Handing out offseason grades: American League

With Opening Day a week away and almost all notable moves already made, we hand out offseason grades for each American League team.

Here are the NL grades.

Baltimore Orioles

It can be argued the Orioles should have added another big bat, but their offense is in a very good position given that Jordan Westburg, Colton Cowser, and Jackson Holliday, among others, are knocking on the door. What the Orioles really needed was an ace, and they found him. Adding Burnes, a former Cy Young winner, to front the rotation changes the dynamic for the young O's as they look to build off last year's 101-win season. General manager Mike Elias did what he had to do this winter, and his club is the AL East favorite as a result.

Boston Red Sox

Craig Breslow was busy in his first offseason running the Red Sox, but that doesn't mean he was successful. The trade of Sale for Grissom, who will start the season on the IL, was a nice piece of business given where Boston stands these days, as was the acquisition of two-time Gold Glove left fielder O'Neill. Unfortunately, the team's biggest signing, Giolito, will likely miss the season following elbow surgery, and his absence significantly weakens the rotation. There are still plenty of questions here, and even if they overachieve, the Red Sox head into the season as the obvious weak link in the AL East.

Chicago White Sox

The White Sox were certainly active this offseason. New GM Chris Getz put his stamp on the club's rebuild, saying goodbye to franchise linchpins Cease, Anderson, and Hendriks. It will be interesting to see how Getz proceeds from here, with Eloy Jiménez still looking like a prime trade candidate. The acquisition of Fletcher from Arizona looks like a heady move, as Fletcher looks to be the club's right fielder heading into the season and could emerge as a reliable contributor in 2024. Manager Pedro Grifol will have an overhauled rotation with three new additions sliding in. Soroka, Flexen, and Fedde will need to acclimate to their new surroundings, but the addition of veteran catcher Maldonado should help expedite the process.

Cleveland Guardians

The Guardians trudged through a disappointing 2023 season and didn't do anything to improve their fortunes heading into 2024. Carrasco's return is a nice story, but it's hard to see him offering much to a rotation loaded with talent. Barlow struggled to a 4.37 ERA last season after posting a 2.42 ERA and 2.18 ERA in the previous two campaigns. He should give rookie manager Stephen Vogt a strong setup option ahead of All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase.

Detroit Tigers

If the Tigers finally start to turn the corner in 2024, it will largely be thanks to the growth of the young players they've developed. Detroit didn't venture too deep into the free-agent pool, instead signing and trading for some lower-priced veterans with high-reward upside who fit well in the young clubhouse. It was a bit of a surprise to not see them push harder to re-sign Eduardo Rodriguez, who would have fit nicely as a No. 2 behind Tarik Skubal. Still, the Tigers are a better team than they were last year, and that's worth something to a team that's been plodding through a painful rebuild.

Houston Astros

The Astros had no left-handers in their bullpen last year. Now, they have the best of them all after their stunning signing of Hader in January. Hader and Ryan Pressly form one of the most formidable late-inning duos in the AL, a huge development for an Astros team that enters 2024 with questions in the rotation behind Framber Valdez. Extending Altuve was a nice piece of business. Overall, the Astros stayed quiet this winter, but they really didn't need to do much. This machine should keep right on chugging.

Kansas City Royals

The Royals had one of their best and most aggressive offseasons in franchise history. Wacha and Lugo don't have a ton of upside at this stage of their careers but will give the team a chance to be competitive every time they take the ball. Royals starting pitchers finished in the bottom three in K/9 and ERA last season, so rotation upgrades were needed. Meanwhile, Renfroe and Frazier are reliable veterans to surround Kansas City's young offensive core, headlined by superstar shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., who's locked in with a $288.8-million extension.

Los Angeles Angels

It's hard to view a team's offseason as anything other than a catastrophe after seeing the best baseball player depart. There is simply no replacing Ohtani. The Angels are counting on Mike Trout to stay healthy and return to MVP form after missing significant time due to injuries in each of the last three seasons. GM Perry Minsasian seemed to place most of his focus on the bullpen, bringing in reliable veterans Stephenson and Moore. The Angels have finished fourth in the AL West in six of the past eight seasons and seem destined for another fourth-place finish in 2024.

Minnesota Twins

The Twins entered the offseason on a high after snapping their infamous playoff losing streak, but it feels like they squandered a golden opportunity. Instead of seizing the moment and bringing in more top-tier talent to help Carlos Correa, Royce Lewis, et al, Minnesota let Gray walk in free agency while only making marginal additions. DeSclafani, acquired in a trade for longtime infield stalwart Polanco, is now poised to start his season on the injured list. The Twins are lucky they play in the weak AL Central, where they're almost guaranteed to contend no matter how bad an offseason they might have had.

New York Yankees

Any team that trades for Soto is going to have a good offseason. The Yankees didn't stop there, though, making several other shrewd pickups. Stroman, a veteran of the AL East ringer and ground-ball pitcher, and the left-handed hitting Verdugo are both great fits for Yankee Stadium. They may not be a perfect team, and Gerrit Cole's health may ultimately decide their fate, but there's no doubt Brian Cashman improved the Yankees.

Oakland Athletics

With their future up in the air, the Athletics weren't expected to do much this winter, but they benefited from a chilly free-agent market when they signed Davis to a one-year deal for just $2.5 million. Wood and Stripling should help raise the floor on a rotation that finished 29th in ERA (5.74) and 30th in fWAR (1.8) last season.

Seattle Mariners

The Mariners improved their offense without spending a ton of money. Polanco and Garver bring more balanced approaches to a lineup that desperately needed to decrease the strikeouts, while Haniger - now in his second stint with Seattle - is presumably more comfortable hitting at T-Mobile Park than Hernández was last year. Their grade would have been higher had Jerry Dipoto secured an even bigger bat to pair with Julio Rodríguez.

Tampa Bay Rays

The Rays shipped Glasnow to the Dodgers with only one year of team control remaining. Pepiot struggled in his first spring with the Rays but showed flashes of his potential during a stint with the Dodgers last season. The Rays' track record of maximizing returns for relievers should give fans a lot of confidence that Maton can replace much of what Stephenson did during his 2023 breakout. It is a bit of a surprise that the Rays didn't do more to fortify the rotation, which will be without Shane McClanahan, Jeffrey Springs, and Drew Rasmussen for most or all of 2024.

Texas Rangers

The defending World Series champions didn't do much this winter. Some uncertainty surrounding their television broadcast rights may have contributed to some trepidation from ownership. Lorenzen, who signed a one-year deal this week, will at least give Texas some much-needed rotation depth in the wake of injuries to Mahle, Max Scherzer, and Jacob deGrom. But he's hardly a game-changing starter. A reunion with Montgomery, who's still a free agent, would change the offseason narrative, though this feels even more unlikely to happen after the Lorenzen signing.

Toronto Blue Jays

The Blue Jays didn't do much to drum up excitement among the fan base this offseason. It's hard to look at the moves GM Ross Atkins made and see how the team has improved since last season. The two-year, $15-million contract given to Kiner-Falefa raised eyebrows at the time and has only grown more dubious given the numerous veterans who have since been forced to take one-year deals. Hitting with runners in scoring position was a major sore spot in 2023, but Turner should help in that regard. It will be interesting to see if Votto can earn a spot on the 40-man roster at some point. His power from the left side would be a major addition if the Toronto native can show he has something left in the tank.