MLB teams that could make a surprise impact in free agency, trades

Before we even reached Thanksgiving, they signed veteran starter Yusei Kikuchi to a three-year, $63 million contract, betting heavily on the progress he later showed with the Astros. They also signed veteran right-hander Kyle Hendricks, catcher Travis d’Arnaud and infielder Kevin Newman, who will serve as the starting shortstop while Zach Neto recovers from offseason shoulder surgery. The Halos — who haven’t made the postseason since 2014 — also signed big-hitter Jorge Soler and infielder Scott Kingery.

The expanded postseason format even allows teams like the Angels, who are coming off the worst season in franchise history (63-99, a .389 winning percentage) and now (thanks to the Tigers’ resurgence in 2024) to be the only ones Longest active postseason drought in the MLB – dream big.

So it will be interesting to see if other clubs that have landed way back in the playoff race will show similar aggressiveness this offseason.

Here’s a look at other sub-.500 2024 rosters that could make some noise this winter.

Well, the Blue Jays don’t really qualify as sleepers, as SNY’s Andy Martino and MLB Network Radio’s Jim Duquette both reported the industry’s opinion that Toronto could be the highest bidder for Juan Soto. But the Blue Jays qualify as a sub-.500 team starting in 2024, looking to thwart this hot stove. With Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette both free agents after 2025 — and other key players like George Springer, Kevin Gausman and Daulton Varsho eligible after 2026 — the Blue Jays are at a point of either retooling or going all out must go -in on the current core. Their involvement in the Soto Sweepstakes shows that they are still more inclined to push than to punt. Their projected payroll is approximately $40 million, which is above the Competitive Balance Tax threshold. If they don’t sign Soto, their approach to the tax would dictate how meaningfully they could make necessary improvements in the rotation, lineup and bullpen. Bottom line: If the Blue Jays want to keep Guerrero (and convince him to stay beyond 2025), they’ll need to make some waves — and Soto would obviously be a big deal.

General manager Mike Rizzo has said, “It’s time for us to add to the roster,” and he’s right. Although it wasn’t seen in the standings, the Nats’ youth movement began to produce some positive results in 2024, as key outfield prospects James Wood and Dylan Crews both reached the bigs, second baseman Luis García Jr. (a member Our All-Awardless Team) erupted and pitchers MacKenzie Gore, Jake Irvin, Mitchell Parker and DJ Herz showed some flourishing signs. With Stephen Strasburg’s remaining salary and catcher Keibert Ruiz’s extension the only guaranteed deals on the books, Washington should have enough financial flexibility to meaningfully address its offensive needs. Maybe that doesn’t mean becoming a mystery team and bringing Soto back into the fold, but it could mean bringing in Pete Alonso or Alex Bregman or one of the other veteran corner infielders.

After falling just short in October 2023, the Reds made a serious effort last offseason, only to sweat a fourth-place finish in the NL Central. But they wouldn’t have lured 65-year-old Terry Francona out of retirement if they had planned to retire. They made a trade to improve their rotation by acquiring Brady Singer in exchange for Jonathan India, and they retained one of their best pitchers from 2024 when Nick Martinez accepted their qualifying offer. That leaves their vulnerable corner outfield situation – and perhaps first base/DH – as the most likely areas that still need to be meaningfully addressed. Of course not with Soto, but perhaps someone like Tyler O’Neill, Michael Conforto or Max Kepler could be in play in the outfield or an experienced stabilizer like Paul Goldschmidt or Carlos Santana.

The Rangers followed their franchise’s first World Series title with a quiet 2023-24 offseason, and while their situation remains unclear, they made their first significant move on Monday night by signing catcher Kyle Higashioka to a two-year contract. Restoring the caliber of roster they had last year would require some heavy lifting, as starter Nathan Eovaldi and backups Kirby Yates, José Leclerc, David Robertson and Andrew Chafin are all free agents. And if the front office does have the authority to increase payroll, we know it’s a front office capable of big swings.

The Giants, now under new president of baseball operations Buster Posey (it’s still weird and funny to type that), are not in the running for the big dogs, as they were in the recent, high-profile affairs with Carlos Correa and Aaron Judge were, among others. They’ve already let Blake Snell go to the rival Dodgers and will likely be careful not to cross the luxury tax threshold again. But that doesn’t mean the Giants, who signed Matt Chapman to an extension late in the season, can’t bring in or move key players in free agency to improve a club that has been disappointing over the past three seasons. Shortstop is a glaring need, and if Willy Adames is too rich for the Giants’ blood (especially with the draft pick compensation that comes with it), then Ha-Seong Kim, with manager Bob Melvin obvious from his time in San Diego is familiar, a tempting probability. The Giants also need some starting help and would be an interesting destination for a short-term veteran like Justin Verlander (who has already spent his entire career wearing some form of orange) or Max Scherzer.

Playing their home games at the home park of the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats isn’t the A’s best selling point in a pitch to free agents. In fact, there was a report earlier this offseason that Mark Kotsay told a crowd at the USC Sports Business Association Summit that free-agent starter Walker Buehler had rebuffed the A’s’ overtures because of the situation in Sacramento. But the A’s have payroll flexibility that they plan to use to extend last season’s .500 mark in the second half, evidenced by the fact that they even turned to Buehler. Pitching is their priority.

The other teams under .500: Rays (80-82), Pirates (76-86), Marlins (62-100), Rockies (61-101), White Sox (41-121)

Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh both have flexible payrolls and young rotation departments to build on. The obvious challenge with the Rays is attracting players with their strange stadium and schedule setup, and the Pirates simply haven’t shown a desire to significantly increase their payroll yet (though we’d certainly like to see Paul Skenes’ squad perk up here becomes).