ESPN says the Mets had the best offseason in baseball. It would have been nice if the Amazins had added another bat, but we can’t really argue the A-grade they received.
The Worldwide Leader’s take on the Yankees is a bit more questionable. The Bronx Bombers earned an A-minus, tying the Phillies for the second-best offseason according to the rankings.
ESPN’s David Schoenfeld writes:
It may seem now like a foregone conclusion that (Aaron) Judge would end up back in pinstripes, but that was hardly a guarantee. Most players who reach free agency do end up signing with a new team, so credit general manager Brian Cashman and the Yankees for forging a deal with a player they had to have. Yes, $360 million for a player entering his age-31 season is a long-term risk, but Judge should remain one of the best players in the game in the short term and should age well if he stays healthy.
Then, they get (Carlos) Rodon, who is 27-13 with a 2.67 ERA and 33.9% strikeout rate over the past two seasons. That’s an upgrade over (Jameson) Taillon and helps solidify what should be one of the best rotations in the majors. I’m not worried about left field, where I think Oswaldo Cabrera eventually takes over and plays well. Another reliever would have been nice, and Yankees fans would have liked Josh Donaldson getting shipped out to the Winnipeg Goldeyes or Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks, but Judge plus Rodon is a great offseason.
The Yankees did not have a bad offseason. In fact, they had a good one. They had to re-sign Anthony Rizzo and Judge, and they did. And they made a splash adding Rodon.
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But … it’s hard for us to say it was the second-best in baseball when there was no improvement made to a lineup that was pantsed by the Astros in the ALCS after a second-half swoon. This feels like a charitable assessment. The Phillies definitely had a better offseason. It’s close with the Twins and Padres. You could even argue the Cubs did more.
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James Kratch can be reached at james.kratch@xlmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @jameskratch.
