murphy in their outfield. Not much over which to get excited.
3. Detroit: The Tigers dealt Prince Fielder to Texas for Ian Kinsler and payroll flexibility (eh), they traded Doug Fister to Washington for seemingly minor pieces (yuck) and signed veteran closer Joe Nathan (kudos). Throw in the spring-training losses of Jose Iglesias and Bruce Rondon, and this is a losing offseason.
4. Houston: At least the Astros finally spent a little money by getting free-agent pitcher Scott Feldman, and Dexter Fowler (traded from Colorado) is an interesting piece. In the ultra-competitive AL West, however, these moves don’t merit any sort of celebration.
5. Oakland: The A’s took very interesting risks in giving the revived Scott Kazmir a two-year contract and getting the closer Johnson from Baltimore. I don’t love the risks, though, and losing Jarrod Parker to Tommy John surgery is a very tough break.
6. Texas: The Rangers’ offense shouldn’t be a liability anymore after adding Fielder and free agent Shin-Soo Choo. However, it’s problematic that those are win-now moves, and Texas’ efforts to win now have been compromised by injuries to Jurickson Profar, Derek Holland and Geovany Soto.
7. Toronto: Well, no one will accuse the Blue Jays of overreacting to their disastrous 2013 season with wholesale moves for the sake of making moves. Yet they sure are depending a lot on internal improvements.
National League
Winners
1. Arizona: The Diamondbacks added closer Addison Reed and outfielder Mark Trumbo in trades, and they signed veteran innings-eater Bronson Arroyo —Â who immediately suffered from back problems. They also lost 2013 All-Star Patrick Corbin to likely Tommy John surgery.
2. Dodgers: They took some interesting risks in starting pitchers Dan Haren and Paul Maholm and Cuban infielder Alex Guerrero, plus they re-signed reliever Brian Wilson and added bench players Chone Figgins and (former Met) Justin Turner. Could’ve been worse.
3. Milwaukee: The Brewers added starting pitcher Matt Garza at a lower price than folks anticipated, and they picked up a couple of 2013 Yankees in Lyle Overbay and Mark Reynolds to patrol first base. They’re clearly better.
4. Mets: They finally spent some money, even if it was only to keep the payroll flat, to acquire Curtis Granderson and Bartolo Colon. Risky outfield acquisition Chris Young has enjoyed a good spring training.
5. St. Louis: Jhonny Peralta and Peter Bourjos seem like good fits for their infield and outfield, respectively. However, there is curiosity over how much they’ll miss Beltran’s bat and clubhouse presence.
6. San Diego: We’ll cautiously put the Padres here, as their signing of Josh Johnson already has hit a speed bump due to Johnson’s right forearm injury. Maybe he still can contribute, and maybe free-agent signee Joaquin Benoit can help Huston Street create a shutdown bullpen.
7. Washington: The rest of baseball is jealous over the low price the Nationals paid for Fister in a trade.
8. San Francisco: The Giants took a shot by bringing back Tim Hudson to the Bay Area. It’s a good idea. Re-signing Tim Lincecum before he even hit free agency? That doesn’t seem as good.
Losers
1. Atlanta: Their biggest acquisition of the offseason, free-agent starting pitcher Ervin Santana, entered the picture only because the Braves lost both Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy to Tommy John surgery. And Mike Minor will start the season on the disabled list, as well.
2. Colorado: The Rockies might have bolstered their bullpen with former Met LaTroy Hawkins and former Yankee Boone Logan, yet trading Fowler to Houston was confusing. Brett Anderson is your standard lottery ticket.
3. Cubs: They picked up a new closer, free agent Jose Veras, whom they figure to flip at the trade deadline if all goes well. And that was about it, as the rebuilding continues.
4. Cincinnati: The Reds lost both Bronson Arroyo (Arizona) and Shin-Soo Choo (Texas) to free agency, and near the end of spring training, they lost closer Aroldis Chapman for a while due to a terrifying injury.
5. Miami: Maybe Saltalamacchia, Rafael Furcal and Casey McGehee can help the Marlins improve marginally. Of course, given that they lost 100 games last year, they need more than just marginal help.
6. Philadelphia: The signing of A.J. Burnett would make more sense if he didn’t receive no-trade protection. Because let’s face it: Odds are the Phillies won’t be contending. Marlon Byrd doesn’t figure to help much.
7. Pittsburgh: The Pirates let Burnett go and took a shot on Edinson Volquez to help their pitching staff, and they didn’t do much of anything for first base.