Major League Baseball's regular season will officially get underway tomorrow (March 20), with the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres beginning a two-game set in Seoul, South Korea. The rest of the league will kick off their own schedules about a week later (March 28), commencing the six-plus-month journey that is MLB's regular season.
Today, then, is the last and arguably the best opportunity to take one more look back at the offseason. That's precisely what we here at CBS Sports have done below, handing out grades to every team for the work they did (or didn't do) throughout the winter.
As always, this process is more of an art than a science. We're judging teams based on a variety of factors: the quality of the moves they made; their placement on the win curve; their capabilities to upgrade; and so on. A team needn't necessarily make a ton of moves to receive a good grade; likewise, a team that made a bunch of moves won't necessarily have earned a good grade. Every team has their own unique context.
With the fine print out of the way, let's get to the grades. (Do note that you can access our midpoint offseason grades here.)
Arizona Diamondbacks
The National League champions had about as good of an offseason as a team can have without playing at the tip-top of the market. Eduardo Rodriguez is the quintessential mid-rotation starter, and a welcomed addition to a rotation that was rolling two-deep prior to Brandon Pfaadt's postseason breakout. Eugenio Suárez should be an upgrade at the hot corner over late-career Evan Longoria, even if his swing-and-miss tendencies make him an attrition risk as he ages into his 30s. And don't sleep on the potential potency of a Joc Pederson-Randal Grichuk platoon at DH: Pederson had a better season last year than his numbers indicated, while Grichuk has posted an OPS of .900 or better against lefties in three of his last four attempts. The Diamondbacks may not enjoy as much success come October as they did last year, but it won't be because they whiffed on opportunities to upgrade this offseason. Grade: A
Atlanta Braves
It turns out that teams who win 100-plus games in consecutive seasons tend to be in great shape. Who knew? As we noted in January, general manager Alex Anthopoulos spent the first half of the offseason making red paperclip trades before dialing up a headline-worthy deal for Chris Sale. If Sale's body holds up -- and that's a big if -- his swing-and-miss stuff could result in another above-average season. Outfielder Jarred Kelenic doesn't have to manifest his long-awaited breakout to represent an upgrade over Eddie Rosario, and the Braves should be able to coax more from pitchers Reynaldo López (potentially their fifth starter) and Aaron Bummer than the White Sox could. Overall, we think the Braves improved their roster this winter. That's a scary proposition for the rest of the National League. Grade: A
Baltimore Orioles
At last, Mike Elias traded from his collection of talented young position players to land a frontline starter, nabbing Corbin Burnes as part of a three-player deal with the Brewers. The Burnes trade and the signing of Craig Kimbrel to fill in for injured closer Félix Bautista were the extent of Baltimore's notable moves this winter. Admittedly, that's a good pair of moves to make -- the Burnes addition, in particular, was a big win in our eyes. We would still like to see the Orioles take full advantage of the financial flexibility afforded to them by having an outstanding, cheap young core, but maybe that'll come in due time -- like, say, once David Rubenstein becomes the franchise's owner. For now, adding one of the game's best pitchers to an already good roster nets the O's the highest mark. Grade: A
Boston Red Sox
We gave the Red Sox a "B" back in January because we felt they had made some sensible bounce-back bets on starter Lucas Giolito, infielder Vaughn Grissom, and outfielder Tyler O'Neill. Maybe that B stood for boo-boo? Almost three months later, Giolito could miss the entire season; Grissom seems certain to miss Opening Day; and O'Neill … well, he's dealing with a calf issue, but that seems like small beans given his company and his injury history. (The Red Sox have since signed veteran reliever Liam Hendriks, who is also expected to miss the year following Tommy John surgery.) We'll stand by the B out of respect for how tricky forecasting player health is (even for the professionals), but we acknowledge their winter no longer looks nearly that strong. Grade: B
Chicago Cubs
The Cubs did nearly all of their shopping after we issued them a "D," proving that public shaming still works on some level. (Or, you know, perhaps that was just a coincidence.) The ball-tracking data behind Cody Bellinger's best season in years may have scared off other teams, but the Cubs can afford the gamble. Ditto adding lefty Shota Imanaga, a strikeout artist in Japan who profiles as a mid-rotation starter. We think Michael Busch should be a solid most-days option at first base or DH, too. Setup man Héctor Neris and right-handed sock Garrett Cooper both have some downside risk, but it wouldn't really surprise us if both had productive years. Overall, we think the Cubs did well to position themselves near the top of the National League Central. Grade: A
Chicago White Sox
The White Sox had one of the league's busiest offseasons, resulting in a churn rate that could leave them with at least 13 new players come Opening Day. An extreme makeover wasn't the worst idea given they lost 101 games last year, but their additions were mostly low-impact types who probably won't lift them into the American League Central race. They had to trade Dylan Cease -- it just wouldn't have made sense to hold onto him until the deadline. The return they fetched from the Padres was solid enough, including two mid-rotation starters, a useful reliever, and a potential second-division corner outfielder. That's enough for us to give them a good grade. Grade: B
Cincinnati Reds
There was some speculation among rival front offices that the Reds might swing big this winter to announce their arrival as a legitimate threat in the National League Central. That didn't happen. The Reds did have a solid offseason all the same, adding several mid-tier free agents to the roster. Nick Martinez and Frankie Montas will attempt to stabilize the rotation, with Montas trying his hand at the Sonny Gray arc -- that is, going from good in Oakland to bad in New York to good in Cincinnati. Signing corner infielder Jeimer Candelario seemed like an odd decision at the time given the Reds' clogged depth chart; now, in light of Noelvi Marte's 80-game suspension, it looks like a fortunate break. We would've liked to see the Reds go for more impact, and we think there's still enough downside risk with the Martinez and Montas signings to keep the Reds out of the "A" bracket. With that in mind, we'll give them the next best mark. Grade: B
Cleveland Guardians
Quick, name a free agent the Guardians signed to a big-league contract this winter. We'll give you the benefit of this filler sentence to land on one. Got it? Probably not. Your choices were journeyman backup catcher Austin Hedges and right-hander Ben Lively. They also signed old friend Carlos Carrasco to a minor-league deal, and they obtained reliever Scott Barlow and outfielder Estevan Florial through trades. While every other team in the American League Central jockeyed for position, the Guardians mostly did nothing. Shane Bieber is still in town (a reasonable decision given his seeming improvements) and the infield depth chart is still cluttered (a little less reasonable). The Guardians can blame their inactivity on the uncertainty around their local broadcast deal rights, or their incoming slew of positional prospects. The reality is that this team has made a habit of punting in the offseason -- presumably because ownership refuses to give a talented front office the appropriate resources. That might be justifiable when you're coming off a division title, but when you just lost 86 games? We have no choice. Grade: F
Colorado Rockies
The Rockies made a handful of low-impact additions to their projected roster. Believe it or not, they all made sense. We think veteran catcher Jacob Stallings could be in for a rebound season, and we've long believed outfielder Sam Hilliard has more to offer than his statistics suggest (though this will be his second tour with Colorado). Starter Dakota Hudson ending up with the Rockies was a fait accompli, while Cal Quantrill isn't far removed from being an above-average member of a rotation. Elsewhere, they nabbed a pair of pitchers from the Rays: lefty Jalen Beeks and Rule 5 righty Anthony Molina. They need a lot -- and we do mean a lot -- to break their way to threaten the .500 mark, but at least they didn't do anything super weird this winter. That's progress. Grade: D
Detroit Tigers
The Tigers have six projected newcomers on their Opening Day roster: veteran outfielder Mark Canha, infielder Gio Urshela, starters Kenta Maeda and Jack Flaherty, and relievers Andrew Chafin and Shelby Miller. That's a decent, low-frills group. Ultimately, Detroit's season will be dictated by health and the growth of their young players. Nothing about this winter changed that. Grade: C
Houston Astros
You have a good thing going on when you've made seven consecutive American League Championship Series. Dana Brown, in his first full offseason in charge, didn't do anything to disrupt the Astros' stasis. Closer Josh Hader and backup catcher Victor Caratini are the only external additions expected to make the Opening Day roster. Brown also held true to his word in extending second baseman Jose Altuve. It's fair to wonder what the Astros look like in a year's time, potentially after losing Alex Bregman and Justin Verlander to free agency. For now, they still look like one of the best teams in the American League, and that might be good enough to secure an eighth trip to the final four. Grade: B
Kansas City Royals
The Royals have a legitimate argument for being the American League's most improved team after an offseason that saw them sign Michael Wacha, Seth Lugo, Hunter Renfroe Will Smith, Chris Stratton, Adam Frazier, and Garrett Hampson. They also traded for John Schreiber and Nick Anderson. Oh, and they extended Bobby Witt Jr. Now, with all that established: are they actually going to be a playoff contender? We're not sold on that possibility -- not unless some of their youngsters take a step forward. We do give the Royals credit for trying, however; many teams in their position, coming off a 56-win campaign, would've been content to stay at the bottom. Grade: B
Los Angeles Angels
The Angels remain connected to a few notable free agents, suggesting they may add more to their roster before Opening Day. If not, their big offseason moves were signing five free-agent relievers and veteran outfielder Aaron Hicks. They also lost … well, you know. This team is not going to be good, and this winter concedes as much. Grade: F
Los Angeles Dodgers
As we joked in January: if you sign the best free-agent hitter and pitcher (Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto) in a single offseason, you get an "A" regardless of what else you do that winter. The Dodgers went above and beyond that threshold, adding Tyler Glasnow, Teoscar Hernández, and James Paxton to a roster that won 100 games during a "down year." Yes, yes, you can't buy a championship; what you can do is buy a roster that can win a championship. The Dodgers may have done that. Grade: A
Miami Marlins
We've noted on several occasions this winter that new baseball operations boss Peter Bendix focused his energy on upgrading the front-office roster this winter rather than the on-field one -- ostensibly to modernize an antiquated infrastructure and system of evaluative processes. There's nothing wrong with that approach, provided you can ignore the ticking of the great existential clock; heck, it might even be wise, lest one summon a different existential threat by rushing in blindly to demolish a playoff roster. Our guess is that Bendix's patience will pay dividends for the Marlins over the long term. Even so, we base these grades off the on-field component, and there's not much grading wiggle room when the highlights of the winter are signing Tim Anderson and grabbing various players who the Rays ran out of room for. Grade: F
Milwaukee Brewers
It's hard to overcome trading Corbin Burnes, one of the game's best starters, for what felt like a light package -- and that's no knock against DL Hall or Joey Ortiz, both of whom have the potential to be solid pieces for Milwaukee -- but we think the Brewers had a decent offseason overall. First baseman Rhys Hoskins and catcher Gary Sánchez should provide more right-handed thunder for their lineup, and we don't mind the rotation bets they made on Wade Miley, Colin Rea, and Jakob Junis. Plus, the Brewers signed outfielder Jackson Chourio, the No. 7 prospect in the minors, to a long-term deal that could be an absolute bargain if he meets his star-caliber ceiling. Overall, not bad -- especially since the Brewers didn't really get to cooking until after the new year. Grade: C
Minnesota Twins
The Twins were one of several teams dealing with uncertainty concerning their local broadcast rights. Given that Minnesota's front office has been opportunistic in recent winters, we're willing to accept that as a valid explanation for why they didn't make a bigger splash this winter. What the Twins did do was add several low-cost bullpen options that we like to varying extents, as well as sign Carlos Santana and trade for Manuel Margot. (They also added a nifty prospect, Gabriel Guerrero, in the Jorge Polanco trade.) Your mileage may vary on them staying internal to fill out a rotation that lost Sonny Gray, Kenta Maeda, and the injured Tyler Mahle, but on the whole we're willing to give them the middle grade. Grade: C
New York Mets
David Stearns' first offseason in charge of the Mets was … fine? He didn't go star-hunting, but he did add a slew of upside plays. That group includes center fielder Harrison Bader and first baseman Ji-Man Choi, as well as pitchers Luis Severino, Sean Manaea, Adrian Houser, Jake Diekman, Shintaro Fujinami, and Jorge López. If the Mets win some of those gambles, they'll be well on their way to respectability -- and/or, perhaps, to controlling the trade market at the deadline. Grade: C
New York Yankees
Don't let the spring training injury blues mislead you: the Yankees had a pretty good offseason. Adding Juan Soto, one of the game's best hitters, without giving up arguably any of their top four prospects was a coup. Ditto for grabbing bounce-back candidate Trent Grisham as part of that swap. The Yankees also found time to add Marcus Stroman, Alex Verdugo, and a few interesting relievers. Overall, that's a winning winter. Grade: A
Oakland Athletics
We'll start with the positive: we like the A's taking a shot on infielders J.D. Davis and Abraham Toro. Those are the kinds of low-risk, medium-reward endeavor this team should be pursuing more often. Otherwise? The A's presumably signed veteran starters Alex Wood and Ross Stripling to fend off a potential grievance concerning their revenue-sharing money. Will that work? No clue, but that's what passes for ambition nowadays for this once-proud franchise. Grade: F
Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies kicked off their offseason by retaining Aaron Nola and they capped it by extending Zack Wheeler. In the process, they committed nearly $300 million additional dollars to two 30-something-year-old starters. Yes, there's downside risk in that approach; no, no one will care in the slightest if they take the next step and deliver the Phillies their first World Series title since 2008. Grade: A.
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pirates had a busy offseason by their standards, adding veteran lefties Martín Pérez and Marco Gonzales to bolster their rotation; Aroldis Chapman to the bullpen; and Michael A. Taylor, Rowdy Tellez, and Yasmani Grandal to the lineup and bench. Those veterans won't turn this team into a contender on their own. They should serve as decent help to an arriving young core -- particularly in the rotation, which should add at least Paul Skenes and Jared Jones (if he doesn't make the Opening Day cut) to the mix by summertime -- raising the Pirates' floor in the process. Fine enough work overall. Grade: C
San Diego Padres
A.J. Preller has had his share of thrilling, ceiling-raising offseasons. This one didn't look so hot until the last minute, when he grabbed Dylan Cease in exchange for four players. It's a weird dynamic, this Padres offseason. We'll acknowledge that the greater financial state of the Padres likely forced his hand into waving goodbye to Juan Soto, Josh Hader, and 60% of the rotation ... but doing all that, only to then trade for a pitcher with two years of team control remaining, is a little confusing -- even if we quite liked the Cease trade. The Padres appear to be rolling with a roster that looks like their worst on paper in some time, yet one that might be good enough to sneak into the playoffs anyway. We do think Japanese lefty reliever Yuki Matsui, Korean righty Woo-Suk Go, and minor-league free-agent signing Jeremiah Estrada could be fun, if smaller additions. Grade: C
San Francisco Giants
The Giants as a team might have the widest error bars in the sport. There's a lot of uncertainty around what basically every notable addition of theirs will do in the upcoming year: how the late start to the spring will impact Blake Snell's readiness and effectiveness; how Jung Hoo Lee's offense will look like this season; if Matt Chapman can regain effectiveness against high fastballs; how Jorge Soler's power will be dented in a ballpark that's extremely unfriendly to right-handed slugging; and if Jordan Hicks can make a successful conversion to the rotation. That's without even considering if/ how Robbie Ray will return from Tommy John surgery. There's enough risk that we initially dropped their grade to a C, but the late signing of Snell helps quell some of those concerns. Should Farhan Zaidi and crew win on some of those bets, the Giants could make the playoffs. Otherwise, it might be someone else cleaning up the mess. Grade: B
Seattle Mariners
Most of what the Mariners did this winter was fine. Mitch Garver, Jorge Polanco, and Mitch Haniger could be sneaky good additions if they can stay healthy -- sadly, that's far from a given, and they could collectively miss enough time that it tanks Seattle's lineup. We don't mind rolling the dice on a Luis Urías rebound, or hoping that Luke Raley somehow maintains his place as a platoon option. We just wish the Mariners on the whole showed more ambition. Yes, they have some very talented prospects on the way, including Harry Ford, Colt Emerson, and Cole Young. But there's no reason why this club should be running a lower Opening Day payroll this season than it did from 2016-19. It's OK to dream of greater realities than a wild-card berth. Grade: C
St. Louis Cardinals
While it wasn't the splashiest winter, and Sonny Gray's uncertainty for Opening Day is a bummer, the Cardinals mostly did what they needed to do this winter. That being: add competent pitching. Gray was the big win, but Lance Lynn probably won't keep surrendering home runs at the rate he did last season, and Kyle Gibson has had moments where he's been a suitable No. 4 starter. Those three should help the Cardinals field a decent starting five again, a welcomed sight after finishing 26th in ERA. Andrew Kittredge and Keynan Middleton were perfectly solid bullpen additions, and we wouldn't be surprised if the Cardinals find a way to get mileage from Riley O'Brien, either. Grade: B
Tampa Bay Rays
We were on board with the Rays' return on Tyler Glasnow and Manuel Margot (starter Ryan Pepiot and injured outfielder Jonny DeLuca). That's a good thing for their grade, because they didn't do much else of note. Amed Rosario is a nifty bounce-back candidate on a laughably cheap deal; the slick-fielding José Caballero should keep the shortstop position warm until Tampa Bay is ready to launch promising youngsters Junior Caminero and/or Carson Williams; and Phil Maton is a perfectly solid, unheralded addition to the bullpen. Ideally, we'd like to see a 99-win team attack the offseason to put itself over the top, especially with a rotation that's already in a frayed state heading into the regular season. Maybe the front office should try selling ownership on spending a little more under the guise that, if they were to win the World Series, they could threaten to hold the championship parade in Montreal unless they get some more of that sweet, sweet public financing dollar. Grade: B
Texas Rangers
The defending champions were among the teams most impacted by local television deal uncertainty. That explains why their offseason was highlighted by signing Tyler Mahle, a solid starter who won't be healthy enough to contribute until late in the season, and retaining reserve outfielder Travis Jankowski. Under normal circumstances, we think Chris Young would've acted more aggressively to supplement a beat-up rotation. He still might, based on recent rumors. As such, we're being lenient here and giving the Rangers a C. Grade: C
Toronto Blue Jays
All these months later, the Blue Jays' offseason still feels defined by their whiff on Shohei Ohtani. They added Justin Turner and Isiah Kiner-Falefa to the mix, and they brought back Kevin Kiermaier after a strong first year. Otherwise? Their winter seemed to lack a crown jewel. It doesn't help that they lost Matt Chapman to the Giants, either. We'll see what, if anything, Joey Votto can bring to the table as a non-roster invitee, but this feels like another missed opportunity for a franchise that's already had a few too many of those with this core. Grade: D
Washington Nationals
Coming into the winter, we wondered if Mike Rizzo might sign the equivalent of Jayson Werth for this new, incoming core of young players -- a star veteran who could help lead the Nationals back into relevancy. He did not. Instead, he settled on a grab bag of bats -- Joey Gallo and Nick Senzel on guaranteed deals; Eddie Rosario and Jesse Winker on non-roster pacts -- that could help the Nationals in the early going without blocking the ascent of Dylan Crews, James Wood, or Brady House come summer. Fair enough, but we would like to see the Nationals take advantage next winter of the financial flexibility gained by having so many cost-controlled starters. Grade: D
