2018 MLB Offseason

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AP

Fans stand above the Philadelphia Phillies bullpen before a spring training baseball game against the Atlanta Braves Wednesday, March 24, 2010 in Kissimmee, Fla. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

By John Conturso, Sophomore Sports Editor

Pitchers and Catchers are starting to report already for the 2018 MLB regular season. Now that they are starting to report, this means the up and down Offseason is almost officially over. The Offseason was quite boring and there was not a lot of key free agents that signed with teams.

The Yankees made a splash this Offseason and went all in. They started the Offseason by resigning one of their key pitchers in Masahiro Tanaka. They then decided to make the biggest and most surprising move of the Offseason, trading for Giancarlo Stanton, who is the reigning NL MVP. The Yankees barely gave up anything in the deal as they traded away Starlin Castro, who was almost out of his prime, and two measly low-level prospects. The Yankees also acquired Brandon Drury to fill their second base need since they traded Castro. The Yankees are looking ahead o the stacked 2018 free agent class.

“I honestly feel like getting Stanton and Judge together on the same team is going to be insane. They are going to break a record for home runs by a pair of teammates without a doubt. Hopefully, these two will be able to carry the Yankees to the World Series,” said sophomore and avid Yankees fan Andrew Ginart.

The Cubs made a splash in the free agency as they signed one of the best pitchers in the Free Agent pool. They signed the highly touted Yu Darvish to a monster contract. They did lose their closer Wade Davis in free agency and they will need to fill that whole either in free agency, trade, or call up someone from the minors.

The Angels were the team that possibly did the most this offseason out of any team in the league. They added beloved Japanese pitcher Shohei Otani who was being compared to the next Babe Ruth. He can hit and pitch and it will be interesting to see how they use him. They also resigned Justin Upton who they acquired last year at the trade deadline. One of the most underrated signings of the offseason was when the Angels signed Zack Cozart to just a three year deal for 37 million dollars. The Angels will look to compete with the Astros in the AL West.

The Marlins had a detrimental offseason. They tore down their whole team from just a season ago. Under the Derek Jeter ownership regime, the Marlins traded away: Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich, Marcell Ozuna, and Dee Gordon for close to nothing in return. The Marlins fans are extremely unhappy. What’s even more surprising is that even the players on the team are unhappy that they are still on the team. Look for the Marlins to be bottom dwellers in the NL this season.

The White Sox are another bottom dweller team as well. They traded most of their stars away for young prospects that they will use to their advantage in the future. They have star prospects such as Eloy Jimenez and Michael Kopech who are stars in the making. They also have young stars who are in the MLB right now such as Yoan Moncada and Lucas Giolitio. Expect the White Sox to keep tanking, but wait and see their team in the future.

The Boston Red Sox had quietly a good offseason. They signed one of the best hitters in the NL in J.D. Martinez. He had over 40 home runs last season. They also resigned Eduardo Nunez who was an all-star last season and he will look to be one of the leadoff men this year. They acquired a mediocre first baseman in Mitch Moreland who will more than surely get the job done. Other than that, the Red Sox are looking good this year as the most likely strength of their team is going to be their pitching which is led by Chris Sale who will look to capitalize on last season and finally win his first Cy Young award.

The Philadelphia Phillies are catching some of that Philly fever. Their football team just won a Super Bowl for the city and now the baseball team will like to add a baseball championship to that. The Phillies started off the offseason with the first major move when they signed Carlos Santana to a 3yr/60 million dollar contract. They needed to fill a glaring need at first base and Santana can hit home runs and play defense their. Their second biggest signing was signing Jake Arrieta to a 3yr/72 million dollar contract. He was a former Cy Young award winner and it was just recently that he won it. He will look to help guide the pitching staff and give the youngsters tips on how to be better ball players.

This MLB offseason wasn’t the flashiest offseason by far. In fact, most of the guys that signed large contracts weren’t signed until a couple weeks before spring training. Some players feel that the system is corrupt and that players should be getting their money worth for having good seasons for their respective ball clubs. The next MLB offseason should be exciting as it will have Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, Clayton Kershaw, and Josh Donaldson to name a few.