The 2025 MLB season is set for the second half after the All-Star break, which makes it the perfect time to look back at the biggest stories of the offseason.
This past winter saw a number of massive signings and trades that reshaped the league. Since we have a pretty good idea how a lot of those deals have turned out already, here are our grades for the biggest moves of the offseason:
Mets sign Juan Soto
The biggest story of the offseason was Soto’s decision to sign the largest contract in professional sports history with the Mets. The four-time All-Star landed a 15-year, $765 million deal but opened the season slowly. After that uncharacteristic start, he began to come on in June and now looks like himself. Since May 31, Soto is slashing .311/.456/.674 with 15 home runs, 30 RBIs and a 1.130 OPS. That explosion helped him become the National League Player of the Month in June.
While Soto has rounded into form, his fWAR (2.9) ranks 28th among MLB hitters, which holds this grade down. He’s 11th among hitters in WAR (3.9), so that metric seems to like him more, and his 155 wRC+ ranks seventh.
Check back at the end of the season; it’s highly likely this grade will be higher.
Grade: B
Cubs trade for Kyle Tucker
The Cubs made the biggest trade of the offseason, landing Kyle Tucker from the Houston Astros. The 28-year-old outfielder has been excellent for his new team, slashing .280/.384/.499 with 17 home runs, 56 RBIs and an OPS of .882. His 4.0 WAR ranks fourth in the NL, and he’s helped lead Chicago to the top of the National League. Sounds like a huge win, right? Well, not completely.
To land Tucker, the Cubs had to surrender a lot of talent and it’s looking like this could be a deal that helps both franchises. The Astros received Isaac Paredes, 2024 first-round pick Cam Smith and righty Hayden Wesneski. While Wesneski underwent Tommy John surgery in May, Paredes made the All-Star team and Smith debuted and has surprised as a rookie. Paredes has produced 2.6 WAR and Smith is up to 2.2.
While Tucker is set to hit free agency this winter and is looking at a massive payday, Houston will have Paredes for two more years and Smith is under team control through 2030. The Cubs did well to get Tucker, but the Astros did better as of now.
Cubs grade: B+
Astros grade: A
Yankees sign Max Fried
The Yankees made a splash after losing Soto by inking Fried to the biggest contract ever for a lefthanded pitcher. His eight-year, $218 million deal sent the message that New York was still open for business. The 31-year-old has been worth it so far.
Fried finished the first half at 11-3 with a 2.43 ERA, a 1.01 WHIP, and 113 strikeouts against 27 walks in 122 innings. He’s tied for the MLB lead in wins, his 2.9 fWAR ranks sixth in the American League and his FIP (3.02) is tied for fourth in the AL. Most importantly, Fried stepped in as the Yankees’ ace with Gerrit Cole out for the season following Tommy John surgery. He has taken on that mantle and run with it.
Fried made his third All-Star team and has cemented himself as New York’s ace entering the second half.
Grade: A-
Diamondbacks sign Corbin Burnes
The Diamondbacks went big when they signed Burnes to a six-year, $210 million contract. By landing the former NL Cy Young Award winner, Arizona signaled its intention to compete in the NL West after a disappointing 2024 campaign. It didn’t take long for disaster to strike.
Burnes pitched 11 games, going 3-2 with a 2.66 ERA, a 1.17 WHIP and 63 strikeouts in 64 ⅓ innings. Unfortunately, he left his June 1 start with elbow discomfort. A few days later the Diamondbacks announced Burnes would undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the rest of the season.
Since Burnes will miss the bulk of the 2025 campaign, this move gets an incomplete grade.
Grade: Incomplete
Red Sox trade for Garrett Crochet
In need of a true ace for the top of their rotation, the Red Sox swung big and landed Garrett Crochet from the Chicago White Sox on Dec. 11. They gave up prospects Kyle Teel, Braden Montgomery, Chase Meidroth and Wikelman Gonzalez to get the All-Star lefty, then turned around and handed him a six-year, $170 million extension. It was a huge risk for a pitcher with massive upside who had struggled with injuries and had yet to top 146 innings in a season.
So far, the deal has been a great one for Boston. Crochet was named to his second consecutive All-Star team after finishing the first half 10-4, with a 2.23 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and an MLB-leading 160 strikeouts in 129 ⅓ innings. He is building off of his breakout 2024 campaign. He’s currently second in MLB in fWAR among pitchers (4.3) and the 26-year-old is Tarik Skubal’s only real competition for the AL Cy Young award. Only Crochet’s well-documented injury history keeps me from going higher.
Grade: B+
Giants sign Willy Adames
In a move that felt like a franchise reaching, desperate to land any kind of free agent hitter, the Giants threw $182 million over seven years at Adames this offseason. The 29-year-old had been good with the Milwaukee Brewers over the past few years but his 32-home run 2024 campaign felt like a classic contract year performance.
Adames’s overall numbers look pretty grim through 96 games he’s slashing .220/.307/.373 with 12 home runs and 48 RBIs. His WAR (0.9) and fWAR (1.5) don’t look good, nor does his wRC+ of 94. But there may be hope on the horizon. Since June 22, Adames has ticked up a bit. In that time he’s slashing .286/.370/.529, with four home runs and 16 RBIs. It’s a small sample size that includes a BABIP of .356, so it may not actually be much of a turnaround, but it’s something. Giants fans can dream on the .899 OPS in that stretch as they prepare for the second half.
It’s possible with Rafael Devers now in the lineup the pressure will come off Adames and he’ll flourish, but as of now his contract looks rough.
Grade: D
Blake Snell, Roki Sasaki sign with Dodgers
We’re lumping these together because of the results. Sasaki was one of the most coveted free agents of the offseason due to his stuff and potential at 23 years old. There were warning signs during his last season in Japan that he might be injured as his velocity ticked down. There may have been something to that.
After eight starts, in which he went 1-1 with a 4.72 ERA, a 1.49 WHIP and 24 strikeouts against 22 walks in 34 ⅓ innings, Sasaki was shut down with a shoulder injury. He began throwing again before being shut down once more, and there is no timetable for him to pick up a baseball again.
Snell was a massive offseason signing. The Dodgers made the former NL Cy Young Award winner a priority and inked him to a five-year, $182 million deal in November. Unfortunately, they have gotten a total of nine innings out of him due to a shoulder injury. Snell has made two starts this season, and is 1-0 with a 2.00 ERA but, again, has only thrown nine innings so the stats are meaningless. The 32-year-old has been back throwing and could head out on a rehab assignment soon.
Given how high-profile the Snell and Sasaki signings have been, it’s remarkable the Dodgers have only gotten 43 ⅓ innings out of the two high-end hurlers. We don’t know what to make of either deal yet.
Grade: Incomplete
Red Sox sign Alex Bregman
The Red Sox waited out the market and signed Alex Bregman to a three-year, $120 million deal in February. It’s been a solid addition, despite some drama. Bregman missed the end of May and all of June due to a quad injury, but when he’s been active he’s been excellent.
In 53 games this season, Bregman is slashing .298/.380/.546, with 11 home runs and 35 RBIs. His .927 OPS and wRC+ of 153 would both be his best since 2019. The downside of Bregman’s signing was the fact that it started the sequence of events that led to Rafael Devers being traded to the Giants. Oh, and Bregman can opt-out after this season, and he may do it if he continues to put up great numbers.
In a vacuum, the signing was a good one, though Bregman missing 45 games dulls its shine a bit.
Grade: B
