With the coronavirus and the stoppage of sports, it seems that much of the offseason moves in Major League Baseball have been forgotten. There is plenty to keep an eye on when MLB returns.
The Superstars
Perhaps the biggest news of the offseason was the New York Yankees signing Gerrit Cole. His contract was for nine years and $324 million.
This broke the record for the highest-paid pitcher in the league, passing Stephen Strasburg’s deal with the Washington Nationals for $245 million.
Cole led the American League last season with a 2.50 ERA and 326 strikeouts for the Houston Astros. No Yankee has won the Cy Young award since Roger Clemens in 2001, so maybe it’s time that changes for the pinstripes.
The Red Sox unloaded some of their top players this offseason, as David Price and Mookie Betts got traded to the Dodgers. But Price has opted out of the season with the Dodgers because of concerns about the coronavirus.
The Angels also needed to look to add to their talent this offseason. They need to capitalize on having one of the top talents, arguably of all time, in Mike Trout, so they landed Anthony Rendon with a seven-year, $245 million contract.
Most to Prove in 2020
The shortened season has changed a lot for MLB. But there are still many players that have much to prove this season.
In one case, it might be an entire team. When asked who had the most to prove this year, ESPN MLB analyst Buster Olney said:
“Pretty much all of the Astros’ position players. The industry response to them will be largely muted because of the much more important coronavirus concerns, and the idea that they would become human pincushions for a barrage of well-aimed fastballs was probably always overstated.”
After all of the heat and criticism the Astros have faced from the sign-stealing scandal, eyes will be on them to see how they perform. If it is a bad year, maybe the sign-stealing had a greater impact than many thought.
There are also many individual players who have a lot to prove.
“Mookie Betts, of course. He’s got more to gain than anyone,” said ESPN’s Jeff Passan. “Nobody can doubt Betts’ bona fides. He was really good last year, slashing .295/.391/.524.
“But if he can OPS well above 1.000, like he did in his MVP-winning 2018 season, Betts will set himself up for an even greater free-agent payday than he’s in line for already.”
As far as teams that are looking to improve the most, it is almost unanimous that the Cincinnati Reds have a shot at making a big impact.
They had a great offseason in adding Nick Castellanos and Mike Moustakas via free agency.
“The team is stacked from top to bottom, though there are a few questions in the pitching staff. But it’s a team without a glaring hole. The Reds will win the NL Central,” said ESPN’s Jesse Rogers.