Ranking the Offseasons: AL

These rankings - which are scaled to the league - are based on what has happened to each team since the final out of the World Series was recorded, including free agent signings, releases, non-tenders, trades, and retirements.

1) Boston Red Sox

Retained: RP Andrew Miller, DH David Ortiz, C Jason Varitek

Added: RP Bobby Jenks, RP Dan Wheeler, 1B Adrian Gonzalez, OF Carl Crawford

Lost: SP Casey Kelly, C Victor Martinez, 1B Anthony Rizzo, 2B Felipe Lopez, 3B Adrian Beltre, OF Reymond Fuentes

Recap: Boston signed the premier outfielder on the market and acquired one of the game's best hitters without having to sacrifice anything from their Major League roster. They did lose Beltre to the Rangers but after acquiring Gonzalez had no place to start him without having to move Kevin Youkilis to the bench.

Grade for 2011: A+. AGonz and Crawford should be worth five wins each, and the Sox should be disappointed with anything less than 98 wins in '11.

Grade Beyond 2011: B+. Although they dealt highly-rated prospects (read: not sure things) for him, AGonz will only be 28 on Opening Day. Crawford will be 29. They could easily form the nucleus in Beantown for the next seven years. They are docked points for having to surrender their first rounder in 2011.

2) Chicago White Sox:

Retained: RP Matt Thornton, C AJ Pierzynski, C Ramon Castro, 1B Paul Konerko, 3B Omar Vizquel

Added: RP Jesse Crain, RP Will Ohman, DH Adam Dunn

Lost: SP Freddy Garcia, RP JJ Putz, RP Bobby Jenks, OF Andruw Jones

Recap: The South Siders solidified the bullpen (addition by subtraction with Jenks) and added a run-producing DH that routinely crushes 40 homers per season.

Grade for 2011: A-. This is my sleeper team in '11. If the pitching staff can hold up over the course of the season, they are the best value on the board to win the World Series (30:1).

Grade Beyond 2011: C. Giving Konerko a three-year deal (he'll be 35 on Opening Day) was a major risk despite his career year in 2010. They are docked points for having to surrender their first rounder in 2011.

3) Oakland A's:

Retained: 2B Mark Ellis, OF Coco Crisp

Added: SP Rich Harden, SP Brandon McCarthy, RP Brian Fuentes, RP Grant Belfour, OF Josh Willingham, DH Hideki Matsui

Lost: SP Justin Duchscherer, SP Ben Sheets, 3B Eric Chavez, OF Travis Buck, DH Jack Cust

Recap: The underrated Willingham goes to his third team (Marlins, Nats) that plays in a pitcher's park. Despite this, he still mashes to the tune of a 265 BA / .267 OBP / .475 Slg triple-slash. However, injuries have been his nemesis as he has never played in more than 144 games and hasn't been healthy for a full season since 2007. Oakland also strengthened the 'pen with Balfour and Fuentes. The gambler in me loves the pair of lottery tickets they bought in Harden and McCarthy.

Grade for 2011: B+. Cust was the only player they lost that contributed positively in 2010.

Grade Beyond 2011: B. The A's did not lock themselves into any foolish long-term deals. They went to two-years on Balfour and Fuentes, but I much prefer them to the three-year Rafael Soriano deal. They are docked points for having to surrender their first rounder in 2011.

4) Detroit Tigers:

Retained: DH Magglio Ordonez, 3B Brandon Inge, 3B Jhonny Peralta

Added: SP Brad Penny, RP Joaquin Benoit, C Victor Martinez

Lost: SP Jeremy Bonderman, SP Armando Galarraga, C Gerald Laird, OF Johnny Damon

Recap: VMart will provide stability and switch-hitability in the middle of the lineup between Miguel Cabrera and Magglio. Benoit will be the bridge to closer Jose Valverde. Penny is a risk worth taking as a fifth starter.

Grade for 2011: B. In 2010, the Tigers' catchers triple-slashed an abysmal .223 / .294 / .330. Martinez's career numbers: .302 / .351 / .493.

Grade Beyond 2011: C. Giving Victor Martinez four years was risky since the catcher will be 32 on Opening Day - meaning a transition to DH will likely be in his near future. Not crazy about the three-year deal for Benoit, either. They are also docked points for having to surrender their first rounder in 2011.

5) Baltimore Orioles

Retained: RP Koji Uehara, SS Cesar Izturis

Added: RP Kevin Gregg, RP Jeremy Accardo, 1B Derrek Lee, 2B Brendan Harris, SS JJ Hardy, 3B Mark Reynolds

Lost: SP Kevin Millwood, RP Mark Hendrickson, 3B Miguel Tejada, 3B Ty Wigginton

Recap: Put simply, the O's got better. Unfortunately, they reside in a division home to the league's two biggest spenders and the league's smartest spenders.

Grade for 2011: B-. Reynolds will strike out a ton, but he'll also provide a power threat.

Grade Beyond 2011: B. Baltimore didn't rock the boat. The deal for Lee is only for one year, and they resisted whatever urge they might have had to overpay an aging veteran with "name" value (see Atkins, Garrett or Tejada, Miguel).

6) Texas Rangers:

Retained: C Matt Treanor

Added: SP Brandon Webb, RP Arthur Rhodes, C Yorvit Torrealba, 3B Adrian Beltre

Lost: SP Cliff Lee, SP Rich Harden, C Bengie Molina, OF Jeff Francouer, OF Vlad Guerrero

Recap: A really interesting winter for the American League champs. They basically swapped out Cliff Lee for Adrian Beltre, a reasonable move considering the money involved. I like the risk they took on Brandon Webb although the chances of it failing are at least eight times (very scientific) the chances that he returns to his Cy Young form.

Grade for 2011: B-. Lee is a workhorse and the responsibility of replacing him will need to be spread among either inexperienced arms (think Derek Holland) or aging vets (Webb). replacing Vlad won't be so simple either as he OPS+'d 122.

Grade Beyond 2011: B. If given the choice, I like the idea of giving huge money to a position player rather than a pitcher.

7) Seattle Mariners:

Retained: SP Erik Bedard

Added: DH Jack Cust, C Miguel Olivo, 2B Adam Kennedy

Lost: SP Ryan Rowland-Smith, 1B Casey Kotchmann, 2B Jose Lopez, DH Russell Branyan

Recap: A pretty ho hum offseason in the Pacific Northwest. They improve slightly at DH. They could also catch a huge break if Milton Bradley's arrest qualifies as a breach of contract.

Grade for 2011: C+. Status quo.

Grade Beyond 2011: C+. They didn't do anything dumb (like signing Chone Figgins) or anything really dumb (like trading Kng Felix).

8) Minnesota Twins:

Retained: DH Jim Thome, OF Jason Kubel, SP Carl Pavano

Added: 2B Tsuyoshi Nishioka, one first rounder, and five supplemental first rounders as a result of losing free agents

Lost: RP Jesse Crain, RP Brian Fuentes, RP Matt Guerrier, RP Jon Rauch, 2B Orlando Hudson

Recap: Losing four key performers out of the bullpen will hurt, but remember they get Joe Nathan back (hopefully). Nishioka will be a younger, cheaper, better version of Hudson.

Grade for 2011: C. This grade is based on Carl Pavano re-signing.

Grade Beyond 2011: B. The draft picks really soften the blow of losing some key performers out of the 'pen.

9) New York Yankees

Retained: RP Mariano Rivera, SS Derek Jeter
Added: RP Rafael Soriano, RP Pedro Feliciano, C Russell Martin
Lost: SP Andy Pettitte, SP Javier Vazquez, SP Dustin Moseley, RP Kerry Wood, RP Alfredo Aceves, 1B Lance Berkman, 1B Nick Johnson, OF Marcus Thames
Recap: The Yankees' offseason will be best known for what they didn't do: sign Cliff Lee or Carl Crawford. After missing on the big fish(es), GM Brian Cashman focused on solidifying a bullpen that was actually very good last season (3.57 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 7.7 K/9) especially considering they played half their games in a bandbox. However, it cost them dearly - $30m for Rivera and $35m plus their first rounder for Soriano.
The Yanks also added Martin with the hope he could revive his career; he's only two years removed from a .280 BA / .385 OBP season, but it's rare to see a catcher bounce back once the inevitable decline begins.
Overall, there's not much to get excited about. They lost more talent than they acquired and both Jeter and Rivera are on the downswings of storied careers. With this roster they have right now and the lack of starting pitching depth, winning 95 games again this season will be a challenge
Grade for 2011: C-. Focus should have been on starting, not relief pitching.
Grade Beyond 2011: D. Despite talk of not wanting to sign a free agent that would require them to give up their first rounder, the Yanks signed Soriano and did just that.

10) Los Angeles Angels:

Retained: N/A

Added: RP Scott Downs, RP Hisanori Takahashi

Lost: DH Hideki Matsui

Recap: Always a bridesmaid, never a bride. The story of every offseason in recent memory for the Angels. I detailed all of their "near" misses and still haven't been able to explain the lack of success in obtaining talent.

Grade for 2011: D+. Are Downs and Takahashi difference makers? At least they didn't lose any big names this year.

Grade Beyond 2011: C-. Giving Takahashi a two year deal when he will be 36 on Opening Day makes little sense. Giving Downs a three-year deal when he will be 35 on Opening Day makes even less.

11) Cleveland Indians:

Retained: N/A

Added: SS Adam Everett, OF Austin Kearns, OF Travis Buck

Lost: N/A

Recap: Being a fan in Cleveland right now is not enviable. I actually have no idea how the Indians plan to improve this season or beyond. Their three "moves" are all short-term fixes with very limited upside. A really bad offseason for the Tribe considering they won 69 games last year. In my mind, they have three players to build around: Grady Sizemore, Carlos Santana, and Shin-Soo Choo (two missed a large chunk of the year with injury). They need help.

Grade for 2011: D. A head-scratching offseason. It's almost like they aren't trying. Do something, anything. Buy out Hafner. Sign an international free agent. Come on.

Grade Beyond 2011: D. No discernable effort was made to improve the team leng-term either. Santana can't turn this ship around by himself.

12) Toronto Blue Jays

Retained: RP Jason Frasor, C Jose Molina, 3B Edwin Encarnacion

Added: RP Octavio Dotel, RP Carlos Villanueva, 2B Brett Lawrie, OF Rajai Davis, OF Corey Patterson, four supplemental first rounders, one second rounder as a result of losing free agents

Lost: SP Shaun Marcum, RP Jeremy Accardo, RP Scott Downs, RP Kevin Gregg, C John Buck, C Miguel Olivo, 1B Lyle Overbay

Recap: Toronto's moves this offseason were made with 2012 in mind. If you need proof, look no further than the brilliant move to trade for Miguel Olivo and offer him arbitration knowing he would decline, giving them a supplemental first rounder when he signed with the Mariners (he was a Type B free agent). Unfortunately, that won't help at all this year.

Grade for 2011: D. They lost their catcher, their entire bullpen, and their number two starter. Not a winning combo.

Grade Beyond 2011: B+. Lawrie plus picks should help immensely long-term.

13) Kansas City Royals:
Retained: 3B Wilson Betemit

Added: SP Jeff Francis, SP Jake Odorizzi, RP Jeremy Jeffress, SS Alcides Escobar, OF Melky Cabrera, OF Jeff Francouer, OF Lorenzo Cain

Lost: SP Zack Greinke, SP Gil Meche, SP Bruce Chen, SS Yuniesky Betancourt

Recap: They traded an established ace for four prospects (none of whom is considered "can't miss") and added two terrible outfielders. Hey, at least they brought back Wilson Betemit. Oh that's right, it's not 2002 (that whole list is pretty laughable right now).

Grade for 2011: D-. Talk about waving the white flag before the season starts. This team has about as much hope of contending as their pitching staff does of keeping their ERA below 5: none. A wasted season.

Grade Beyond 2011: C-. Greinke is only 27 years old and under team control for a reasonable price through 2012. Are they really better off trading him than they would be trying to convince him to stick around with all the talent they have coming up through the system? I still am unclear what the rush to trade him was all about unless he demanded it.

14) Tampa Bay Rays

Retained: RP JP Howell

Added: RP Joel Peralta, RP Chris Archer, C Robinson Chirinos, SS Hak Ju-Lee, OF Brandon Gruyer, three first rounders, seven supplemental first rounders as a result of losing free agents

Lost: SP Matt Garza, RP Rafael Soriano, RP Randy Choate, RP Chad Qualls, RP Grant Balfour, RP Joaquin Benoit, 1B Carlos Pena, SS Jason Bartlett, OF Carl Crawford, OF Brad Hawpe, OF Fernando Perez

Recap: This offseason will be known as the exodus. They lost their best player (and outfielder), their first baseman, their shortstop, their number two starter, their closer, and half the bullpen. I will venture to guess that no team in history lost more talent (Florida's firesales of the 90's notwithstanding).

Grade for 2011: F. Way too much talent lost.

Grade Beyond 2011: A-. The Garza trade netted them four decent prospects, and they will dominate the early part of the 2011 Draft.

The National League rankings will follow next week.

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