These four MLB teams have some critical decisions to make this winter after experiencing various levels of success.
The MLB postseason is nearing its end, as the World Series starts on Friday. But for these four teams that fell far short of the ultimate goal, they have some busy offseason schedules ahead of them to prepare for the 2025 season. While two of them made the playoffs and two didn’t, all of them are somewhat in a state of flux.
Baltimore Orioles (91-71)
The Orioles reached the postseason in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1997, but fans weren’t exactly satisfied with this team. Unlike the past two years where the Birds beat expectations, they fell short in 2024. Also unlike 2022 and 2023, the O’s dealt with tons of injuries, especially in the rotation, but the offense did not show up in their two Wild Card losses, and those were the two games that mattered most.
Baltimore is still in a good position, but the disappointing finish led to a few changes on the coaching staff. Most notably, Manager Brandon Hyde is now looking for a new bench coach and hitting coach. But the key decisions this winter lie in the hands of GM Mike Elias. Stars SP Corbin Burnes and OF Anthony Santander are both entering free agency, and Elias must decide whether to pay up to bring them back. If not, then he needs to replace the production of a true ace and the lineup’s home run leader. SP Max Fried would be a slightly cheaper option than Burnes, and the Orioles might be counting on a breakout from OF Heston Kjerstad.
Fortunately, the front office will be working with a bigger budget this time around. New owner David Rubenstein recently said that because he is older than most people when they buy a team, he must “speed up the effort” to win a World Series. That tracks with Elias’s comments from the beginning of the month that he expects payroll to increase. It is unclear to what extent the Orioles will be increasing payroll, but fans can be cautiously optimistic that the O’s will spend near the top of the MLB free agent market. Besides from adding to the rotation, Elias also needs to remake a very unreliable bullpen, but at least CP Felix Bautista will be returning in 2025.
Atlanta Braves (89-73)
Atlanta is in a similar position to Baltimore. The team of the South is coming off a good-not-great year where they also got swept in the Wild Card round. The Braves barely even got that far, as they clinched a playoff spot in their final game, a day after the MLB regular season ended, and angering the Arizona Diamondbacks in the process. Atlanta also dealt with a rash of injuries this season concentrated in their biggest stars, creating a talent vacuum difficult to fill. PBO Alex Anthopoulos, who successfully remade the team on the fly in 2021, tried the same thing this year. But acquiring freely available veterans is not a sustainable strategy. OF Ramon Laureano, 2B Whit Merrifield, OF Eddie Rosario, 3B Gio Urshela, and 2B Cavan Biggio would have made a nice lineup in 2018, but not now.
Struggling to replace production from injured players isn’t just bad luck, it’s also a fault of roster construction. Atlanta entered the season with little depth, and it came back to bite them. The front office might be tempted to run it back and count on better health for an additional ten wins, but that would be short sighted. I think Anthopoulos needs to make a more concerted effort to improve the bench this offseason, He should sign someone like 2B Donovan Solano rather continue claiming SS Zack Short types off of waivers.
Atlanta’s other main problem lies in the rotation and player development. Many of their pitching prospects have shot through the minor leagues, but SP Spencer Strider is really the only one who has held down a rotation spot. SPs Dylan Dodd, Ian Anderson, AJ Smith-Shawver, and SP Bryce Elder were all top prospects, but now they look like backend starters at best. SP Spencer Schwellenbach will need to break the trend, or else SP Chris Sale must repeat his Cy Young-type performance.
Cincinnati Reds (77-85)
After finishing 82-80 in 2023, the Reds expected to compete for a playoff spot. Instead, they dropped back below .500 and fired Manager David Bell for the lackluster results. Cincinnati must figure out what went wrong, but now they have the best possible man to lead them to October. The Reds quickly hired Terry Francona to be the new manager when many people–including me–thought he was retired for good. As long as Francona is confident he is healthy enough to manage, then this is an excellent move to bring in an experienced voice and player-oriented manager to guide a young roster.
Speaking of that young roster, the promising position players from 2023 looked like different people this season. SS Elly De La Cruz turned into a superstar, but he was the only one who improved. OF Spencer Steer, OF Will Benson, 3B Noelvi Marte, and 1B Christian Encarnacion-Strand all really struggled. Plus, Marte served a suspension for half the season, and CES was hurt most of the time. It is up to Francona and the coaching staff to get these four back on track while counting on bounce backs from 3B Jeimer Candelario, OF TJ Friedl, and OF Jake Fraley.
The encouraging development is that the rotation is now in pretty good shape. SP Hunter Greene took a step forward and made the All-Star team. SP Andrew Abbott solidified himself as a mid-rotation starter, and SP Rhett Lowder had a sparkling debut just one year after being drafted. But, the Reds will need to give SP Nick Martinez a raise or find another solid starter to replace him. The bones of a good MLB team are here, but PBO Nick Krall needs to be more aggressive on the market.
Oakland Athletics (69-93)
To the chagrin of local fans, the A’s are officially leaving Oakland. They played their final home game in late September to a mix of cheers tears and now head down the parkway to Sacramento. The A’s will have a busy offseason for literal on-the-field reasons, as the organization and MLB must prepare Sutter Health Park for major league games. That starts with a decision this week to play on grass instead of turf, though they will also need to improve the clubhouses and facilities. The plan is to spend three years in the capital of California, but we’ll see if the ballpark in Las Vegas will be ready by 2028.
In the meantime, the A’s are actually on an upward trajectory as a ball club. They improved by 19 wins and passed the Los Angeles Angels for fourth place in the AL West. Mark Kotsay has had to be patient as manager, but it is clear he is the right person to guide this team through the rebuild. The A’s took a step forward at the plate and on the mound, and they now have a couple of recognizable stars. Late bloomer OF Brent Rooker had a .927 OPS in a pitcher’s park, while rookie CP Mason Miller emerged as one of the most electric pitchers in MLB.
The A’s still have a long way to go to contend in a crowded division, and their farm system is still one of the weakest in the league. But for the first time since the tear down started, the makings of a good team are present on the roster. In which city they will next play a postseason game is still unclear at the moment.
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