Which MLB Team Had The Best 2020-21 Offseason?
Image credit: Years ago, A.J. Preller was roaming the lobby of the Winter Meetings looking for that first job in baseball. Now, he’s the general manager for the Padres.
This is one of 10 burning questions comprising Baseball America’s 2021 MLB Season Preview. To see the full preview, click here. Below, our staffers pick the MLB team that had the best offseason and offer a brief explanation as to why.
Ben Badler — Padres. Kind of a no-brainer here.
Alexis Brudnicki — Blue Jays. Of course it’s the Padres, but let’s not forget about the team that solidified an outfield with George Springer taking center stage for the next six seasons. Springer’s bat adds to an already dangerous and maturing young lineup and could prove to be a difference-maker.
Mark Chiarelli — Royals. The Padres are an obvious choice, but the Royals deserve credit after a surprisingly active winter. Dayton Moore shrewdly bought low on Andrew Benintendi and acquired several under-the-radar veterans like Carlos Santana, Mike Minor and Michael A. Taylor in an effort to build a more competitive club. There were other organizations in more obvious positions to do so this winter who cannot say the same.
Carlos Collazo — Padres.San Diego is the easy choice here. It’s refreshing to see the way A.J. Preller and the Padres are operating in a year where multiple teams traded away franchise players primarily because of financial motivations. It is clear that “small market” clubs can make big market moves if they simply have the desire to.
J.J. Cooper — Padres. How can you pick anyone else? The Padres did almost everything they could to try to catch the Dodgers, and they managed to do so in a way that should make them competitive for years to come. They added plenty of depth to their rotation while also adding redundancy at virtually every position other than catcher
Matt Eddy — Mets. The trade for Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco is the clear headlining move, but the 2020 Mets had enough weaknesses that small upgrades around the roster could result in large gains in the win column. Catcher James McCann adds pitch-framing value, especially low in the zone, that the club lacked with Wilson Ramos. Reliever Trevor May will figure in the late innings, while veterans Kevin Pillar and Jonathan Villar add bench depth. Adding Taijuan Walker and Joey Lucchesi to the rotation complements the returns of Marcus Stroman and Noah Syndergaard
Kyle Glaser — Padres. It’s hard to pick anyone but the Padres. They bulked up both the front and back of their rotation, improved their position player depth, enhanced their bullpen and, most importantly, signed franchise cornerstone Fernando Tatis Jr. to a 14-year extension. The Padres improved both their short-term and long-term outlook, and did it all while keeping most of their best prospects.
Josh Norris — Padres. Blake Snell, Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove and some bullpen reinforcements should help them go neck and neck with the Dodgers all summer long.
Chris Hilburn-Trenkle — Padres. Part of me wants to switch up this pick, but the Padres are the choice here. Not only did they trade for Blake Snell, Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove, but they signed one of the best hitters available in free agency in Ha-Seong Kim, beefed up their bullpen and still have the No. 6 farm system in baseball after all is said and done.
Comments are closed.