Faces in new places
GERRIT COLE
Signed nine-year, $324 million deal with New York Yankees: Since being traded to Houston, Cole has metamorphosed into one of baseball’s best pitchers. In 2019, Cole totaled career bests in innings pitched (212-1/3), strikeouts (326), ERA (2.50) and WAR (6.8). The Cy Young runner-up was just as dominant in October, recording a 1.72 ERA in five postseason starts. Cole will now take all the lessons learned from Houston’s analytically-driven front office and bring them to the Bronx, forming arguably the best pitching staff in all of baseball. With a tripledigit fastball coupled with a knuckle curve, slider and changeup, Cole is as unhittable as they come.
MOOKIE BETTS
Traded to Los Angeles Dodgers from Boston Red Sox: Only two players have accrued more than 30 FWAR since 2015. One is Mike Trout. The other is Betts. Now, two of the game’s best outfielders play in Southern California. Betts is a legitimate five-tool player with potential to post another 10+ WAR season. Over the last four seasons, Betts has hit .305/.382/.535 and averaged 29 home runs, 94 RBIS and 24 steals, good for an OPS+ of 139. Now in the National League, there’s a legitimate chance Betts joins Frank Robinson and becomes the second player to win MVP in both leagues.
ANTHONY RENDON
Signed seven-year, $245 million deal with Los Angeles Angels: Fresh off a legendary World Series performance, Rendon heads West to give Mike Trout a legitimate, in-his-prime complementary superstar. Since 2017, Rendon has been one of the steadiest bats in the league, hitting .310/.397/.556 and averaging 28 home runs and 106 RBIS.
His 19.9 FWAR is the highest of any third baseman over the last three seasons. The signing gives Los Angeles a deadly trio featuring Trout, Rendon and Shohei Ohtani with Jo Adell, MLB Pipeline’s No. 6 prospect, waiting in the wings.
MADISON BUMGARNER
Signed five-year, $85 million deal with Arizona Diamondbacks: Of all the players who changed jerseys this offseason, none had as much of an attachment to his former club as Bumgarner did with the Giants. He helped bring home three titles and etched his name into baseball lore with arguably the most spectacular pitching performance in World Series history.
Bumgarner, along with batterymate Buster Posey, were the faces of the Giants’ dynasty. But given the state of affairs in San Francisco, it was time for Bumgarner and the Giants to move on from one another. Bumgarner has slightly regressed since the infamous dirt biking accident in 2017, but he has never suffered a pitching-related injury and is coming off a season in which he had a respectable 3.90 ERA and 3.2 FWAR over 2072/3 innings.
YASMANI GRANDAL, DALLAS KEUCHEL, EDWIN ENCARNACIÓN Acquired by White Sox in free agency: The White Sox cast the first stone of the offseason then kept on firing, immediately ending any concerns of another slow offseason. Chicago not only signed Grandal, Keuchel and Encarnación, but inked deals with Jose Abreu and Luis Robert, MLB Pipeline’s No. 3 overall prospect. Grandal is arguably the best catcher in baseball. Keuchel is a former Cy Young Award winner who brings legitimacy to the Sox’s rotation. Encarnación can still mash and has eight straight seasons of at least 32 home runs. They might be a year away from postseason contention, but this winter was a declaration that they’re ready to contend.
NICHOLAS CASTELLANOS, MIKE MOUSTAKAS
Signed with Cincinnati Reds: Much like the Chicago White Sox, the Cincinnati Reds were equally aggressive in the offseason, signing threetime All-star Mike Moustakas and Nicholas Castellanos to multi-year deals. Moustakas and Castellanos have been two of the game’s premier power hitters over the last two seasons, averaging 34 and 25 home runs since 2017, respectively. The Reds also signed Japanese outfielder Shogo Akiyama and starting pitcher Wade Miley and those additions, plus the acquisition of Trevor Bauer at last year’s trade deadline, give Cincinnati the makings of a contender in the NL Central.