The day after Thanksgiving is a day that causes many of us to be embarrassed for our fellow Americans, as people physically fight to save a few bucks at department stores across the country. Yes, it's Black Friday.
Of course, for those of us staying home, we can still commemorate the occasion in our own way. So let's take a look at the best bargains for each of the 30 MLB teams for last season. For the most part, we're going to look at moves that were under the radar at the time and panned out. That means no big names or highly-touted prospects will find their way onto this list. These will be cases where the front office went bargain shopping and it panned out.
Let's dive in.
Blue Jays - Chris Colabello, 1B
He was selected off waivers by the Twins on Dec. 8 and ended up hitting .321/.367/.520 (142 OPS+) with 19 doubles and 15 homers in just 360 plate appearances.
Yankees - Chasen Shreve, RP
The lefty reliever was acquired along with fellow reliever David Carpenter from Atlanta in exchange for Manny Banuelos (who posted a 5.13 ERA in the majors last season). Shreve actually fell apart in the last month, but through Sept. 5 had a 1.86 ERA with 60 strikeouts in 53 1/3 innings.
Roe inked a minor-league deal with the Orioles on Dec. 12 and made his Orioles debut on May 24. He was very good for two-plus months, posting a 2.43 ERA with 33 strikeouts in 33 1/3 innings through July.
Rays - Xavier Cedeno, RP
After Cedeno was designated for assignment by both the Nats and Dodgers in April, the Rays grabbed him likely as a temporary fill-in for Alex Colome in the bullpen. Instead, the 28-year-old Cedeno would stick around all season, pitching to a 2.09 ERA and 1.14 WHIP in 43 innings with 43 strikeouts. He only allowed four of his 30 inherited runners to score, too.
Red Sox - Robbie Ross, RP
The lefty reliever was acquired on Jan. 27 in a trade that sent Anthony Ranaudo to Texas. Ross worked 60 2/3 innings, posting a 3.86 ERA with 53 strikeouts.
Royals - Ryan Madson, RP
The former closer hadn't pitched in the majors since 2011 when he was the Phillies' closer. The Royals paid him just $850,000 in 2015. He gave them a 2.13 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 58 strikeouts against only 13 unintentional walks in 63 1/3 innings. He also threw three scoreless innings in the World Series. That's a nice return on their investment.
Twins - Blaine Boyer, RP
Boyer was signed by Minnesota in early January and made $750,000 during the season. He would compile a 2.49 ERA in 65 innings.
Indians - Abraham Almonte, OF
The Indians' return for lefty specialist Marc Rzepczynski on the trade deadline, Almonte would hit .264/.321/.455 (106 OPS+) with nine doubles, five triples, five home runs and six stolen bases in 51 games.
White Sox - Dan Jennings, RP
On Dec. 11, the Sox sent reliever Andre Rienzo to Miami for Jennings -- hilariously sporting the same name as the Miami GM-turned-manager. This Jennings had a 3.99 ERA in 56 1/3 innings.
Tigers - Alex Wilson, RP
Though he was involved in a big-time trade, the principles were Yoenis Cespedes to the Tigers and Rick Porcello to the Red Sox. So Wilson was a bit of a throw-in and he pitched to a 2.19 ERA in 70 innings with just 10 unintentional walks.
Rangers - Delino DeShields, Jr. OF
The Rangers took DeShields in the Rule 5 draft and he ended up being the everyday leadoff man for a division champion down the stretch. A .261 hitter with a .344 OBP, DeShields had 22 doubles, 10 triples and 25 stolen bases.
Astros - Will Harris, RP
Harris was claimed off waivers from Arizona on Nov. 3 and turned out to be one of the most significant reasons the Astros completely altered their worst-in-AL bullpen into a productive one. He ended with a 1.90 ERA and 0.90 WHIP.
Angels - Johnny Giavotella, 2B
They only needed to give Kansas City Brian Broderick to get Giavotella and he had a decent year, hitting .272 with 25 doubles.
Mariners - Mike Montgomery, SP
A March 31 trade landed Montgomery the week before the season began and he paid dividends initially, going 4-2 with a 1.62 ERA in his first seven starts. Even through 13 starts he had a 3.25 ERA before the rails came off.
Athletics - Mark Canha, 1B/OF
He was picked by Colorado in the Rule 5 draft (from Miami) and then sent to Oakland for a minor-leaguer named Austin House. Canha hit .254/.315/.426 with 22 doubles, 16 home runs and 70 RBI.
Mets - Sean Gilmartin, RP
Another Rule 5 guy (from Minnesota), Gilmartin posted a 2.67 ERA in 57 1/3 innings. He was especially important in June, when he worked 9 2/3 scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts.
Nationals - Matt den Dekker, OF
The 28-year-old oufielder came over in the deal that sent reliever Jerry Blevins to the Mets and hit well in very limited time, posting a 112 OPS+ with six doubles and five home runs in 110 plate appearances.
Marlins - Cole Gillespie, OF
The journeyman (mostly as a minor leaguer) signed a minor-league deal with the Marlins in late November and hit .290 with a .333 OBP in 157 plate appearances.
Braves - A.J. Pierzynski, C
OK, OK. This doesn't really fit with the other moves because everyone knows damn well who he is. The problems are that the Braves didn't make many under-the-radar moves (the productive no-name-to-casual-fans players they acquired last offseason were in marquee trades) and the ones they did make didn't lead to production. Pierzynski, however, was a candidate to retire and instead hit .300 with 24 doubles and nine homers for just $3 million.
Phillies - Odubel Herrera, OF
Yet another Rule 5 pick, this one from Texas, Herrera converted from minor-league middle infielder to very productive MLB center fielder. He hit .297/.344/.418 with 30 doubles and 16 steals as a rookie.
Cardinals - Carlos Villanueva, RP
He only appeared in 35 games, but the long man was very valuable, working 61 innings with a 2.95 ERA. Not too bad for a one-year, $2 million deal.
Pirates - Jung Ho Kang, SS/3B
One of the best deals on here, the Pirates got Kang for a $5 million posting fee plus a four-year, $11 million deal. He went out an hit .287/.355/.461 (124 OPS+) with 24 doubles and 15 homers, finishing third in a very crowded NL Rookie of the Year vote.
Cubs - Clayton Richard, P
The Cubs sent some cash to the Pirates for Richard in July. He made three spot starts, winning two. Then he morphed into a productive reliever, getting a huge strikeout of Jason Heyward in Game 4 of the NLDS.
Brewers - Corey Knebel, RP
One of the three players acquired from Texas in the Yovani Gallardo trade, Knebel was traded twice within six months but had a productive year for Milwaukee, putting up a 3.22 ERA with 58 strikeouts in 50 1/3 innings.
Reds - Eugenio Suarez, SS
Probably a bit of a cheat job to include, since he was the big piece in the Alfredo Simon trade. It's just that I didn't like any other options, Suarez wasn't considered a top-100 overall prospect and Simon was coming off a bad second half and just one year away from free agency. And Suarez had a good season for the Reds.
Dodgers - Mike Bolsinger, SP
He was purchased from Arizona on Nov. 22 and after pitching to a 5.50 ERA in 2014, Bolsinger was 6-6 with a 3.62 ERA in 21 starts. Given the rotation injuries, this was big in helping the Dodgers win the NL West.
Giants - Casey McGehee, 3B (PLEASE READ EXPLANATION)
Going off the board here, as I otherwise didn't have any good options and this move ended up working wonders. In looking to replace Pablo Sandoval, the Giants went so cheap with McGehee that it didn't work and they were forced to turn to Matt Duffy. And now they have their third baseman of the future. So it's an indirect/back-door move, but it worked in the end.
Diamondbacks - Welington Castillo, C
The Cubs replaced Castillo with a pair of better pitch framers and then he didn't get much chance in Seattle. Along with three other players, Castillo then went to the D-Backs in the Mark Trumbo deal on June 3. In just 80 games, he hit 17 homers with a 116 OPS+.
Padres - Shawn Kelley, RP
Yes, they did at least one thing that was under-the-radar last offseason, picking up Kelley from the Yankees for Johnny Barbato. Kelley had a 2.45 ERA and 1.09 WHIP with 63 strikeouts in 51 1/3 innings for San Diego, too.
Rockies - Nick Hundley, C
It had been a while since Hundley was offensively productive, but the Rockies brought him in on a one-year deal that paid him a touch over $3 million. He hit .301/.339/.467. Yes, Coors Field, but that line was good for a 104 OPS+, a figure that is park-adjusted.
