Best, worst and most puzzling moves of the MLB offseason

The Yankees won 100 games during the regular season in 2018, but to top the Red Sox and Astros, it was clear that their starting pitching needed a boost. General manager Brian Cashman made an early splash by acquiring James Paxton from Seattle for three prospects, including top-rated pitcher Justus Sheffield. It wasn't a cheap acquisition, but Paxton has shown ace upside in recent seasons.

The Red Sox wouldn't have won the World Series without Eovaldi's contribution, and there's no doubt he has immense upside after posting a 3.33 ERA in 54 innings with the team last year. However, he's been far from durable during his career, reaching 30 starts only once and topping 150 innings twice in an MLB career that started in 2011. Boston lost significant talent in their bullpen and didn't have the funds to fix it as a result of Eovaldi's $68 million deal. Time will tell if Eovaldi can stay healthy enough to be worth the money.

The now 34-year-old Tulowitzki has seen better days. He didn't play at all last season after playing only 66 games in 2017 with a .678 OPS. It's difficult to criticize the Yankees for this move, considering that the Jays are paying nearly 95 percent of his $20 million salary, but given Tulo's recent struggles, the move might end up being a bigger headache than it's worth.

Rarely has Tampa Bay made noise in the free agent market, but they finally did so this offseason by signing Morton to a two-year, $30 million contract. A late bloomer, Morton is 29-10 with a 3.36 ERA in 55 starts with Houston over the last two seasons and could be a major bargain if he can stay anywhere close to that pace.

The Tigers made many odd veteran signings this offseason, and this one was the worst. Moore is a former top prospect, but he hasn't had nearly the same velocity after arm issues, and he posted a 6.79 ERA in 102 innings with Texas last year. Somehow he still received $2.5 million from Detroit. Simply put, Moore didn't deserve an MLB contract this offseason.

There was plenty of speculation that the White Sox wanted to acquire Yonder Alonso and Jay because of their relationships with Manny Machado. Unfortunately for Chicago, Machado decided to take his talents to San Diego, and the White Sox are stuck with both players for 2019. They can both still play, but the White Sox don't look like a team ready to compete just yet. For Jay's purposes, he had a poor .678 OPS last season but is penciled in as the team's center fielder.

Quality designated hitters have been an undervalued commodity recently, with many teams preferring to use the spot to give their regulars a day off thus limiting the market for DH-only players as a result. Cruz had a bit of a down year in 2018 with Seattle but still hit 37 home runs and has hit an MLB-high 203 home runs since 2014. Even with the age risk (38), $14.3 million for a one-year deal looks like a bargain.

Minnesota struck early in spring training by adding Gonzalez to a two-year, $21 million deal. While that contract was actually less than expected, it's still a risk for a player who will serve in a utility role and has produced an OPS above .759 only once. The Twins have enviable depth but might have been better off spending the money on a proven closer.

Kansas City is still in rebuild mode and entered the offseason with a glut of outfielders. The situation became only more complicated when the Royals signed Hamilton. The former Reds center fielder is a terrific defensive player and a terror on the basepaths, but he still hasn't figured out how to hit in the majors. He's posted a sub-.300 on-base percentage in four of the last five seasons, and a strong argument can be made that the Royals had better options before signing him.

Oakland had a relatively quiet offseason but engaged in a huge three-way trade in December, a scenario that Billy Beane and Co. have become known for over the years. The A's gave up valuable bullpen and minor league depth to acquire Profar from Texas, but the upside is a potential star. Profar finally got over the hump of major shoulder issues, launching 20 home runs last year, and he was once baseball's best middle infield prospect. It's the type of bold acquisition that Oakland has to make with a below-average payroll.

Seattle had a fire sale all offseason, and some moves were better than others. The team traded Segura in only the second year of a five-year, $70 million contract after his second All-Star appearance last season. It wasn't so much the act of trading Segura that was bad, but it was the return the Mariners got from Philadelphia. Carlos Santana was just a bad contract and trade chip, while young shortstop J.P. Crawford looks like he could be a bust after struggling offensively at Triple-A.

After acquiring Carlos Santana, Seattle shipped him to Cleveland as part of a three-way deal in which they received Encarnacion and a draft pick. Most figured Encarnacion would be on the way out following the trade, but the Mariners apparently overestimated his market because he's still in their uniform in spring training. He's set to make over $21 million this year but started to show decline last year with an .810 OPS, his worst since 2011.

Realmuto had been rumored to be on the trade block for well over a year, and the Phillies were the winners of the sweepstakes. The acquisition wasn't without pain, as they sent top prospect Sixto Sanchez along with Will Stewart and Jorge Alfaro to Miami. However, Realmuto is the premier catcher in baseball, and Sanchez has already had arm issues in the low minors. Philadelphia gets two years of control for a catcher who continues to ascend.

New Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen deserves credit for trying to win, but he better hope the team wins soon. The former player agent acquired a former client in Cano, who is owed a whopping $24 million in each of the next five seasons and missed nearly half of last year for a PED suspension. New York is asking a lot of Cano, especially if ownership continues to cry poor.

The Mets didn't get much help from Todd Frazier last year, but they had a fallback with Jeff McNeil's availability as a utilityman after New York traded for Robinson Cano. Instead, the Mets signed Lowrie to a two-year, $20 million deal to play third base. Having more depth certainly isn't a bad thing, but the deal is a gigantic risk with the formerly injury-prone Lowrie coming off a career year in Oakland at age 34.

The Cardinals have lacked a premier hitter for several years, but they finally have one in Goldschmidt. While the price wasn't cheap, the Cardinals were also able to trade from areas of strength by moving a pitcher (Luke Weaver) and catcher (Carson Kelly). Despite a division that looks markedly improved, the Cardinals are in great position to return to the playoffs.

Walker is trying to prove that he has something left after hitting just .219-11-46 for the Yankees last year. The Marlins are giving him a chance at first base, but they have intriguing minor league veterans in Peter O'Brien and Garrett Cooper who could have received the at-bats Walker will take. Unless Walker has a complete bounceback at age 33, it's hard to see how this move helps the rebuilding Marlins.

At his best, Gray was a Cy Young candidate in Oakland, but the last few years have been up and down, to say the least. He's posted ERAs of 5.69, 3.55 and 4.90 over the last three years, with home runs allowed being one of the big reasons he's struggled. Cincinnati's confines won't cure that issue. Following the acquisition, the Reds gave Gray a four-year, $38 million contract, so they're obviously betting on him to rebound. 

Grandal turned down a multiyear deal with the Mets, only to settle for a one-year, $18.25 million contract with Milwaukee. He's been one of baseball's most consistent catchers over the last three years, averaging 25 home runs per season, and he could get a boost with the move from Dodger Stadium to Miller Park. The upgrade from former starter Manny Pina (.702 OPS in 2018) is also substantial.

Santana lost his starting job last year after the Brewers acquired Christian Yelich. He showed flashes when he did get playing time after hitting 30 home runs in 2017 but spent much of the year in the minors. Milwaukee traded him to Seattle for a package that included Ben Gamel, effectively selling low after last season. Perhaps the Brewers owed it to Santana after all but wasting a year of his career in 2018, but the return wasn't great.

We don't get much insight into the Cubs books, but it's not a stretch to assume they're one of the highest-revenue franchises in baseball. As a result, it's truly puzzling that they cried poor this offseason, making few personnel moves and trading Smyly's remaining $7 million contract to Texas just so they could afford Cole Hamels' $20 million salary this season. Rotation depth is one of the Cubs weakest areas, and Smyly showed huge upside before Tommy John surgery with a 3.74 ERA in his first five seasons.

Machado was given the biggest free agent contract in sports history (at the time) by a surprising team. The Padres gave him $300 million with the hope he will be a great complement to their elite prospects who are soon arriving. The naysayers immediately compared the move to the $252 million disaster that Alex Rodriguez signed with Texas in 2001, but this situation is much different with an organization loaded with young, cheap talent. Kudos to Padres ownership for spending the money in an industry that has been maligned for its lack of spending on free agents over the last two years.

The Dodgers struck early in the offseason by signing Kelly to a three-year, $25 million contract. It's not as if Kelly doesn't have the ability to earn that salary, with a fastball that can reach the triple digits and a strong strikeout rate. But he had a 4.39 ERA with Boston last year, and relievers are always crapshoots. There were plenty of other quality relievers who could have been signed much cheaper this offseason.

L.A. didn't seem to have much interest in bringing back Yasmani Grandal after his late-season defensive struggles. There's no crime in moving on, especially with top catching prospect Keibert Ruiz not far away, but adding Martin as the possible short-term replacement is head-scratching. Martin has had an excellent career, but his offense has slipped considerably over the last three years. Last year he hit just .194-10-25 with a .663 OPS, and L.A. even traded a decent pitching prospect in Andrew Sopko to get him from Toronto. The Dodgers would probably prefer that Austin Barnes' bat rebounds to the level he showed in 2017 (.895) so that he can take over the job.

The marriage between Harper and the Phillies was the loudest rumor of the offseason, yet it took until the end of February to come to fruition. The wait was worth it for both sides, as Harper got $330 million guaranteed over the 13 years, and the Phils completed what looks like the best lineup in the NL for a reasonable per year price given Harper's upside.