Top 5 MLB Additions From the Off Season
March 27, 2024
Zach Myers, Journalism Club Member
We are nearing the beginning of the MLB season, and it has been a particularly busy off season with many of the biggest stars switching teams. But which moves have been the biggest? In this article, I will rank the top 5 additions made during the MLB off season.
5. Milwaukee Brewers trade Corbin Burnes to Orioles
The Orioles have been on a surprising rise ever since their infamous 110-loss season in 2021, then barely missing the playoffs in 2022 and winning the AL East in 2023. The team has established veterans like Craig Kimbrel, Austin Hays, and John Means along with rising stars in Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson along with a young and efficient farm system. To nab more veteran presence, the Orioles acquired Corbin Burnes in a trade with the Brewers that involved Milwaukee getting Joey Ortiz, DL Hall, and a draft pick. In a rotation that includes Means and rising stars Grayson Rodriguez and Dean Kremer, adding Burnes will both provide a veteran presence to a young roster while also giving them one of the best pitchers in the league. Last season, Burnes went 10-8 with a 3.39 earned run average while striking out 200 batters. In 2022, he led the National League in strikeouts while finishing seventh in Cy Young voting and won the Cy Young in 2021 while leading the NL in games pitched. Burnes should be the perfect piece for the Orioles to potentially make a World Series run in the future.
4. Houston Astros sign top closer Josh Hader
The Astros already have some of the best talent in the league, with established veterans such as Jose Altuve and Justin Verlander, and rising stars like Jeremy Pena. They solidified their bullpen by signing arguably the best closer in baseball Josh Hader to a five-year and 95 million dollar contract. Hader is coming off an All-Star season for the Padres in which he finished eighth in baseball with 33 saves. In his previous tenure with the Brewers, he led the NL in saves in the 2020 Covid season while winning 3 Hoffman relief awards and having 30 save seasons in three years out of a 4-year span. While Ryan Pressly is a decent reliever for Houston, their bullpen is relatively weak compared to teams such as the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Texas Rangers. The addition of Hader should bolster their closing rotation, and Houston will continue to be a World Series contender this season.
3. New York Yankees trade for superstar Juan Soto
In most other years, this would rank number 1. Juan Soto has been one of the best young players ever since he debuted for the Nationals in 2018. While he struggled mildly after leaving Washington for the Padres, he rebounded the season after, being named an All-Star while leading the majors in walks and ranking sixth in MVP voting. Now he is on the move again, this time to the Yankees along with two-time gold glove winner Trent Grisham. The Padres are receiving 5 players from the Yankees: Kyle Higashioka, Jhony Brito, Michael King, Randy Vazquez, and prospect Drew Thorpe. Though it may seem the number of young players and prospects the Padres are acquiring may seem appealing, the quality of Soto and Grisham makes this trade a big win for the Yankees. New York already has (arguably) the best hitter in baseball in Aaron Judge, and they also traded for Red Sox star outfielder Alex Verdugo. Pairing the power of Judge and Soto along with the capable fielding of Grisham and Verdugo will make the Yankees one of the most complete offenses in baseball and should be in contention for the World Series.
2. Los Angeles Dodgers sign international star Yoshinobu Yamamoto
Ever since the arrival of another sensational Japanese pitching star (to be discussed later), teams have been chomping at the bit to acquire new stars from Japan. For a team known for spending loads of money to acquire stars, the Dodgers certainly did not disappoint this time. They signed Yoshinobu Yamamoto out of the Nippon Professional Baseball League in Japan for 12 years, $325 million dollars. While it may seem ludacris to sign an international player to that extensive of a contract without him having faced a full season of MLB bats, he has shown some talent. He was the ace pitcher on the Japan team that won the World Baseball Classic and defeated the United States in the final. In his career solely in his home country, he went an outstanding 75-30 with a 1.72 earned runs average with almost 1,000 strikeouts. Over a full major league career, this is comparable to the career of former all-time great ace Roger Clemens. For a superstar team that already includes legend Clayton Kershaw and rising star Tony Gonsolin on the mound, the addition of Yamamoto should establish the Dodgers as having one of the best rotations in baseball.
1. Dodgers sign Shohei Ohtani to record breaking contract
Even though we are a few months into 2024, this will likely remain the biggest sports story in the world. The free agency period for Shohei Ohtani was so coveted because he is a generational talent to the likes that has not been seen in baseball since the days of Babe Ruth in the 1910s-1920s. Ohtani has a marvelous ability to hit a 450-foot home run, and throw a 95-mile-per-hour fastball in the same inning. While he will be sidelined from pitching for the year with Tommy John surgery, he will still be able to bat, and that should be plenty enough for the team who signed him, the Dodgers. Ohtani's deal is for 10 years and $700 million dollars, shattering the previous record for a contract extension in baseball history. Last season, Ohtani won his second career MVP with an MLB-leading 44 home runs while also going 10-5 as a pitcher with 143 strikeouts. While LA will have to wait to fully see Ohtani’s talents due to injury, there is no doubt that having a utility man like Ohtani will pay dividends, and hopefully lead the way to multiple World Series titles for the Dodgers in the future.
