The calendar has flipped to February and the beginning of Spring Coaching is only a matter of days away. Whereas some notable free brokers (together with 9 of MLBTR’s High 50 MLB Free Brokers for the 2024-25 offseason) stay unsigned, most golf equipment have already executed the heavy lifting by way of making ready their roster for the 2025 season. Within the coming days, we’ll be having a look across the league at which golf equipment have had the strongest offseason up to now. Thus far, the Mets and Cubs have decisively received the polls overlaying the NL East and Central respectively. At this time, the main focus shifts to the NL West.
The west coast represents the category of the Nationwide League on condition that they’ve represented the senior circuit within the World Sequence in every of the previous two seasons. The division has despatched at the very least two groups to the postseason in every of the previous 5 seasons, and this offseason finds three of the membership’s 5 groups firmly in win-now rivalry home windows whereas a fourth has additionally begun appearing aggressively. Which staff has executed essentially the most to set themselves up for fulfillment this winter? Groups are listed so as of their 2024 document.
Los Angeles Dodgers
The reigning World Sequence champions might have stayed totally on the sidelines in the course of the bidding for prime free agent and $765MM man Juan Soto, however that on no account means they’ve had a quiet offseason. The Dodgers have been one of many league’s most lively groups this winter, re-signing Teoscar Hernandez and Blake Treinen, extending Tommy Edman, and likewise making plenty of additions in free company. The membership kicked off the winter by poaching lefty Blake Snell from their division rivals in San Francisco and haven’t let up since, including Michael Conforto to the outfield and Hyeseong Kim to the infield whereas bolstering the bullpen with each Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates, arguably the 2 greatest closers out there on this winter’s market.
Probably the most notable addition of the winter for Los Angeles, nevertheless, was absolutely longtime NPB phenom Roki Sasaki, who was posted regardless of not but being eligible for something greater than a minor league contract and worldwide bonus pool cash. Getting Sasaki below such favorable phrases could be a coup for any staff, and it solely serves to strengthen the Dodgers additional. That’s to not say their offseason has been flawless, nevertheless. Their roster crunch reached a degree the place they needed to dump a few of their less-necessary 40-man prospects and depth items like Diego Cartaya, Gavin Lux, and Ryan Brasier. Apart from that, the membership’s largest query mark in 2025 was the shortstop place, and that is still largely unaddressed because the membership plans to provide veteran star Mookie Betts one other run on the place regardless of his lack of expertise there. Even with a possible gap at brief if Betts is unable to deal with the place, nevertheless, the Dodgers have set themselves up properly as they appear to defend their World Sequence title in 2025.
San Diego Padres
It’s been a quiet and disappointing offseason in San Diego amid discord inside the membership’s possession group and a transparent finances crunch that has hampered president of baseball operations A.J. Preller all all through the winter. The departures of Scott, Jurickson Profar, Donovan Solano, and Ha-Seong Kim in free company have left the membership’s robust core with out a lot of its supporting solid, and San Diego’s hopes of touchdown Sasaki have been dashed by their rivals in L.A. regardless of a powerful push that made them a finalist. The membership’s solely huge league signing up to now within the winter has been re-signing Elias Diaz to assist shore issues up behind the plate. It’s a welcome addition however hardly a needle mover, and it appears as if the Padres might not have the ability to make extra impactful additions with out buying and selling a participant like Dylan Stop or Luis Arraez to clear wage.
Arizona Diamondbacks
After lacking the playoffs by only a hair in 2024, the 2023 NL champions haven’t been resting on their laurels this winter. The membership re-upped with Randal Grichuk yesterday to maintain a key right-handed bat within the outfield combine, and whereas the losses of Joc Pederson, Christian Walker, and Josh Bell to free company are all positive to sting the lineup the addition of Josh Naylor in a commerce with the Guardians ought to assist to ease that blow significantly. By far the membership’s most notable addition, nevertheless, is that of Corbin Burnes. Arizona managed to reel within the offseason’s prime pitching free agent on a surprisingly favorable six-year assure, and the 2021 NL Cy Younger award winner will now be part of Zac Gallen on the prime of an already-strong rotation that additionally options Merrill Kelly, Eduardo Rodriguez, Brandon Pfaadt, and Jordan Montgomery. With that being mentioned, the membership nonetheless has one main query mark within the lineup after letting Pederson’s position because the common DH go as-of-yet unfilled, and the membership’s efforts so as to add a better to their reduction corps haven’t but come to fruition both.
San Francisco Giants
Very like the Diamondbacks, the Giants’ offseason is highlighted by one main, splashy signing: they added shortstop Willy Adames to their infield on the biggest free agent contract in membership historical past, pairing him with recently-extended third baseman Matt Chapman to type a dynamic duo on the left facet of the infield for years to return. Apart from that signing, maybe the largest addition to the Giants group of the offseason was longtime franchise face Buster Posey taking on for the exiting Farhan Zaidi as president of baseball operations.
Since including Adames simply earlier than the Winter Conferences, nevertheless, issues have been pretty quiet in San Francisco. Future Corridor of Famer Justin Verlander was introduced in to assist Logan Webb anchor the rotation after Snell departed for Los Angeles, however Verlander turns 42 later this month and it’s honest to marvel how a lot he has left within the tank after a troublesome 2024 season. That seems to be all of the membership plans to do that winter, as Posey lately steered that the group feels “fairly set” with their offseason strikes regardless of departures like Michael Conforto and Taylor Rogers having gone as-of-yet unanswered.
Colorado Rockies
Coming off back-to-back 100-loss seasons, the Rockies have continued to eschew the total rebuild technique different bottom-feeders just like the White Sox and Marlins have taken up in favor of retaining their veteran gamers to function a bridge to their youthful items. That’s led to extraordinarily quiet offseasons lately, and this one has been no exception to that. The membership added some infield depth by signing Thairo Estrada and Kyle Farmer to one-year offers as they appear to interchange Brendan Rodgers, however these are the membership’s solely huge league free agent additions of the winter.
Arguably their most impactful transfer was re-signing catcher Jacob Stallings on the heels of a superb rebound season with the membership final 12 months, and he ought to assist to solidify the catcher place till well-regarded prospect Drew Romo is able to take over common catching duties. The pitching workers has been nearly solely unaltered other than the departures of Daniel Bard and Cal Quantrill, nevertheless, and there hasn’t been a bat introduced in to interchange the manufacturing of retiring franchise stalwart Charlie Blackmon.
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This offseason has been a little bit of a blended bag across the NL West, with three of its 5 golf equipment making a number of main additions to the roster however the different two having executed little or no up to now by way of both buy-side or sell-side strikes, as a substitute largely remaining stagnant. The Dodgers have been, unsurprisingly, essentially the most lively membership of the winter each inside the division and arguably in baseball as a complete. With that mentioned, nevertheless, Arizona’s coup in bringing Burnes into the fold and San Francisco’s record-setting deal for Adames are robust strikes that would catapult both membership again into the postseason after lacking out final 12 months. Colorado’s development of modest offseasons has continued, nevertheless, and with the caveat that Preller can by no means be counted out on the subject of making daring strikes, plainly the Padres have elected to affix them in that quiet strategy up to now within the offseason.
Of the 5 NL West golf equipment, which one has had the strongest offseason thus far? Have your say within the ballot under:
