MLB Offseason Midterm Grades: American League

With nearly half of our top 50 free agents signed as we approach the holidays, it feels like a good time to assess what’s changed so far this offseason.

Taylor Ward, pictured, was traded by the Angels to the Orioles for starting pitcher Grayson Rodriguez. / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

We are under 100 days until Opening Day—97, to be exact—and MLB’s offseason still has plenty of dominoes yet to fall. Over half of SI’s 50 best free agents remain unsigned, including each of the top six, which should give us plenty of action to digest in the long winter months without meaningful baseball games.

With the winter meetings behind us, now feels like a good time to hand out some offseason midterm grades and check out teams' progress so far. While these grades are, for the most part, incomplete, they hopefully paint a picture of the work left ahead for front offices far and wide looking to assemble a contender out of their available resources.

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Baltimore Orioles

Key acquisitions: 1B Pete Alonso (five years, $155 million), RP Ryan Helsley (two years, $28 million), LF Taylor Ward, RP Andrew Kittredge

Key departures: SP Grayson Rodriguez

Key unsigned free agents: SP Tomoyuki Sugano, SP Zach Eflin, C Gary Sánchez, OF Dylan Carlson

The Orioles have made quick work so far in trying to put last year’s debacle behind them. What’s curious is that their efforts have been focused on the offense, committing to five years for Alonso and shipping out Rodriguez—a high-upside, oft-injured pitcher with four years of team control—for Ward, who will be a free agent after this season. Baltimore’s lineup looks playoff ready, but the organization has had long-term issues trying to find and develop consistent starting pitching, so until that portion of the roster is seriously addressed, the O’s get a middling mark for now.

Grade: C

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New York Yankees

Key acquisitions: CF Trent Grisham (re-signed, one-year, $22 million)

Key departures: RP Devin Williams, RP Luke Weaver

Key unsigned free agents: 1B/OF Cody Bellinger, 1B Paul Goldschmidt

Grisham accepting the qualifying offer is the biggest move the Yankees have made for 2026, but they’re clearly not done. Re-signing Bellinger would seem to be mutually beneficial to both sides, and there’s been some rumblings about the team trading Jazz Chisholm Jr. A move there could free up a pursuit of Bo Bichette. There’s not a lot to base this grade off of at present, but the Yankees surely are going to do something soon, right?

Grade: C-

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Boston Red Sox

Key acquisitions: SP Sonny Gray, SP Johan Oviedo, SP Jake Bennett

Key departures: SP Dustin May, SP Steven Matz, SP Richard Fitts

Key unsigned free agents: 3B Alex Bregman, SP Lucas Giolito, OF Rob Refsnyder, RP Justin Wilson

Boston’s activity has played out exclusively on the trade market to this point, with the club executing a whopping nine trades since mid-November. The deals that netted Gray and Oviedo were the most impactful, as the Red Sox project to have a quality rotation that they might not be done adding to quite yet. A Bregman reunion after missing out on Alonso and Schwarber would be the ideal centerpiece to an offseason that’s already seen encouraging supplemental moves.

Grade: B

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Steven Matz will pitch for the Rays next season after finishing 2025 with the Red Sox. / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Tampa Bay Rays

Key acquisitions: CF Cedric Mullins (one year, $7.5 million), SP Steven Matz (two years, $15 million), OF Jake Fraley (one year, $3 million)

Key departures: SP Adrian Houser, OF Christopher Morel

Key unsigned free agents: RP Pete Fairbanks

The ever-frugal Rays have inked three major league free agent deals so far, totaling $25.5 million. The Matz deal in particular seems shrewd, as the team builds up depth in a rotation that will hopefully see Shane McClanahan return to something resembling ace-like production in 2026. Expect more deals along these lines the rest of the way as Tampa Bay looks to get back into the division mix next season.

Grade: B-

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Toronto Blue Jays

Key acquisitions: SP Dylan Cease (seven years, $210 million), SP Cody Ponce (three years, $30 million), RP Tyler Rogers (three years, $36 million)

Key departures: N/A

Key unsigned free agents: SS Bo Bichette, SP Chris Bassitt, SP Max Scherzer, RP Seranthony Dominguez

The Blue Jays made a sizable commitment with last year’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr. extension, and they’re doubling down after their World Series run. Cease commanded an ace-like contract despite his frustrating lack of consistency, but the upside is undoubtedly there, and his age and healthy track record should give him a high floor. Ponce could end up being a steal after dominating the KBO in 2025, and Rogers has been among the most consistent relief pitchers of the past five years. Re-signing Bichette or pushing their chips even further to land Kyle Tucker still feels in the realm of possibilities.

Grade: A-

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Chicago White Sox

Key acquisitions: SP Anthony Kay (two years, $12 million), RP Chris Murphy

Key departures: RP Steven Wilson, RP Tyler Alexander

Key unsigned free agents: OF Michael A. Taylor

The White Sox haven’t been remotely competitive for three years, and the moves they’ve made to date don’t appear capable of changing that. However, this is a team with only two players—the recently signed Kay and outfielder Andrew Benintendi—under contract beyond this season, which theoretically should free the front office up to start adding some proven veterans to a roster light on experience.

Grade: D+

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Kansas City Royals

Key acquisitions: OF Lane Thomas (one year, $5.25 million), OF Isaac Collins, RP Nick Mears

Key departures: OF Mike Yastrzemski, RP Angel Zerpa

Key unsigned free agents: OF MJ Melendez, UT Adam Frazier, RP Hunter Harvey

The offense-starved Royals added Collins and Thomas to give themselves more options in the outfield, and while both seem to have potential to be additive, Kansas City still needs a difference-making bat or three. Finding those solutions with their budget will take some creativity. Signing Maikel Garcia to an extension earns the front office some points.

Grade: B-

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Kenley Jansen is just two saves behind Lee Smith (478) for third on the all-time leaderboard. / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Detroit Tigers

Key acquisitions: 2B Gleyber Torres (re-signed, one year, $22 million), RP Kyle Finnegan (two years, $19 million), RP Kenley Jansen (one year, $11 million), SP Drew Anderson (one year, $7 million)

Key departures: RP Jason Foley

Key unsigned free agents: RP Tommy Kahnle, IF Andy Ibañez

The Tigers had a need for bullpen help last season, and seemed to get the best out of Finnegan as a midseason trade acquisition, so it made sense to re-sign him. Adding Jansen gives Detroit another ninth-inning option. Torres put up numbers in line with his career averages with better peripherals than he had in 2024, so him accepting the qualifying offer was a solid outcome for the club. Some more offensive firepower is needed, though, particularly on the infield.

Grade: B

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Cleveland Guardians

Key acquisitions: N/A

Key departures: RP Sam Hentges

Key unsigned free agents: RP Kolby Allard, SP Ben Lively

To date, the Guardians spent a total of $6.4 million on three free agents: $4 million to re-sign catcher Austin Hedges, and $2.4 million split on relief pitchers Connor Brogdon and Colin Holderman, who combined for -0.8 fWAR in 2025. Needless to say, that just won’t do if Cleveland wants to contend for the division next year. This roster desperately needs bats—and at this rate, they aren’t in a position to be too picky.

Grade: F

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Minnesota Twins

Key acquisitions: 1B Josh Bell (one year, $7 million), C Alex Jackson, RP Eric Orze

Key departures: N/A

Key unsigned free agents: N/A

The Twins’ trade deadline fire sale last July was a difficult pill for the fan base to swallow, and in an offseason that’s seen some new minority owners come into the fold, it’s clearly a bit of a transitional time for the franchise. Their inactivity so far reflects that, and therefore a winter of modest, short-term deals seems most likely to be what’s in store in the months ahead.

Grade: D

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Los Angeles Angels

Key acquisitions: SP Grayson Rodriguez, SP Alek Manoah, RP Drew Pomeranz, RP Jordan Romano

Key departures: LF Taylor Ward, RP Kenley Jansen, SP Kyle Hendricks

Key unsigned free agents: 3B Yoan Moncada, IF Luis Rengifo, SP Tyler Anderson

The Angels appear stuck in their ways, scrambling to find as many Band-Aids as they can to plug the gaping holes of a ship that’s long been taking on water. New manager Kurt Suzuki and GM Perry Minasian are each on one-year deals, giving 2026 a make-or-break feel to it. To that end, the front office is spending modestly on players with risky profiles, headlined by Rodriguez and Manoah, young starters who once showed high upside but did not pitch at all last season. Looming over it all is the civil trial between the organization and the Tyler Skaggs family, which could see the team pay nine figures in damages. Add it up, and it’s business as usual for MLB’s most dysfunctional franchise.

Grade: D-

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Athletics

Key acquisitions: RP Mark Leiter Jr.

Key departures: N/A

Key unsigned free agents: RP Sean Newcomb, OF JJ Bleday

The A’s have the look of a frisky ascendent team budding with young talent on the offensive side, so it would seem prudent to add some reinforcements to the pitching staff. That hasn’t happened yet, and until it does, this team seems destined to remain near the bottom of the division standings.

Grade: D+

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Brandon Nimmo was traded by the Mets to the Ranges for Marcus Semien in the offseason’s biggest trade yet. / John Jones-Imagn Images

Texas Rangers

Key acquisitions: OF Brandon Nimmo, C Danny Jansen, RP Tyler Alexander

Key departures: 2B Marcus Semien, SP Merrill Kelly, RP Phil Maton, RP Hoby Milner, OF Adolis Garcia

Key unsigned free agents: SP Tyler Mahle, SP Patrick Corbin, RP Danny Coulombe, RP Shawn Armstrong

Despite leading the majors with a 3.49 ERA last year, Texas needs to bring in some additions to its pitching staff after seeing Kelly, Maton and Milner leave in free agency. A proven closer figures to be high on the list, as does starting pitching depth behind veterans Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi, each with a lengthy injury history. Swapping Semien for Nimmo should help bolster the outfield, and the team could still look for external options at second base.

Grade: C+

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Houston Astros

Key acquisitions: SP Ryan Weiss, SS Nick Allen

Key departures: IF Mauricio Dubón 

Key unsigned free agents: SP Framber Valdez, C Victor Caratini, RP Craig Kimbrel, IF Ramón Urías

Adding Weiss, a 29-year-old who posted two strong seasons in the KBO, was a nice depth piece for a rotation that could use a couple more sure things behind incumbent ace Hunter Brown (assuming Valdez will eventually land elsewhere). There are still several mid-tier starting pitchers available, and Houston will need to land at least one of them to earn passing marks after seeing its eight-year postseason streak end in 2025.

Grade: C-

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Seattle Mariners

Key acquisitions: 1B Josh Naylor (re-signed, five years, $92.5 million)

Key departures: 2B Jorge Polanco, RP Caleb Ferguson

Key unsigned free agents: 3B Eugenio Suárez, C Mitch Garver

Seattle’s run to the ALCS was fueled by two crucial midseason trades that netted Naylor and Suarez, bolstering an offense that had been in need of upgrades for years. Making re-signing Naylor a priority showed that the Mariners’ front office learned its lesson well, and it made a wise financial commitment to a left-handed hitter who owns a 123 wRC+ over the past four seasons and is only 28 years old (and is now a 30–30 threat, apparently). More additions are likely to come, particularly in the wake of Polanco’s signing with the Mets, but, like the Blue Jays, this appears to be a team that’s not content with last October’s success being a flash in the pan.

Grade: A-

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