The Texas Rangers bought a World Series title.
Some people will read that and see it as an insult. It’s not. The Rangers had some intriguing core pieces in or nearing the big leagues, and they spent gobs of money to support them and accelerate the path to championship contention.
That’s how free agency is supposed to work! And it worked for the Rangers.
So which clubs might demonstrate similar aggressiveness this offseason? Though we are always open and amenable to surprises, these are the clubs best positioned to make a major splash, ranked in order of anticipated impact.
Baseball operations head Farhan Zaidi just had his contract extended. But when the manager you hired (in this case, Gabe Kapler) is sacked, it’s a clear indication that things are not going to plan. Under Zaidi, the Giants have done a good job building quality depth and finding undervalued assets, but the bottom line is they have been basically a league-average team the past two years and are still short on star power.
San Francisco famously tried to alter that equation last year with its pursuits of Aaron Judge and Carlos Correa. So obviously, there is money to spend here. And with a big need for a big bat and Shohei Ohtani available (the Giants were one of seven finalists for Ohtani in 2017), it’s not hard to connect the dots. Cody Bellinger would be an excellent backup plan or addition to Ohtani. The Giants also will be in search of rotation stability. It’s not hard to see San Francisco, with new manager Bob Melvin in place, being the team that goes bananas this winter
Another team with a clear argument to be No. 1 on this list. The Dodgers went the low-profile route with regard to free agency last year, perhaps saving themselves for Ohtani. It didn’t prevent them from winning the NL West yet again, but it did come back to bite them when they basically ran out of starting arms.
With a current projected payroll around $125 million and recent payrolls in the mid-$200 million range, Los Angeles is primed to pounce on this market. The Dodgers are widely seen as Ohtani’s most likely landing spot, and that alone would qualify them as “winter winners.” But Ohtani or not, Los Angeles will need to replace some booming bats if J.D. Martinez departs, and the starting rotation, which will have Clayton Kershaw returning from left shoulder surgery (if he returns to L.A. at all) and has Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin on the surgery shelf, is going to be a big, big focus. A nine-figure deal with Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery or Aaron Nola could happen here, or the Dodgers have the farm system strength to make a major trade.
The newly crowned champs are obviously no strangers to what a free-agent spending spree can accomplish when you add the right players. After the run to World Series paydirt, they might continue to be aggressive in the pursuit of a dynasty.
Retaining Montgomery would itself be a significant signing in this market. But the Rangers will also be players for Ohtani. They’ve got Jose Leclerc, of course, but might explore the top end of a relief market (fronted by Josh Hader) in pursuit of a super ‘pen. There’s already a ton of money on the books, of course, but Texas isn’t expected to leave any stone unturned right now.
