Grading Every teams Off-season Part 1 (American League)

The MLB off-season, one of the most exciting times for baseball fans, got interrupted by a lengthy lockout that lasted 99 days, but a couple of weeks ago the lockout finally ended and teams could finally make some much-needed moves to improve them. Here, I will be grading every team's off-season as of now (Part 1- American League). Let's start off with the AL East, probably the strongest division in baseball.

Baltimore Orioles- Baltimore will most likely finish last in the division, after doing hardly anything in the off-season, they signed Roughned Odor who hasn’t been good since 2016, yes he hit 30 homers in 2019 but only had a batting average of .205, they also signed Jordan Lyles who pitched 180 innings but had a 5.15 ERA. What Oriole fans should look forward to are their prospects, they do have some great prospects in the minors, as they have two top 10 prospects and 5 top 100 prospects. The Orioles won’t be contending anytime soon, but give it 4 years and they will be ready to contend. Grade- D. Record Projection- 67-95.

Boston Red Sox- The Red Sox had one of the biggest splashes in free agency, signing Trevor Story for a deal worth 6 years-140 million dollars. Story did have a down year last year but I think he will play a lot better with a change of scenery. It could be a risky signing due to the fact that he had a down year in Colorado where the ball carries much more than any other ballpark, but then you look at Nolan Arenado who got traded to St. Louis and was still an all-star last year. Boston also upgraded their pitching by signing James Paxton, Rich Hill, and Michael Wacha who may or may not be in the rotation. They did lose Kyle Schwarber to the Phillies and Eduardo Rodriguez to Detroit which makes their grade go down but expect the Red Sox to be near the top of the division as they're a team to watch, the main problems for them are, they don’t have a first baseman and an average rotation even with Chris Sale. Grade B. Record Projection- 89-73.

New York Yankees- With the Yankees' money, you would expect them to go all out and try to sign a big name like Correa, Story, Semien, or Seager, or maybe some starting pitching like Ray, Rodon, or Scherzer, but they DID NOT make a single big move. They got Josh Donaldson and Isiah Kiner-Falefa for Gary Sanchez and Gio Urshela, but Donaldson whos a former MVP is only good if he can stay healthy. They resigned Anthony Rizzo, and traded Luke Voit, this was a very interesting off-season for the Yankees who have been trying to win a championship for the past five years but couldn’t do it, and it's surprising they barely did anything this off-season especially when all the other teams in the AL East made moves to contend. Also, some Yankee players might not be able to play in Toronto due to being Unvaccinated. Grade C-. Record Projection- 88-74.

Tampa Bay Rays- It seems like the Rays never add anyone but are still always good. They lost some significant players in the likes of Nelson Cruz, Chris Archer (again), Michael Wacha, David Robertson, and Collin McHugh. Although they only added Corey Kluber to their rotation, and barely did not do anything in free agency, their lineup is still really good and with a full season with Wander Franco, the Rays can still contend, don’t be shocked if they have a great record. Grade-D+. Record Projection- 92-70.

Toronto Blue Jays- The Blue Jays had a solid off-season, to say the least, filled holes that needed to be filled when Marcus Semien and Robbie Ray went their separate ways. They signed Kevin Gausemen to a 5 Year, 110 million dollar deal, and Yusei Kikuchi to a 3 year 36 million dollar deal, adding some depth in the bullpen with Yimi Garcia. They then traded for Matt Chapman who bring much-needed defense to the infield then extended him till 2023. It was inevitable that they were going to lose Semien or Ray though losing both hurt the team, but bringing in some players to fill those gaps makes them World Series contenders, especially with a healthy George springer and the teams young’uns are getting more experience. Grade-B+. Record Projection-95-67.

The AL Central is the complete opposite of the AL East, it is the weakest in the AL, and maybe in the entire league. It is still a very good division but most teams are still rebuilding/retooling. Let's jump into the Central Division and their off-season moves.

Chicago White Sox- The most talented group of baseball players in this division, and will most likely win the division. They added bullpen pieces to an already stacked bullpen, by getting Kendall Gravemen on a 3-year deal worth 24 Million dollars, Joe Kelly for 2 years for 17 million dollars. They also added some infield with Josh Harrison on a 1 year of 5.5 Million dollars and resigned a very underrated utility man Leury Garcia for 3 years worth 16.5 million. They did lose Carlos Rodon but their rotation is still really good and so is their team, if Eloy Jimenez and Luis Roberts can stay healthy and Yermin Mercedes doesn’t “retire” again this team can make a big push come playoff time. Grade-C+, Record Projection- 92-70.

Cleveland Guardians- They did absolutely nothing, besides signing Luke Maily and changing their name which makes sense for a rebuilding team, but not trading Jose Ramirez might mess up their rebuild if they are trying to tank. They could have fetched a great haul for them and still can, but this off-season for the Guardians definitely a waste of JRAM and his talent. Grade-F. Name change- B+. Projected record-80-82.

Detroit Tigers- Not a bad off-season, but an interesting one to say the least. Signing Javier Baez to a 6-year deal worth 140 million dollars was interesting but makes sense, it was either him or Correa. The reason it is interesting is that they are a rebuilding team, but it means they are trying to win in the next few years, especially with their stacked farm system. They also added Eduardo Rodriguez, Andrew Chafin, and Michael Pineda. I don’t see them making the playoffs, but they are a team to watch in the next couple of years. Grade-A-. Record Projection-82-80.

Kansas City Royals- When a team is rebuilding like the Royals, they usually do nothing in the off-season, which they didn’t, and it makes sense, unlike the Guardians because they don’t have a star player besides Salvador Perez, but they do have Bobby Witt Jr. who is a young stud. The Zack Greinke signing is nice as he returns to where he started, but don’t expect this team to do so well. Grade C, Record Projection- 76-86.

Minnesota Twins- What an off-season for the twins, which is odd because everyone thought they were rebuilding after trading Jose Berríos, Nelson Cruz, Hansel Robles, and J.A. Happ at the deadline last year. They somehow were able to snag Carlos Correa the top free agent this year for 3 years 105.3 Million dollars but he does have an opt-out at the end of the year so who knows how long he stays, but it definitely speeds up the rebuild. They traded Donaldson for Gary Sanchez and Gio Urshela. They were also able to get Chris Archer, Dylan Bundy, and Joe Smith. This off-season by them was definitely one of the best, and expect them to try and compete for a wild-card spot. Grade-A. Record projection- 85-77.

The AL West did a bit of everything, some teams lost a lot and some teams gained a lot. This division will be competitive this year, there are a couple of ways to analyze it, but the way I do it is by seeing who each team gained from this off-season, so let's get into it.

Houston Astros- The Astros had an interesting offseason, to say the least, prior to the lockout the Astros seemed to try to make an attempt at re-signing Correa and he turned it down. Heading into the lockout the Astros managed to resign Verlander (an aging star coming off of Tommy John) after the lockout there seemed to be some interest in a reunion with the Astros and Correa but the Astros never budged from their original offer and ultimately lost Correa to the twins and they replaced him with former tigers shortstop Niko Goodrum. The Astro's off-season could have been so much better but they messed up badly by not giving Correa the money he wanted. Grade- D-. Record Projection- 92-70. -SC

Los Angeles Angels- The Angles do what they always do in free agent, never make their team stand out even with three stars on the team, they never add pitching, This year was sort of different, only adding pitching. They added Noah Syndergaard, Raisel Iglesias, Ryan Tepera, Aaron Loup, Michael Lorenzen, and Archie Bradley. Not a bad off-season by filling their hole at pitching, but is it enough to finally make the playoffs again with Trout… Grade- B+. Record Projecting projection- 88-74.

Oakland Athletics- Spent 0 money and traded Matt Chapman and Matt Olsen, but they did get a solid return for them, they are in rebuild mode for sure. Grade D. Record Projection-73-89

Seattle Mariners- Solid Off-season in signing the reigning CY Young winner Robbie Ray to a 5-year deal worth 115 million dollars definitely and upgrade to Yusei Kikuchi he will help this team a lot and could be the final push they need to make the playoffs. They also added some bullpen depth by signing Sergio Romo. Losing Kyle Seager could hurt them but not that much. Grade- B, Record Projection- 90-72

Texas Rangers- The Rangers spent half a billion dollars on their middle infield by signing Corey Seager and Marcus Semien which is a lot of money for 2 players but now we know the rebuild is almost over. They added Mitch Graver and also signed Jon Gray, Garrett Richards, Kole Calhoun, and, Martin Perez. It is a great off-season for them but their pitching and outfield need work. Grade-A-, Record Projection- 81-81.