It feels like baseball’s offseason has just gotten going — 15 of our top 25 free agents remain available, plus top trade targets like Dylan Cease, Corbin Burnes and Jonathan India — and yet here we are: the year 2024 upon us already, closer to the start of spring training than to the end of last year’s World Series.
Some teams have already packed a whole offseason’s worth of work (and then some) into the past couple of months. The Dodgers are the most obvious example, while the Yankees, Braves and Cardinals have all been proactive as well. For others, however, it’s time to get a move on — especially some teams that ostensibly have eyes on contending in the coming season.
So let’s take a look at five currently frustrated fan bases, and what their teams have to do to have a more productive start to 2024 than their close to 2023.
Baltimore Orioles
What they’ve done
Signed Craig Kimbrel to a one-year, $13 million deal.
What they need to do
The fact that this O’s team — which just won 101 games in 2023 and has less than $45 million in payroll committed for this season — wasn’t even mentioned on the outskirts of the Yoshinobu Yamamoto conversation is a damning indictment, either of owner John Angelos or GM Mike Elias or both. Sure, there’s a good chance Yamamoto would’ve politely declined and chosen the Dodgers anyway, but the lack of even a cursory phone call speaks to just how small-time this organization has become. With one of the best young cores in the sport, the time is now for Baltimore to get serious about winning — especially with that core only getting more expensive as they get older.
That process starts with acquiring a frontline starter, either via trade or free agency; even with John Means now fully back from Tommy John surgery, this team needs someone to compliment Grayson Rodriguez and Kyle Bradish. The former seems more likely than the latter at this point, both because of the Angelos’ unwillingness to spend meaningful money and also the fact that Blake Snell — a 31-year-old with durability and command issues — is the only elite pitcher remaining on the market. Luckily for Baltimore, there are several aces on the trading block, notably Dylan Cease and Corbin Burnes. Few teams have more young talent to offer in a potential deal, and if the O’s pull off a blockbuster at some point in the next few weeks, their offseason will take on a whole different tenor.
Chicago Cubs
What they’ve done
Poached Craig Counsell from the Brewers and handed him a record contract for a manager.
What they need to do
Show a bit more urgency, for starters. The move to bring in Counsell seemed to signal that the Ricketts family and president Jed Hoyer were serious about ushering in a new age of contention on the North Side, but after their perfunctory efforts to land Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani fell predictably short, Chicago has still yet to make a meaningful move this winter.
The Central is wide open, but for the Cubs to make real noise in the NL in 2024, they need to acquire one more impact bat and flesh out their starting rotation. A reunion with Cody Bellinger would make a ton of sense for both sides, as he gives the team some much-needed lefty power while also slotting in as an outfielder or first base/DH option. Matt Chapman’s market has been very quiet, but while his strikeouts and streakiness at the plate can be frustrating, he offers power and top-shelf defense at a position of need at third base.
Ideally, the Cubs would re-sign Bellinger, swing a trade for a starter like Shane Bieber (or bring back Marcus Stroman) and upgrade the bullpen with someone like Robert Stephenson or Hector Neris. Bieber is not the pitcher he was at his Cy Young peak, but the Cubs don’t really need him to be that — he would slot in nicely behind breakout lefty Justin Steele and lengthen a rotation that doesn’t have much in the way of known quantities behind Steele and Kyle Hendricks.
Houston Astros
What they’ve done
Signed Victor Caratini to serve as backup catcher behind Yainer Diaz.
What they need to do
If the sum total of your offseason is “signed a backup catcher”, you know things have been pretty sleepy. Even more puzzling, this should be a year in which GM Dana Brown pushes all his chips into the middle of the table; as if last year’s ALCS heartbreak to the Rangers wasn’t motivating enough, both Alex Bregman and Jose Altuve are set to hit free agency next winter, while it remains to be seen how many innings Justin Verlander has left in his right arm as he pushes into his 40s.
Granted, the Astros have talent just about everywhere, so there aren’t glaring needs like there are in Chicago or Baltimore. But losing Michael Brantley opens up a hole in left field, especially considering the team’s effort to shield Yordan Alvarez from injury by keeping him at DH. They may not want to spend big on Bellinger with paydays for Altuve and Bregman on the horizon, but there are plenty of other corner options out there — how about Jorge Soler, maybe, or Joc Pederson, or Teoscar Hernandez? Another relief arm couldn’t hurt as well; even if they’re priced out of the Josh Hader sweepstakes, Stephenson, Neris or Jordan Hicks could make sense here.
Toronto Blue Jays
What they’ve done
Re-signed Kevin Kiermaier, came agonizingly close to landing Ohtani.
What they need to do
Unlike a lot of other teams on this list, Toronto’s quiet offseason hasn’t been for lack of trying — with Ohtani, Soto and Yamamoto. Alas, despite an A for effort, the Jays still came up empty, and they’re now left searching for ways to shake up a core that seemed to grow stale down the stretch of 2023. With Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. just two years away from free agency — and George Springer and Kevin Gausman not getting any younger — the time is now for Ross Atkins and Co. to go big. Plus, they clearly have money to spend, given what they were willing to hand Ohtani or Yamamoto.
Bellinger remains a blindingly obvious fit, a lefty bat for a righty-heavy lineup who also plays positions of need (outfield and DH). The rotation is largely set, and the bullpen is deeper than you think despite the departure of Hicks. This lineup needs fleshing out, though, especially with Chapman and Whit Merrifield leaving. Bringing Chapman back makes sense, as would a trade for someone like India or Polanco.
Seattle Mariners
What they’ve done
Signed Mitch Garver, traded for Luis Urías, shipped off Jarred Kelenic and Eugenio Suárez for salary relief.
What they need to do
Not to repeat the Orioles blurb from earlier, but it’s embarrassing that a team in the Mariners’ position — a cost-controlled superstar in Julio Rodriguez, plus among the best starting rotations in the game — would be mostly concerned with shedding salary rather than adding Major League talent. There was some hope that the Kelenic and Suarez deals were clearing the deck for a run at Ohtani and/or Soto, but the team was never even cursorily involved.
Seattle needed multiple bats before trading away two of their better regulars from 2023, and now the need is even more acute. And there should be money to spend: The Mariners have roughly $130 million on the books for 2024 (including arbitration projections), which is south of last year’s $137 million Opening Day payroll and well below the franchise record $158 million payroll in 2018. Seattle could dangle some of that starting pitching to, say, the Rays for someone like Randy Arozarena or Isaac Paredes, or the Twins for Max Kepler or Jorge Polanco (or both). They should be in on Bellinger as well, but who knows if this organization has the stomach for that kind of expense. Rhys Hoskins would be a nice fit here as well. However they do it, this team needs not just one but preferably two middle-of-the-order bats.
