The Kansas City Royals were the only other American League club to earn an A- from the publication.
This offseason, the Sox signed free agent first baseman Jose Abreu, acquired center fielder Adam Eaton from the Arizona Diamondbacks in a three-team trade that sent pitcher Hector Santiago to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and picked up third baseman Matt Davidson from the Diamondbacks in exchange for closer Addison Reed.
The Sox also added free agent pitcher Felipe Paulino and fortified their bullpen by signing veterans Ronald Belisario, Scott Downs and Mitchell Boggs.
"Chicago still has questions about how much offense it will get at catcher and in the middle infield, but there’s no doubting that general manager Rick Hahn has had a very good winter," wrote Joe Lemire of SI.
The Royals drew praise for fixing their two major positional weaknesses -- right field and second base. Right fielder Norichika Aoki was acquired in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers, and veteran Omar Infante was signed to address the issue at second base.
Kansas City signed left-handed pitcher Jason Vargas to take the spot in the rotation vacated by free agent Ervin Santana and also retained starting pitcher Bruce Chen. The Royals also picked up former Twins third baseman Danny Valencia, who could form a platoon with Mike Moustakas, who has had his troubles hitting left-handed pitching in the past.
"Coming off their first winning season since 2003, the Royals effectively targeted their needs," Lemire said.
On the National League side, the Cubs received a C after a mostly quiet offseason in terms of roster moves. The North Siders added starting pitcher Jason Hammel, relievers Wesley Wright and Jose Veras and backup catcher George Kottaras. They also acquired outfielder Justin Ruggiano from the Miami Marlins in exchange for outfielder Brian Bogusevic.
The main offseason news for the Cubs was the hiring of manager Rick Renteria, whom they hope will do a better job of mentoring young players than the fired Dale Sveum.
SI's Cliff Corcoran wrote Renteria's hiring is "a move [the Cubs] hope will prove to be their most significant of the offseason."
Who won the offseason in the National League? SI says it was the St. Louis Cardinals, the defending league champions.
The Cardinals earned an A+ after remaking their infield. St. Louis signed free agent shortstop Jhonny Peralta and traded third baseman David Freese in order to move Matt Carpenter from second base over to the hot corner. They also added veteran Mark Ellis, who gives them insurance in the event Kolten Wong fails to earn the second base job. They also upgraded their outfield defense with the addition of Peter Bourjos, who was acquired from the Angels in the Freese deal.
"Thanks to their strong farm system, the Cardinals were able to have a practically perfect offseason," Corcoran wrote.
St. Louis strikes again. I swear, everything they touch turns to gold. See Wacha, Michael for their most recent example.
ReplyDeleteI keep waiting for the day everything the Sox touch turns to gold, but that only happened once, back in 2005.
The Cardinals have been right a lot the last few years. I'll be interested to see how the revamped infield works out for them.
ReplyDeleteI tend to agree with them that the time was right to cut ties with Freese. I also tend to agree that Carpenter is more suited for 3B than 2B. I know they feel Wong is ready for a full-time shot at 2B, but he struggled with the bat last year, so it's wise to have an insurance policy like Ellis hanging around.
The guy I wonder about is Peralta. From their perspective, I'm sure they believe he's the bat they need to replace Beltran. But I've never like Peralta's defense, and I wonder if he'll be the same hitter now that he's (presumably) stopped taking PEDs.