MLB Offseason Preview: Each Team's Top Free Agents, Shopping List, Roster Moves, More

Kerry Miller Featured Columnist IV

MLB Offseason Preview: Each Team's Top Free Agents, Shopping List, Roster Moves, More

Arizona Diamondbacks

Notable Free Agents:

Offseason Shopping List

First Baseman
Designated Hitter

Biggest Question: Will Christian Walker accept the qualifying offer, and where does Arizona turn if not?

Thirteen players were extended a one-year, $21.05 million qualifying offer, most of whom are a sure thing to decline the offer by the 4 p.m. ET deadline on November 19.

Walker is one of the few who could accept the offer, though it's likely he will decline in pursuit of something more like a three-year deal in the range of $60-$70 million.

If the 33-year-old does turn it down, it's plausible Arizona would be the team that makes that multi-year contract happen. They certainly need to do about their first base situation, even if that something is more than doubling Walker's salary—he made $10.9 million in his final year of arbitration eligibility—to keep the status quo.

If Walker leaves, maybe a reunion with Paul Goldschmidt would be in order? The now-37-year-old has set career-worst marks in slugging in back-to-back seasons, but he did still hit at least 20 home runs for the ninth consecutive 162-game season. There are worse options to consider.

The Snakes also have a Jordan Montgomery-sized issue to address, as he exercised his $22.5 million player option to remain employed by a team owner who made his displeasure with the 31-year-old this season abundantly clear.

Can they trade him away, or is this just going to be a super-awkward situation in 2025?

Notable Free Agents:

Offseason Shopping List

Starting Pitching
More Starting Pitching
Corner Infield

Biggest Question: Do the Athletics have enough to build around?

Obscured considerably by Kansas City's more impressive turnaround, did you know the Athletics had the second-best 2023-to-2024 improvement?

Both in terms of wins gained (19) and change in run differential (218), only the Royals (30 and 274, respectively) made greater strides than the now-homeless A's.

Some lot of good it did them en route to still suffering 93 losses, but they went from a train wreck to at least a "competent non-contender" on the strengths of an improved bullpen (hello, Mason Miller) and the breakout of young outfielders JJ Bleday and Lawrence Butler.

Between those two, Brent Rooker, Shea Langeliers and Zack Gelof, the A's suddenly have a legitimate nucleus on offense. There's also rookie shortstop Jacob Wilson, who hit a ludicrous .433 in 53 minor league games this season and could be a major piece of the puzzle moving forward.

Can they piece together a half-decent starting rotation, though?

Will they even try?

Atlanta Braves

Notable Free Agents:

Offseason Shopping List

Starting Pitcher
Depth in General

Biggest Question: What is Atlanta planning with the money it has already freed up?

Atlanta's decision to decline Travis d'Arnaud's $8 million club option for 2025 was maybe the most puzzling of all the option decisions that occurred in the past week.

However, between that and already trading away Jorge Soler for Griffin Canning, they've shaved close to $20 million from what the projected payroll was heading into the offseason.

You know they aren't just going to pocket those savings and call it a day, though.

They're presumably going to make a serious bid for a starting pitcher, with both Max Fried and Charlie Morton no longer on the roster and Spencer Strider's estimated return timeline from UCL surgery (at least publicly) a big unknown. [Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos did say on Wednesday "Opening Day is not realistic for" Strider or Ronald Acuña Jr.]

Do they bring back the 41-year-old Morton on something like a one-year, $10M-$15M deal? Do they re-up with Fried, whose market value, per Spotrac , is six years, $136M? Or do they solve the problem externally, perhaps with a guy like Nathan Eovaldi ?

Of course, this is Atlanta we're talking about. Addressing holes in the roster via trade is perhaps more likely than doing so via free agency, and swinging big to bring in both Garrett Crochet and Luis Robert Jr. from the White Sox sure would be a "two birds, one stone" solution.

Baltimore Orioles

Notable Free Agents:

Offseason Shopping List

Also, Pitching

Biggest Question: Are the Orioles going to start spending big?

It has been speculated for the better part of a year now that the new-ownership Baltimore Orioles are ready, willing and able to start spending money.

But...are they?

Aside from trading for Zach Eflin and what will be an $18 million salary in 2025, we've yet to see any real change to their roster building/retention approach.

Will they sign a big check to bring back Corbin Burnes or to lure in a guy like Max Fried or Blake Snell?

Will they at least lock up one of the young building blocks of the franchise (Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, etc.) on a long-term extension?

Or will it be business as usual in what would be the seventh consecutive offseason of spending next to nothing?

If they are investing in free agents, it will surely be on the starting rotation, where things get iffy in a hurry beyond Eflin and Grayson Rodriguez. Maybe they also add a veteran bat to help soften the blow of losing Santander, but that isn't necessary if they believe in the likes of Jackson Holliday, Heston Kjerstad and Coby Mayo.

Boston Red Sox

Notable Free Agents:

Offseason Shopping List

Starting Pitching
Right-Handed Slugging
More Starting Pitching

Biggest Question: Can Boston cobble together a competent starting rotation?

The Red Sox might end up hanging on to Nick Pivetta, who was easily the most surprising of the 13 players extended a one year, $21.05 million qualifying offer.

The eight-year veteran has yet to post a sub-4.00 ERA in any season of his career, but his 2024 salary of $7.5 million would almost triple if he does accept the offer.

Hard to see how that helps the Red Sox, though early reports from Pete Abraham of the are that they are "committed to adding high-end talent."

How high end we're talking remains to be seen, but there's little question Boston has the room in the budget to take some big swings.

Even with arbitration and pre-arbitration salary estimates included, they're sitting at a projected payroll of $130 million—for a franchise that had no problem living in the $240 million range in both 2018 and 2019. They be in the mix for Corbin Burnes and Max Fried given how disappointing their rotation has been in recent years.

Beyond the obvious need for pitching, a right-handed bat with power would be nice here, as Tyler O'Neill's impending departure leaves the Red Sox without much of anything in that department.

Chicago Cubs

Notable Free Agents:

Offseason Shopping List

Starting Pitcher
Left-Handed Reliever

Biggest Question: Will the Cubs make any sort of splash?

With Cody Bellinger opting in for (at least) one more year at $27.5 million, Chicago's 2025 roster is largely set, and its offseason budget presumably limited.

At any rate, spending big to bring in Pete Alonso no longer seems to be within the realm of possibility—which is, frankly, welcome news to a lot of Cubs fans.

The Cubs figure to want to add at least one starting pitcher, though, to round out a rotation that is in pretty good shape with Shota Imanaga, Justin Steele, Jameson Taillon and Javier Assad all back for another season.

However, with Kyle Hendricks out of the picture (already signed with the Angels), one more established innings eater would be swell here.

Another reliever would also be good, and preferably of the southpaw variety with Drew Smyly no longer part of the mix. At least Porter Hodge emerged as a solid option at closer down the stretch, so it's just middle relief they need and not necessarily someone with ninth inning experience.

Lastly, a catcher, but only if they're not confident in Moisés Ballesteros making the Opening Day roster as at least the backup, which he probably can..

Chicago White Sox

Notable Free Agents:

Offseason Shopping List

Something resembling a long-term plan for rebuilding
A stockpile of quality prospects for Garrett Crochet
Digitally remastered recordings of the 2005 World Series

Biggest Question: What would you say...you do here?

After enduring more losses in a single season than any other team in the past 125 years, the Chicago White Sox are not even a little bit closer to the light at the end of the tunnel.

The only position player on the team who recorded at least 0.4 bWAR was Luis Robert Jr.—who is a strong candidate to get traded this offseason with up to three years of team control remaining before hitting free agency.

Garrett Crochet shone brightly, but he is also a strong trade candidate with only two years of arbitration eligibility remaining before he also hits the open market.

And if the White Sox do move both of those players this winter, holy bleak premise, Batman.

At that point, Jonathan Cannon becomes darn near their undisputed ace with seven quality starts in his brief MLB career. Meanwhile, the best hitter is, by default, probably Andrew Vaughn, who has never come remotely close to living up to the hype as the No. 3 overall draft pick in 2019.

An already historically bad team could be even worse.

Cincinnati Reds

Notable Free Agents:

Offseason Shopping List

Starting Pitcher
Another Starting Pitcher

Biggest Question: Will the Reds spend for better arms?

The one-two punch of Hunter Greene and Andrew Abbott atop Cincinnati's rotation is solid, and jointly under team control through 2029.

That duo needs help, though.

The Reds tried to find it last offseason with the signings of Frankie Montas and Nick Martinez. However, the former struggled, and it wasn't until the season was already effectively finished that they finally turned the latter loose as a full-time starter—a role in which he thrived, well enough to decline his player option to return in 2025.

So, it's right back to the drawing board, but with even more of an urgency to win after they brought Terry Francona out of retirement to run the club.

Surely, they have room in the budget to add pitching, with only Jeimer Candelario ($15 million) and Emilio Pagan ($8 million) making at least $6.4 million in 2025.

It most likely won't be an upper-echelon pitcher such as Corbin Burnes, but why couldn't Cincinnati land a couple of guys like Walker Buehler, Luis Severino or Max Scherzer and make a real go at winning what is probably the most winnable division next year?

Cleveland Guardians

Notable Free Agents:

Offseason Shopping List

Starting Pitcher
Another Starting Pitcher
A Third Starting Pitcher

Biggest Question: Will Cleveland revamp its starting rotation? And how?

It's harsh to say this fresh off a trip to the ALCS, but Cleveland's rotation was just plain not good beyond Tanner Bibee and, to a lesser extent, Ben Lively.

Both Matt Boyd and Alex Cobb ended up playing a key role down the stretch and into October, but the Guardians were forced to take short-term flyers on those veterans returning from injury because nothing else was sticking at the third, fourth and fifth spots in their rotation.

And now both are free agents, putting them back to hoping for the best from the likes of Gavin Williams, Triston McKenzie, Joey Cantillo and Logan Allen—unless they make an atypical splash for a free agent.

Maybe they'll manage to bring Boyd back, but that hardly feels like enough, even if we're operating under the assumption the bullpen is going to collectively have one of the greatest seasons of all time for a second consecutive year.

Colorado Rockies

Notable Free Agents:

Offseason Shopping List

Corner Outfielders
Anyone who can pitch

Biggest Question: Is yet another 100-plus loss season inevitable?

Both Germán Márquez and Antonio Senzatela have missed the vast majority of the past two seasons, each having Tommy John surgery in 2023.

And without what had been two of the more competent pitchers in the history of this franchise, the Rockies really bottomed out for their first two triple-digit loss seasons.

The good news is both Márquez and Senzatela should be fully available in 2025, as are Austin Gomber and Cal Quantrill for what will be their final seasons before hitting free agency.

The bad news is we're still talking about a team that didn't have a single pitcher in 2024 log at least 20 innings with an ERA better than 4.28, an offense that had more black holes than promising building blocks and a division with at least three, maybe four legitimate World Series contenders.

Colorado can certainly improve in 2025, preferably by adding a corner outfielder like Tyler O'Neill or Anthony Santander to replace Jake Cave/Charlie Blackmon in the lineup.

But even after just watching Kansas City make an incredible one-year turnaround, the Rockies getting back into contention for a playoff spot this coming season doesn't seem plausible.

Detroit Tigers

Notable Free Agents:

Offseason Shopping List

Starting Pitcher
Home Run Power
Another Starting Pitcher

Biggest Question: How will Detroit build on its improbable finish?

For most of 2024, the Tigers struggled. Not Tarik Skubal or Riley Greene as individuals, but as a team they just weren't very good. Through 118 games, they were tied in the standings with the Blue Jays, basically tied with the Rangers and Nationals and narrowly ahead of the A's and Angels.

Then, out of nowhere, the bullpen stopped giving up runs, guys like Parker Meadows and Kerry Carpenter caught fire at the plate, Spencer Torkelson's bat finally came to life at least a little, and they went on a two-month tear for the ages.

Now, will they start spending to chase that high?

Detroit used to spend like a big-market franchise, routinely ranking in the top 10 in payroll from 2007-17. But that was when Michael Ilitch was in charge. Since Chris Ilitch took control following his father's death in 2017, the purse strings in Detroit have been much tighter.

The Tigers finally have a contender again, though, and perhaps they'll be more willing to invest in a few arms to help Skubal in the rotation.

If they swing big for Corbin Burnes in advance of getting more complete seasons out of young hitters Torkelson, Colt Keith, etc., they could be very dangerous.

Houston Astros

Notable Free Agents:

Offseason Shopping List

Corner Infield
Center Field
Middle Relief

Biggest Question: Is Alex Bregman going to stay in Houston? And can they afford to do anything else if he does?

At the moment, Alex Bregman is a free agent.

Which means, at the moment, Houston's 1B/3B situation for 2025 is looking pretty atrocious—this in addition to Jake Meyers, Mauricio Dubón and Chas McCormick providing minimal value as the three players who led the team in outfield appearances in 2024.

It'd be one thing if they had room in the budget to make a bunch of moves, but Spotrac already has the Astros sitting at a $214 million payroll with estimated arbitration and pre-arbitration salaries factored in.

That'd be nothing to slow down the Dodgers, Mets or Yankees, but 2024 was the first time Houston opened a season with a payroll north of $190 million.

And if the Astros do manage to re-sign Bregman—whose supposed market value is four years, $120 million—they're already pushing $250 million without doing anything to address their first base and outfield deficiencies.

Maybe the likes of Zach Dezenzo and potential soon-to-be rookie outfielder Jacob Melton step up in a big way to plug some holes. And maybe they free up some room in the budget by trading away Lance McCullers Jr. ($17.7 million) and/or Cristian Javier ($10.4 million) to a team desperate enough at pitcher to take on those injury risks.

Or perhaps 2025 is where their eight-year run of postseason berths comes to an end.

Kansas City Royals

Notable Free Agents:

Offseason Shopping List

Designated Hitter
Relief Pitching

Biggest Question: Can they find a few more diamonds in free agency?

Resigning Michael Wacha was a big early win for the Royals. He had a $16 million player option and surely would've done better than that on the open market, but they got him to re-up on a three-year, $51 million ($17 million AAV) deal with a 2028 club option and potential escalators.

Now they know they'll have the big four of Bobby Witt Jr., Seth Lugo, Cole Ragans and Wacha back together for at least one more year.

The next step is building around that core, ideally in the form of some outfielders and designated hitters who can actually provide some value on offense, as it's a miracle the Royals were able to score the 13th-most runs in the majors in 2024 while starting MJ Melendez, Hunter Renfroe and Kyle Isbel on a regular basis.

In fact, Kansas City only had four players post an OPS of .700 or better, two of whom (Michael Massey and Vinnie Pasquantino) missed considerable chunks of the year due to injuries. They simply have to get Witt some more support if they want to run it back again next October.

Los Angeles Angels

Notable Free Agents:

Offseason Shopping List

Starting Pitching
Relief Pitching
Infield Depth

Biggest Question: What's it going to take to end the nine-year streak of losing seasons?

Having already traded for Jorge Soler and signed Kyle Hendricks this offseason, the Angels are clearly operating under the belief they can contend in 2025—this despite setting a franchise record for losses in a single season in 2024.

If Mike Trout, Luis Rengifo and Anthony Rendon are reasonably healthy for a change, L.A. should at least be respectable on offense. Probably not "upper echelon" good, but certainly better than the "third-fewest runs scored in the majors" crown it wore in 2024.

As has been the case for a while, though, the state of this starting rotation leaves much to be desired.

Tyler Anderson had an incredible first half in 2024, but he crumbled to the finish line over the final two months. José Soriano looked good as a starter, until arm fatigue prematurely ended his season in mid-August. Rookie Jack Kochanowicz had a strong finish from an ERA perspective, but he struck out just 20 batters over his final 58.1 IP.

And those are the high points.

If the Angels legitimately want to contend, they need to give that rotation a makeover.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Notable Free Agents:

Offseason Shopping List

Relief Pitching
Starting Pitcher

Biggest Question: Will they have better pitching health in 2025?

Despite the lengthy list of free-agent pitchers above, the Dodgers are theoretically in great shape in that department heading into their World Series defense.

have a starting rotation of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Shohei Ohtani, Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin, with Bobby Miller, Landon Knack and Justin Wrobleski also among the list of options.

Given how snake-bitten their pitching staff was this season, though—only two pitchers (Glasnow and Gavin Stone) logged more than 90 IP, neither of whom was available for the postseason—do they make a concerted effort to bring back Walker Buehler or Jack Flaherty or perhaps make an external addition to the rotation?

Or will they focus on upgrading an outfield situation that went from questionable to straight up concerning with the recent reports that they're considering moving Mookie Betts back to middle infield?

Because they're the Dodgers, probably both, right?

They're already projected at $31 million above the luxury-tax threshold for next season, but that won't slow them down. Signing Juan Soto is probably unrealistic, but the Dodgers will inevitably be in the mix for several of the top 10-ish free agents, including a potential re-signing of Teoscar Hernández.

Miami Marlins

Notable Free Agents:

Offseason Shopping List

Biggest Question: Will they trade Sandy Alcántara?

The Miami Marlins traded away basically everything they could this past season.

Luis Arráez, Jazz Chisholm Jr., A.J. Puk, Tanner Scott and more went out the door, almost entirely for prospects who have yet to make their debuts in Miami. The lone exception was the Trevor Rogers trade for Connor Norby and Kyle Stowers, both of whom quickly became regulars in a Marlins lineup that had been stripped down to the studs.

So, now what?

In theory, they'll have all of Sandy Alcántara, Eury Pérez and Jesús Luzardo back in the mix at some point in 2025. But would they be better off trading away the 2022 NL Cy Young winner to upgrade an offense that needs a ton of help?

With three years and $55.6 million remaining on his contract, Alcántara—who missed all of last season while recovering from Tommy John surgery—is at this point a huge chunk of what is annually a modest Marlins payroll.

They're not just going to him away, but something similar to Tampa Bay's cost-cutting, farm-system-bolstering trade of Tyler Glasnow and Manuel Margot from last winter would make a lot of sense here.

Milwaukee Brewers

Notable Free Agents:

Offseason Shopping List

Starting Pitcher
First Baseman

Biggest Question: How do they replace Willy Adames? And will they trade Devin Williams?

The good news for the Brewers is that both second baseman Brice Turang and third baseman Joey Ortiz are more than capable of taking over at shortstop for the soon-to-sign-elsewhere Willy Adames.

That means they could address their SS void by taking a flyer on 3B Yoán Moncada, or perhaps making an intriguing one-year bid on 2B Gleyber Torres, if he's unable to get a lucrative long-term deal and wants to spend 2025 proving he deserves one.

The bad news is they're still going to lose a star who racked up 65 extra-base hits, 112 RBI and 21 stolen bases in 2024, which is going to make it tough to defend their NL Central crown.

They do get Brandon Woodruff back from a year lost to shoulder surgery, though. Between him, Freddy Peralta, breakout rookie Tobias Myers and potential 2025 breakout rookie Jacob Misiorowski, the rotation is looking promising.

But are they going to trade Devin Williams?

Declining the two-time All-Star closer's $10.5 million club option to get him at a projected $8.4 million on his final year of arbitration eligibility may have just been a shrewd maneuver to save a few bucks on a pitcher they plan to ride heavily next season. Or it may have been the first step down the path to trading away the pitcher who has repeatedly let them down in October.

Perhaps Williams is their key to replacing Adames?

Minnesota Twins

Notable Free Agents:

Offseason Shopping List

First Baseman
Relief Pitching
Right-Handed Bat

Biggest Question: How will the potential sale impact what they do?

It has been about a month since the Pohlad family announced its intention to explore selling the Minnesota Twins.

No (publicly known) budding developments thus far on that front, though, as we now wait to see what sort of impact that variable has on Minnesota's more short-term offseason plans.

The Twins were already in a tough spot, now deep into year No. 2 of regional sports networks revenue uncertainty—a factor which surely played a big part in them doing next to nothing in free agency last winter and even less ahead of the trade deadline this past summer.

The departing free agents did free up some room in Minnesota's payroll, but a sizable chunk of that was already earmarked for Pablo López, whose salary balloons from $8.25 million in what was the first season of his four-year, $73.5 million extension to $21.75 million in each of the next three years.

Chris Paddack is also getting a $5 million pay bump, and Willi Castro isn't getting any cheaper in what will be his final year of arbitration eligibility.

Add it all up and—before doing anything this offseason—Minnesota already has a projected payroll only about $15 million below where it finished last season. And if it expects to improve upon what was a disappointing fourth-place finish, replacing Carlos Santana at first base, adding at least one OF/DH bat and sprucing up the bullpen are a must.

They may well look to trade Christian Vázquez and Chris Paddack to save $17.5 million, but there's quite a bit of work to do in the face of uncertainty.

New York Mets

Notable Free Agents:

Offseason Shopping List

Starting Pitching
First Baseman
Corner Outfield

Biggest Question: Are they getting Juan Soto?

Hitting free agency for the Mets are three of the seven players who struck at least a dozen home runs in 2024, the three team leaders in innings pitched in 2024 and, in total, 10 of the 26 players who were on the NLCS roster.

However, by no means is it a question of "if" the Mets will spend this offseason.

It's a question of "where" and "on whom" they'll be throwing all sorts of money.

The great white whale is Juan Soto, who seems destined to sign a contract with a greater present-day value than Shohei Ohtani's mammoth deal from last offseason.

But if Soto sticks with that other team in New York, that would put the Mets in a better spot to diversify their portfolio, if you will, by signing a bunch of next-tier free agents.

Suffice it to say, retaining Pete Alonso while adding something along the lines of Corbin Burnes, Yusei Kikuchi and Anthony Santander would be quite the consolation prize for losing the Soto sweepstakes.

New York Yankees

Notable Free Agents:

Offseason Shopping List

Juan Soto
Relief Pitching
First/Second Baseman

Biggest Question: Are they keeping Juan Soto? And can they do anything else?

The Gerrit Cole question has already been answered. Though the Yankees ace initially opted out of the four years left on his deal, he'll be back with the pinstripes for the foreseeable future.

Now for the bigger concern: Getting Juan Soto to stay.

After an incredible regular season, "Childish Bambino" was even better in the postseason, reaching base in 30 of his 64 plate appearances with a 1.102 OPS. He was everything the Yankees hoped he would be in front of Aaron Judge in the lineup, and failing to re-sign him after that seven-month run would feel like a failure of the highest order.

But with an estimated payroll already at around $240 million, how much else can they afford to do this winter if they do retain Soto?

Because while keeping that star outfielder is the primary mission right now, it doesn't address the fact that they need to replace their everyday second baseman, their hole at first base and three of their best relievers.

Philadelphia Phillies

Notable Free Agents:

Offseason Shopping List

Relief Pitching
Center Field
Fifth Starter

Biggest Question: What becomes of Taijuan Walker?

Save for the back end of the bullpen, the Phillies aren't presently expected to look much different in 2025, already saddled with one of the highest payrolls as virtually everyone from the 95-win roster returns.

A considerable chunk of that big payroll is the $18 million due to Taijuan Walker in each of 2025 and 2026. But he was a disaster for the Phillies in 2024, sputtering to a 7.10 ERA in between stints on the IL. Both his walk rate and strikeout rate were the worst of any season in which he made at least 10 appearances, and he allowed home runs at one of the highest rates in recent history—24 in 83.2 IP.

Can they find someone to take Walker off their hands?

If so, do they reallocate those funds to fix their center field problem?

If not, do they hope for the best from him as their fifth starter, at least until Andrew Painter is ready to go?

And what's the game plan at closer, sans Carlos Estévez and Jeff Hoffman?

If Devin Williams is on the trade block, surely the Phillies are on line one.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Notable Free Agents:

Offseason Shopping List

First Baseman
Designated Hitter

Biggest Question: Are they committed to winning in 2025?

There's no question that the door is open in the NL Central, with no one in the division among the 14 betting favorites to win the 2025 World Series.

There's also no question that the Pirates have a decent core in place.

Rookie ace Paul Skenes stole all the headlines, but he's merely one part of what could be a strong starting rotation. Hopefully two-time All-Star closer David Bednar can bounce back from what was a disastrous season. The batting nucleus of Oneil Cruz, Bryan Reynolds and Joey Bart is a good starting point, too.

What is a question is whether the Pirates are willing to spend to fill in the gaps.

Improving at first base is a must, and there's no shortage of options on that front this year. No one expects the Pirates to be in the mix for Pete Alonso's massive contract, but any of Christian Walker, Paul Goldschmidt, Anthony Rizzo, Josh Bell or Carlos Santana could be solid acquisitions.

Maybe they bring back Andrew McCutchen after he hit 20 home runs this season, but ideally they wouldn't stop there, after a season in which only five Pirates reached double-digit home runs—one of which was the first baseman (Rowdy Tellez, 13) that they need to upgrade.

With just one splash and two or three ripples, though, they can win this division in 2025.

If they want it.

San Diego Padres

Notable Free Agents:

Offseason Shopping List

Left Fielder
Middle Infield
Starting Pitcher

Biggest Question: What is San Diego's budget this offseason?

If the 2024 San Diego Padres didn't set some sort of record for most payroll slashed in advance of a season in which they improved by at least 10 wins, they must have at least come pretty darn close.

But now—between Fernando Tatis Jr.'s salary spiking again while Luis Arraez, Dylan Cease and Michael King each figure to get considerable pay bumps in their final season of arbitration eligibility—that number is on the rise again.

What was a $165 million payroll on Opening Day 2024 is already projected for more than $200 million in the spring, and that's before addressing the losses of Joe Musgrove to Tommy John surgery and a long list of free agents who played a key role this season.

San Francisco Giants

Notable Free Agents:

Offseason Shopping List

Starting Pitcher

Biggest Question: Is this finally the year they land a big fish?

The Giants did eventually make late-in-the-winter acquisitions of Matt Chapman and Blake Snell last offseason, but it started out looking like another "always the bridesmaid, never the bride" type of free-agency situation for San Francisco, missing out on Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto one year after failing to land Aaron Judge or any of the four marquee shortstops who were available.

Will it be more of the same this year, with tall tales of bringing in Juan Soto, Willy Adames or Corbin Burnes, only to settle for another half-measure that does little to help them catch up to the Dodgers?

Or might they finally hit the jackpot with a long-term acquisition of an established MLB star?

President of baseball operations Buster Posey said at the GM meetings this week that the Giants would love to add a shortstop, and it's pretty well Adames or bust on this year's board for that position.

For what it's worth, he does have a .321 batting average in 16 career games played at Oracle Park. A lot of free-agent sluggers prefer to steer clear of that cavernous venue, but it might be a good fit for Adames.

Seattle Mariners

Notable Free Agents:

Offseason Shopping List

First Baseman
Second Baseman
Third Baseman

Biggest Question: Can Seattle put together an offense befitting of its starting rotation?

In the past 12 years, there have been just two cases of a pitching staff leading the majors in runs allowed and failing to make the postseason: 2014 Seattle Mariners and 2024 Seattle Mariners.

The last time it happened, they went out and signed Nelson Cruz to one of the 10 biggest contracts in free agency that year. They also traded for Seth Smith fresh off a career year in San Diego. But it didn't really help. The offense improved marginally and the pitching regressed substantially as they cratered to a 76-86 record.

By no means, though, should that stop them from being just as aggressive in this offseason's mission to improve the state of the lineup.

Signing another top 10 free agent could mean Pete Alonso, Alex Bregman or Willy Adames. Or they could go a slightly more budgetary route and plug multiple holes by adding, say, Christian Walker and Ha-Seong Kim.

Either way, the M's need to do something to fix up this offense while they still have both a great rotation and Julio Rodríguez in his prime.

St. Louis Cardinals

Notable Free Agents:

Offseason Shopping List

Starting Pitcher
Outfielder/Designated Hitter

Biggest Question: Where to spend the $60 million-plus that came off the books?

As was long expected, the Cardinals declined their club options on both Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn, who were adequate innings eaters for the 53 starts they combined to make in 2024. No more, no less.

They did at least acquire Erick Fedde at the trade deadline, who has one more $7.5 million year on his contract, but they need to add at least one more starter this offseason if they expect to make a serious run at reclaiming their former spot atop the NL Central. (Perhaps a reunion with Jordan Montgomery?)

Heading into the offseason, the assumption was that St. Louis would also be in major pursuit of a first baseman to replace Paul Goldschmidt. But the talk now is that Willson Contreras will be sliding from catcher to first base, leaving young-but-capable Iván Herrera and Pedro Pagés as the catcher tandem.

If it works, the infield would be in pretty great shape.

The outfield...not so much, as once highly touted prospects Jordan Walker and Victor Scott II continue to struggle, with center fielder Michael Siani not faring much better. But if they could land an Anthony Santander or a Teoscar Hernández, the situation could change in a hurry.

Tampa Bay Rays

Notable Free Agents:

Offseason Shopping List

Corner Outfielder
Designated Hitter

Biggest Question: Is the rebuild already over?

Nobody embraced this past summer's seller's market quite like the Tampa Bay Rays did, trading away all of Randy Arozarena, Zach Eflin, Isaac Paredes, Jason Adam, Aaron Civale, Shawn Armstrong, Amed Rosario and Tyler Zuber for a boatload of prospects and a couple of somewhat established hitters in Dylan Carlson and Christopher Morel.

But between Shane Baz, Jeffrey Springs and Drew Rasmussen all returning from their elbow surgeries last July/August, Shane McClanahan scheduled to come back from his Tommy John in the spring and Edwin Uceta emerging out of nowhere as a dominant option for saves, it's already looking like the Rays could be ready to contend again.

We'll see about the offense, though, which ranked dead-last in the majors in runs scored per game from July 31 onward.

Yes, even worse than the White Sox. It was .

They did finally call up and hand the reins to top prospect Junior Caminero, though, appearing in all but one of their final 44 games with respectable returns. If he flourishes, if Josh Lowe and Yandy Díaz get back to hitting like they did in 2023 and if they make a couple of savvy, Tampa Bay-like acquisitions (a.k.a. trades) this offseason, they'll be in business.

Texas Rangers

Notable Free Agents:

Offseason Shopping List

Relief Pitching
More Relief Pitching
MORE RELIEF PITCHING

Biggest Question: Can they revamp the bullpen?

Of the 13 pitchers who logged at least 40 innings for the Texas Rangers in 2024, only four—Dane Dunning, Jon Gray, Cody Bradford and Jacob Latz—remain in the organization.

The good news is there are already reinforcements for the starting rotation on the roster.

Each of Jacob deGrom, Tyler Mahle and Kumar Rocker made just three starts in 2024, but all three should be regulars in 2025, alongside Gray, Dunning and Bradford. (Yes, a six-man rotation, which is probably the best bet, given the injury history of deGrom and Mahle and Rocker's limited experience.)

Jack Leiter's nine-appearance audition in 2024 was disastrous, but the 2021 No. 2 overall pick could be a factor in the rotation, too.

But there is some serious work to be done in this bullpen with all of Yates, Robertson, Leclerc and Ureña now free agents.

As things stand, it seems Latz is the closer, with 54.2 innings pitched and a 3.46 ERA in his career?

With Josh Sborz as the primary setup man after missing most of 2024 with a shoulder injury? It's not pretty.

If they can restock that 'pen in a big way, though, they have more than enough offensive firepower to get back in the postseason mix—provided those bats stay a little healthier this time around.

Toronto Blue Jays

Notable Free Agents:

Offseason Shopping List

Left Fielder
Designated Hitter
Bullpen Help

Biggest Question: Will anything happen with Vladimir Guerrero Jr.?

A lot of things went awry for the Blue Jays en route to their first fifth-place finish in the AL East since 2013, not the least of which was Bo Bichette devolving from a perennial fringe MVP candidate to an injury-riddled shell of himself.

Same goes for two-time All-Star closer Jordan Romano, making just 15 appearances with an ERA nearly triple what he had posted over the previous four years combined.

One thing that didn't go wrong, though, was first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who triple-slashed .348/.414/.597 with 27 home runs over his final 125 games of the season.

Over the course of his four consecutive All-Star seasons, he has hit .293, slugged .517 and averaged 35 home runs per 162 games played. And if he doesn't get a contract extension in the next 12 months, he is going to be an only slightly less coveted version of what Juan Soto is to this year's class of free agents, certain to ignite a serious bidding war.

So, will the Blue Jays extend him before it's too late?

Or, if it becomes abundantly clear they won't be able to get a long-term deal done, could they admit defeat and pursue a possible blockbuster of a trade?

My guess is neither and he plays out the string on his final year of arbitration eligibility—and that if either was to happen, an extension is considerably more likely than a trade. But it could be an offseason-long narrative.

Washington Nationals

Notable Free Agents:

Offseason Shopping List

Starting Pitcher
First Baseman
Third Baseman

Biggest Question: Time to strike?

With both James Wood and Dylan Crews getting the call to the big leagues last season and both MacKenzie Gore and CJ Abrams about to enter arbitration eligibility for the first time, the clock is officially ticking on the Washington Nationals to become a contender again.

But it doesn't to be this year.

In fact, the only players presently in the organization who aren't under team control through at least 2027 are relievers Kyle Finnegan, Derek Law and Tanner Rainey, each of whom is entering his final year of arbitration eligibility.

So, do they give it one more year of player development and one more year for Josiah Gray and Cade Cavalli to get healthy—and one more year for the Phillies to start aging their way out of the mix—before going all-in next offseason?

Or now that Patrick Corbin's albatross of a contract is finally out of the picture, do they make a big splash for an ace like Corbin Burnes or Max Fried?

Either way, here's hoping they at least do something interesting at the corner infield spots. Save for the Jeimer Candelario rental and a decent run by Josh Bell, first base and third base have been a consistent struggle for the past half-decade.