With spring training in full swing and Opening Day three weeks away, it’s time for my annual offseason report card that includes a breakdown of every team’s major-league signings and trades. Here are my final offseason grades for all 30 teams, along with each club’s best move, an “under-the-radar” move, a top storyline to watch,…
When I rank prospects every offseason here at The Athletic, I’m considering the players’ eventual peaks and their long-term values, which is why you’ll see prospects who were just drafted or have only played in the complex leagues alongside prospects who’ve already made their major-league debuts. For readers more interested in which prospects might have…
By Chad Jennings, Aaron Gleeman and Tim Britton The semester was about to end, and too many of our students still hadn’t finished their homework, much less taken their final exam. Giving them grades took a while. But now that spring training is in full swing — and now that Jack Flaherty, Pete Alonso and…
Pitchers and catchers have officially reported, full-squad workouts are almost here and spring training games start in a week. Although there are still some quality free agents on the market, most of the offseason moves have been made, so it’s time for my first MLB power rankings of the year. Let’s take stock of the…
Welcome to this year’s ranking of the top 100 prospects in baseball. I’ve been compiling and writing such rankings for 18 years now, and those of you who’ve read them before will find the format here similar to those from the recent past. My farm reports covering at least 20 prospects in each team’s system,…
NEW YORK — The passage of time is an unavoidable conversation these days for Rob Manfred, the 66-year-old commissioner of Major League Baseball. Sitting in a conference room at his Manhattan office this month, he scurried out mid-sentence to retrieve a piece of paper, a small square with ruled interlocking lines and a dot in…
There are still a number of difference-making free agents on the board and likely some significant trades still to come, but let’s take stock of each team’s offseason moves — or lack thereof. The teams that have had the best offseasons so far include the Yankees, Dodgers, Mets, Diamondbacks, Cubs and Red Sox. The worst?…
There was a game in El Paso where even a two-touchdown lead wasn’t safe. … There was a game in Houston where a pitcher allowed four base runners on three pitches. … And then there was that game in Los Angeles where Mookie Betts hit for the Strangest But Truest cycle of his career. (Spoiler alert:…
First prize — We tip our cap Here at Strange But True Injury Central, there’s only one thing we love more than a good Injury of the Year caper. And that’s having the same player churn out an injury caper sequel that elevates him onto this list for the second year in a row. So…
I swear this all happened in the Strange But True baseball year of 2024: A man played for both teams in the same game. … Another guy made an out on his own intentional walk. … And history was made at Coors Field, all because a pitcher did not throw a pitch. I mention all that because it’s…